The results from the 1999 sprites balloon campaign

Bering, E. A.; Bhusal, L.; Benbrook, J. R.; Garrett, J. A.; Jackson, Allyn; Wescott, E. M.; Moudry, D. R.; Sentman, D. D.; Stenbaek‐Nielsen, H. C.; Lyons, Walter A.

doi:10.1016/j.asr.2003.05.043

Cited by 21 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, the results of the Brazil campaign are in disagreement with the previous balloon campaign, Sprites99, con- ducted over the U. S. High Plains [Bering et al, 2002[Bering et al, , 2004a[Bering et al, , 2004bBhusal et al, 2004], which rarely measured the lightning sferics, but measured stroke-delayed pulses for 90% of CGs detected by NLDN that were attributed to mesospheric current. Although the Sprites99 payloads had a 1 kHz low pass filter [Bering et al, 2004b], well below the 8 kHz filter employed on the Brazil payloads, the Brazil measurements, along with the ground-based measurements [Cummer et al, 1998] and models [Pasko et al, 1998], suggest that the Sprites99 payloads should have measured the ELF transient of the distant lightning. To test this quantitatively, the Brazil data were run through a 1 kHz low pass Fourier filter, and the lightning sferics remained evident for all 2467 strokes.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

“…To test this quantitatively, the Brazil data were run through a 1 kHz low pass Fourier filter, and the lightning sferics remained evident for all 2467 strokes. Since stroke-delayed pulses were measured for almost every CG stroke during Sprites99, Bering et al [2004b] and Bhusal et al [2004] concluded that mesospheric breakdown and currents are a fundamental response to nearly all lightning strokes. This disagrees with the quasi-electrostatic field (QSF) model [see Pasko et al, 1997; that suggests that only very large charge moment change lightning (greater than about 300 -1000 C-km) are capable of producing mesospheric breakdown.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During Sprites99, the ELF lightning sferics were rarely measured, but stroke-delayed pulses were measured for 90% of the CG strokes detected by the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) [Bering et al, 2004a[Bering et al, , 2004bBhusal et al, 2004]. These Sprites99 results, which suggest that mesospheric breakdown is a fundamental response to nearly all CG lightning, disagree with the ground-based measurements [Cummer et al, 1998] and models [Pasko et al, 1998] that indicate that all CG lightning drive ELF to VLF sferics and that only lightning with large charge moment changes should drive mesospheric currents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[3] The Sprites99 Campaign [Bering et al, 2002[Bering et al, , 2004a[Bering et al, , 2004bBhusal et al, 2004] was the first stratospheric balloon experiment that included ground-based sprite imaging with balloon-borne electric and magnetic field measurements. During Sprites99, the ELF lightning sferics were rarely measured, but stroke-delayed pulses were measured for 90% of the CG strokes detected by the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) [Bering et al, 2004a[Bering et al, , 2004bBhusal et al, 2004].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Lightning sferics and stroke‐delayed pulses measured in the stratosphere: Implications for mesospheric currents

Thomas

Holzworth

McCarthy

et al. 2005

Geophysical Research Letters

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

[1] During the Brazil Sprite Balloon Campaign 2002 -03, the vector ELF to VLF (25 Hz -8 kHz) electric and magnetic fields driven by cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning strokes at horizontal distances of 75 -600 km were measured at altitudes of 30-35 km. Electric field changes were measured for each of the 2467 CG strokes detected by the Brazilian Integrated Lightning Network. ELF pulses that occur 4 -12 ms after the retarded time of the lightning sferic, which have been previously attributed to sprites, were found for 1.4% of 934 strokes examined. Thus, lightning-driven electric and magnetic field changes were common and stroke-delayed ELF pulses were rare, which disagrees with results from the Sprites99 Balloon Campaign. Citation: Thomas, J. N., R. H. Holzworth, M. P.McCarthy, and O. Pinto Jr. (2005), Lightning sferics and strokedelayed pulses measured in the stratosphere: Implications for mesospheric currents, Geophys.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Lightning sferics and stroke‐delayed pulses measured in the stratosphere: Implications for mesospheric currents

