Effect of Lightning on Thin Metal Surfaces

McEachron, K. B.; Hagenguth, J. H.

doi:10.1109/t-aiee.1942.5058563

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…[27] compared the duration of the optical signal of lightning flashes reported by the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on-board the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite with the duration of the continuing current reported by the Huntsville Alabama Marx Meter Array (HAMMA). He found that a flash with an optical duration of 7-9 ms would have a continuing current lasting 22 ms that is, in turn, in agreement with the minimum duration of fire-igniting flashes reported byMceachron and Hagenguth (1942) [2] and byFuquay et al (1967) [5]. As explained in Secion 2.1, we focus on LCC(>9 ms) lightning flashes because they are frequently associated with lightning ignitions.…”

supporting

confidence: 75%

“…The occurrence of lightning-ignited wildfires, in turn, is related to the meteorological conditions that favor the occurrence of lightning and fuel availability. Multiple laboratory experiments [e. g., [2][3][4]] and field observations [e. g., [5][6][7]] indicate that continuing electrical currents in lightning flowing for more than tens of milli-seconds (socalled Long-Continuing-Currents, LCC) are likely to produce fires. The evolution and spreading of fires are determined by fuel availability and meteorological conditions, such as air temperature, precipitation rate, and wind strength [8][9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variation of lightning-ignited wildfire patterns under climate change

Pérez‐Invernón

Gordillo‐Vázquez

Huntrieser

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Lightning is the main precursor of natural wildfires and Long-Continuing-Current (LCC) lightning flashes are proposed to be the main igniters of lightning-ignited wildfires (LIW). Previous studies predict a change of the global occurrence rate and spatial pattern of total lightning. Nevertheless, the sensitivity of lightning-ignited wildfire occurrence to climate change is uncertain. Here, we investigate space-based measurements of LCC lightning associated with lightning ignitions and present LCC lightning projections (RCP6.0) for the 2090s by applying a new LCC lightning parameterization based on the updraft strength in thunderstorms. We find a 66 \% increase of the LCC lightning flash rate. Increases are largest in South America, the western coast of Northern America, Central America, Australia, Southern and Eastern Asia, and Europe, while only regional variations are found in northern polar forests, where fire risk can affect permafrost soil carbon release. These results show that lightning schemes including LCC lightning are needed to project the occurrence of lightning-ignited wildfires under climate change.

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confidence: 75%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation of lightning-ignited wildfire patterns under climate change

Pérez‐Invernón

Gordillo‐Vázquez

Huntrieser

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…(1962) first developed slitless spectroscopic techniques (time‐resolved flash spectra) to investigate time‐integrated spectra of individual strokes within a lightning flash with time and spectral resolutions of, respectively, 20 ms and about 0.2 nm. The millisecond timescale of Salanave's technique allowed for the first time to spectroscopically monitor return stroke continuing currents (Orville & Salanave, 1970) that were earlier proposed (McEachron & Hagenguth, 1942) to produce forest fires, which was confirmed in 1967 (Fuquay et al., 1967).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Submicrosecond Spectroscopy of Lightning‐Like Discharges: Exploring New Time Regimes

Kieu

Gordillo‐Vázquez

Passas

et al. 2020

Geophysical Research Letters

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Submicrosecond (0.476 μs per frame with an exposure time of 160 ns) high‐resolution (0.38 nm) time‐resolved spectra of laboratory‐produced lightning‐like electrical discharges have been recorded for the first time within the visible spectral range (645–665 nm). The spectra were recorded with the GrAnada LIghtning Ultrafast Spectrograph (GALIUS), a high‐speed imaging spectrograph recently developed for lightning research in the IAA‐CSIC. Unprecedented spectral time dynamics are explored for meter long laboratory electrical discharges produced with a 2.0 MV Marx generator. The maximum electron density and gas temperature measured in a timescale of ≤0.50 μs (160 ns) were, respectively, ≃1018 cm−3 and ≃32,000 K. Overpressure in the lightning‐like plasma channel, black‐body dynamics, and self‐absorption in spectral lines were investigated.

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“…For a more extensive description of the physical characteristics of lightning discharges and their electromagnetic emissions, we refer to Rakov and Uman (2003), Some evidence suggests that LCC lightning flashes are precursors of LIW. This was originally proposed by McEachron and Hagenguth (1942) working with laboratory sparks, who suggested that ignition by natural lightning is usually caused by a discharge having an unusual LCC phase. Later in 1967 this hypothesis was confirmed by Fuquay et al (1967), who reported seven cases of fire-igniting lightning strokes with duration between 40 ms and 282 ms. Fuquay et al (1967) and Adachi et al (2009) showed that the optical signal emitted by lightning discharges can be related to the duration of the electrical discharge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lightning-ignited wildfires and long-continuing-current lightning in the Mediterranean Basin: Preferential meteorological conditions

Pérez‐Invernón¹,

Huntrieser²,

Soler³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Abstract. Lightning is the major cause of natural ignition of wildfires worldwide and produces the largest wildfires in some regions. Lightning strokes produce about 5 % of forest fires in the Mediterranean basin and are one of the most important precursors of the largest forest fires during the summer. Lightning-ignited wildfires produce significant emissions of aerosols, black carbon and trace gases, such as CO, SO2, CH4 and O3, affecting air quality. Characterization of the meteorological and cloud conditions of lightning-ignited wildfires in the Mediterranean basin can serve to improve fire forecasting models and to upgrade the implementation of fire emissions in atmospheric models. This study investigates the meteorological and cloud conditions of Lightning-Ignited Wildfires (LIW) and Long-Continuing-Current (LCC) lightning flashes in the Iberian Peninsula and Greece. LCC lightning and lightning in dry thunderstorms with low precipitation rate have been proposed to be the main precursors of the largest wildfires. We use lightning data provided by the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN), the Earth Network Total Lightning Network (ENTLN) and the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) onboard the International Space Station (ISS) together with four databases of wildfires produced in Spain, Portugal, Southern France and Greece, respectively, in order to produce a climatology of LIW and LCC lightning over the Mediterranean basin. In addition, we use meteorological data provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA5-reanalysis data set and by the Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) together with the Cloud Top Height (CTH) product derived from Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites measurements to investigate the meteorological conditions of LIW and LCC lightning. According to our results, LIW and a significant amount of LCC lightning flashes tend to occur in dry thunderstorms with weak updrafts. Our results suggest that lightning-ignited wildfires tend to occur in high-based clouds with a vertical content of moisture lower than the climatological value, as well as with a higher temperature and a lower precipitation rate. Meteorological conditions of LIW from the Iberian Peninsula and Greece are in agreement, although some differences possibly caused by highly variable topography in Greece and a more humid environment are observed. These results show the possibility of using the typical meteorological and cloud conditions of LCC lightning flashes as proxy to parameterize the ignition of wildfires in atmospheric or forecasting models.

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Effect of Lightning on Thin Metal Surfaces

Cited by 13 publications

References 5 publications

Variation of lightning-ignited wildfire patterns under climate change

Variation of lightning-ignited wildfire patterns under climate change

Submicrosecond Spectroscopy of Lightning‐Like Discharges: Exploring New Time Regimes

Lightning-ignited wildfires and long-continuing-current lightning in the Mediterranean Basin: Preferential meteorological conditions

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