Gigantic jet discharges evolve stepwise through the middle atmosphere

Abstract

In 2002 it was discovered that a lightning discharge can rise out of the top of tropical thunderstorms and branch out spectacularly to the base of the ionosphere at 90 km altitude. Several dozens of such gigantic jets have been recorded or photographed since, but eluded capture by high-speed video cameras. Here we report on 4 gigantic jets recorded in Colombia at a temporal resolution of 200 µs to 1 ms. During the rising stage, one or more luminous steps are revealed at 32-40 km, before a continuous final jump of negative streamers to the ionosphere, starting in a bidirectional (bipolar) fashion. The subsequent trailing jet extends upward from the jump onset, with a current density well below that of lightning leaders. Magnetic field signals tracking the charge transfer and optical Geostationary Lightning Mapper data are now matched unambiguously to the precisely timed final jump process in a gigantic jet.

Analysis of a Gigantic Jet in Southern China: Morphology, Meteorology, Storm Evolution, Lightning, and Narrow Bipolar Events

“…Van der Velde et al (2007) explained this is due to the much shorter duration of the upper jet compared to the lower jet. The relative durations can be seen very well in Van der Velde et al (2019). Another reason is likely that at f/3.5, ISO1600, and 15 s exposure time, the background light overwhelms the little light emitted by the GJ during just a few hundred milliseconds.…”

“…Van der Velde et al (2007) explained this is due to the much shorter duration of the upper jet compared to the lower jet. The relative durations can be seen very well in Van der Velde et al (2019).…”

“…The GJ established a direct path of an electrical connection between the cloud top and the ionosphere (Cummer et al, 2009; Kuo et al, 2009), which has an important influence on the electron density and potential of the ionosphere, electromagnetic environment of the near space, and radio communication. Since the first GJ was observed on 14 September 2001 by Pasko et al (2002) in Puerto Rico, several GJs have been observed by ground‐based (Cummer et al, 2009; He et al, 2019; Lu et al, 2011; Peng et al, 2018; Soula et al, 2011; Su et al, 2003; Van der Velde et al, 2007, 2010, 2019) and satellite‐based experiments (Boggs et al, 2019; Chen et al, 2008; Kuo et al, 2009). Optical observations show that most of the observed GJs have “tree” or “carrot” shape (Liu et al, 2015; Pasko et al, 2002; Soula et al, 2011; Su et al, 2003) and there is a color transition zone between the two areas where the bottom (altitude 20–40 km) is blue and the top (altitude over 65 km) is red (Peng et al, 2018; Soula et al, 2011).…”

Comparison of High‐Speed Optical Observations of a Lightning Flash From Space and the Ground

“…The high-speed camera system is a Vision Research Phantom V7.3 fitted with a Gen III image intensifier (broadband visible and near-infrared response) with fast P24 phosphor and mounted with a Nikon 50 mm F1.8 lens, fielded in Cartagena (van der Velde et al, 2019) at the coast of the Caribbean Sea (10.3947°N; 75.5627°W), 263 km from the flash. It recorded the bright stroke at 5,000 images per second with data capture triggered by a low-speed camera and flash detection software.…”

Lateral instability in streamers discharges

“…Electric discharges pose interesting questions from both applied and fundamental research. They appear in a vast variety of phenomena, ranging from dielectric breakdown in low temperature plasmas and semiconductors [1][2][3] to high energetic atmosphere activity [4,5]. During the last twenty years, progress has been made in the understanding of different aspects of the phenomena, such as pattern formation [6].…”