Electric‐field changes of lightning observed in thunderstorms

Beasley, William H.; Eack, K.; Morris, Heidi; Rust, W. David; MacGorman, Donald R.

doi:10.1029/1999gl010850

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…As early as 1924 Wilson stated [1] that 'By its accelerating action on particles the electric field of a thundercloud may produce extremely penetrating corpuscular radiation.' High-energy radiation has indeed been associated with lightning, as it has been observed in measurements from space [2,3], in balloon flights [4] and at surface level [5,6]. A plausible explanation is Bremsstrahlung due to runaway electrons at high altitudes with energies above 100 keV [7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

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Multiple x-ray bursts from long discharges in air

Nguyen¹,

Deursen²,

Ebert³

2008

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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A lightning surge generator generates a high voltage surge with 1.2 μs rise time. The generator fed a spark gap of two pointed electrodes at 0.7 to 1.2 m distances. Gap breakdown occurred between 0.1 and 3 μs after the maximum generator voltage of approximately 850 kV. Various scintillator detectors with different response time recorded bursts of hard radiation in nearly all surges. The bursts were detected over the time span between approximately half of the maximum surge voltage and full gap breakdown. The consistent timing of the bursts with the high-voltage surge excluded background radiation as source for the high intensity pulses. In spite of the symmetry of the gap, negative surges produced more intense radiation than positive. This has been attributed to additional positive discharges from the measurement cabinet which occurred for negative surges. Some hard radiation signals were equivalent to several MeV. Pile-up occurs of lesser energy X-ray quanta, but still with a large fraction of these with an energy of the order of 100 keV. The bursts occurred within the 4 ns time resolution of the fastest detector. The relation between the energy of the X-ray quanta and the signal from the scintillation detector is quite complicated, as shown by the measurements.PACS 52.70, La 52.80.Mg, 92.60.Pw

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…High-energy radiation has indeed been associated with lightning, as it has been observed in measurements from space [2,3], in balloon flights [4] and at surface level [5,6]. A plausible explanation is Bremsstrahlung due to runaway electrons at high altitudes with energies above 100 keV [7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Multiple x-ray bursts from long discharges in air

Nguyen¹,

Deursen²,

Ebert³

2008

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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“…It is neither new nor surprising that we find evidence for such localized charge rearrangement by lightning with these two in situ E measurements: similar localized effects of lightning on charge have been documented by other researchers [e.g., Krehbiel et al , 1979; Koshak and Krider , 1989] using multistation field change measurements at the ground. Recently, Beasley et al [2000] inferred local charge rearrangement due to lightning from their measurements with a balloon‐borne field change instrument.…”

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Two simultaneous charge structures in thunderstorm convection

et al. 2002

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[1] A pair of simultaneous, horizontally displaced, thunderstorm electric field soundings are used to investigate an existing conceptual model of thunderstorm charge structure. The soundings show that two different vertical charge structures, one in the updraft and one outside the updraft, can exist at the same time inside a storm, as depicted in the existing model. The data suggest that the two charge structures can be relatively close together, since the soundings are separated by only 3 to 8 km horizontally in the convective region of the storm. Horizontal extent of the charge structures is estimated to be at least 4 km Â 4 km. The differences in the two charge structures are coincident with substantial differences over this same 3 to 8 km horizontal distance in the reflectivity structure, updraft speed, and lightning activity of the convection. The nonupdraft sounding was made through the intense reflectivity core found at middle levels in the convection. Additional electric field complexity and additional charge regions were found in the nonupdraft sounding, and the lightning-related electric field changes tended to be larger in magnitude and more numerous in that sounding than in the updraft sounding.

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“…Their electrode patches reside on the surface of a metallic sphere instead of a cylinder. More recently, Beasley et al [2000] incorporated a single slow antenna into a balloon‐borne instrument designed to measure X rays from lightning. Only distant lightning was present during the flight, according to K. Eack (private communication, Dec. 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing E field changes aloft to lightning mapping data

Sonnenfeld

Battles

et al. 2006

J. Geophys. Res.

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[1] A newly developed balloon-borne instrument contains electric and magnetic sensors for determining how lightning alters electric field vectors relative to a coordinate system fixed with the Earth. By combining data from this instrument with results from the compact Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) at Langmuir Laboratory in central New Mexico and the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN), charge transported to ground by several strokes in a cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flash can be quantified. As the flash progresses, the locations of the charge centers drained by successive strokes are seen to move further from the ground-strike point. Using this new instrument and two different models to map LMA source points onto charge centers, the charge transported in an intracloud (IC) flash is also estimated. Details of the instrument design and data analysis are also presented.

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Electric‐field changes of lightning observed in thunderstorms

Cited by 5 publications

References 11 publications

Multiple x-ray bursts from long discharges in air

Multiple x-ray bursts from long discharges in air

Two simultaneous charge structures in thunderstorm convection

Comparing E field changes aloft to lightning mapping data

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