Thomas

Holzworth

McCarthy

et al. 2005

Geophysical Research Letters

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Observations were performed during August 1999 as part of the NASA Sprites99 campaign (Bering et al, 1999;Bering et al, 2002) 5:7 mm f=1:8 TEGEA wide angle lens. The CCD-lens combination provided a 60…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simultaneous observations of mesospheric gravity waves and sprites generated by a midwestern thunderstorm

Sentman¹,

Wescott²,

Picard³

et al. 2003

Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Self Cite

146

160

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wescott, E. M.; Picard, R. H.; Winick, J. R.; Stenbaek-Nielsen, H. C.; Dewan, E. M.; Moudry, D. R.; São Sabbas, F. T.; Heavner, M. J.; and Morrill, J., "Simultaneous observations of mesospheric gravity waves and sprites generated by a midwestern thunderstorm" (2003 AbstractThe present report investigates using simultaneous observations of coincident gravity waves and sprites to establish an upper limit on sprite-associated thermal energy deposition in the mesosphere. The University of Alaska operated a variety of optical imagers and photometers at two ground sites in support of the NASA Sprites99 balloon campaign. One site was atop a US Forest Service lookout tower on Bear Mt. in the Black Hills, in western South Dakota. On the night of 18 August 1999 we obtained from this site simultaneous images of sprites and OH airglow modulated by gravity waves emanating from a very active sprite producing thunderstorm over Nebraska, to the Southeast of Bear Mt. Using 25 s exposures with a bare CCD camera equipped with a red ÿlter, we were able to coincidentally record both short duration (¡10 ms) but bright (¿3 MR) N2 1PG red emissions from sprites and much weaker (∼1 kR), but persistent, OH Meinel nightglow emissions. A time lapse movie created from images revealed short period, complete 360• concentric wave structures emanating radially outward from a central excitation region directly above the storm. During the initial stages of the storm outwardly expanding waves possessed a period of ≈10 min and wavelength ≈50 km. Over a 1 h interval the waves gradually changed to longer period ≈11 min and shorter wavelength ≈40 km. Over the full 2 h observation time, about two dozen bright sprites generated by the underlying thunderstorm were recorded near the center of the outwardly radiating gravity wave pattern. No distinctive OH brightness signatures uniquely associated with the sprites were detected at the level of 2% of the ambient background brightness, establishing an associated upper limit of approximately T . 0:5 K for a neutral temperature perturbation over the volume of the sprites. The corresponding total thermal energy deposited by the sprite is bounded by these measurements to be less than ∼1 GJ. This value is well above the total energy deposited into the medium by the sprite, estimated by several independent methods to be on the order of ∼1-10 MJ.

show abstract

Chemical and thermal impacts of sprite streamers in the Earth's mesosphere

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A one‐dimensional self‐consistent model has been developed to study the chemical and thermal effects of a single sprite streamer in the Earth's mesosphere. We have used sprite streamer profiles with three different driving current durations (5 ms, 50 ms, and 100 ms) between 50 and 80 km of altitude and considering a kinetic scheme of air with more than 90 chemical species. Our model predicts strong increases in practically all the concentrations of the species studied at the moment of the streamer head passage. Moreover, their densities remain high during the streamer afterglow phase. The concentration of electrons can reach values of up to 108 cm−3 in the three cases analyzed. The model also predicts an important enhancement, of several orders of magnitude above ambient values, of nitrogen oxides and several metastables species. On the other hand, we found that the 4.26 μm IR emission brightness of CO2 can reach 10 GR at low altitudes (< 65 km) for the cases of intermediate (50 ms) and long (100 ms) driving currents. These results suggest the possibility of detecting sprite IR emissions from space with the appropriate instrumentation. Finally, we found that the thermal impact of sprites in the Earth's mesosphere is proportional to the driving current duration. This produces variations of more than 40 K (in the extreme case of a 100 ms driving current) at low altitudes (< 55 km) and at about 10 s after the streamer head.

show abstract

The results from the 1999 sprites balloon campaign

Cited by 21 publications

References 35 publications

Lightning sferics and stroke‐delayed pulses measured in the stratosphere: Implications for mesospheric currents

Lightning sferics and stroke‐delayed pulses measured in the stratosphere: Implications for mesospheric currents

Simultaneous observations of mesospheric gravity waves and sprites generated by a midwestern thunderstorm

Chemical and thermal impacts of sprite streamers in the Earth's mesosphere

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About