Triggered Upward Negative Lightning Leaders
Abstract
Lightning flashes with upward negative-leaders were triggered at Langmuir Laboratory using small rockets during the 2008 and 2012 storm seasons. The flashes were observed by the Laboratory's Lightning Mapping Array (LMA), a high speed video camera, electric-field-change sensors, current viewing resistors, electric-field mills, and a broadband interferometer. Both the current and the electric-field indicated that an upward negative leader was initiated, which transferred positive charge from the cloud to ground. LMA observations show that in all cases the thunderstorms had a normal polarity charge structure, with upper positive charge over mid-level negative charge. The triggered upward leaders provided an indication that there was also a lower positive charge layer under the the mid-level negative charge. The flashes were observed to propagate into lower positive charge and, in one case, continue upward to near the boundary of the main negative charge region.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFMAE12A..07T
- Keywords:
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- 3324 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES Lightning;
- 3304 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES Atmospheric electricity;
- 3394 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES Instruments and techniques