The initial stage of cloud lightning imaged in high-resolution
O. Scholten, B. M. Hare, J. Dwyer, C. Sterpka, I. Kolmašová, O. Santolík, R. Lán, L. Uhlíř, S. Buitink, A. Corstanje, H. Falcke, T. Huege, J. R. Hörandel, G. K.… 展开作者
O. Scholten, B. M. Hare, J. Dwyer, C. Sterpka, I. Kolmašová, O. Santolík, R. Lán, L. Uhlíř, S. Buitink, A. Corstanje, H. Falcke, T. Huege, J. R. Hörandel, G. K. Krampah, P. Mitra, K. Mulrey, A. Nelles, H. Pandya, A. Pel, J. P. Rachen, T. N. G. Trinh, S. ter Veen, S. Thoudam, T. Winchen
备注：
Submitted to Journal of geophysics research: Atmospheres
With LOFAR we have been able to image the development of lightning flashes with meter-scale accuracy and unprecedented detail. We discuss the primary steps behind our most recent lightning mapping method. To demonstrate the capabilities of our technique we show and interpret images of the first few milliseconds of two intra-cloud flashes. In all our flashes the negative leaders propagate in the charge layer below the main negative charge. Among several interesting features we show that in about 2~ms after initiation the Primary Initial Leader triggers the formation of a multitude (more than ten) negative leaders in a rather confined area of the atmosphere. From these only one or two continue to propagate after about 30~ms to extend over kilometers horizontally while another may propagate back to the initiation point. We also show that normal negative leaders can transition into an initial-leader like state, potentially in the presence of strong electric fields. In addition, we show some initial breakdown pulses that occurred during the primary initial leader, and even during two "secondary" initial leaders that developed out of stepped leaders.
A recent study pointed out that macroscopic dark matter (macros) traversing through the earth's atmosphere can give rise to hot and ionized channels similar to those associated with lightning leaders. The authors of the study investigated the possibility that when such channels created by macros pass through a thundercloud, lightning leaders may locked into these ionized channels creating lightning discharges with perfectly straight channels. They suggested the possibility of detecting such channels as a means of detecting the passage of macros through the atmosphere. In this paper, we show th…
The dissertation describes in detail the experimental studies of the initiation of unusual plasma formations (UPFs) in the electric field of an artificially charged aerosol cloud. These experiments, together with the latest data from the study of intracloud discharges, make it possible to construct a sequential mechanism for initiating lightning inside a thundercloud, as well as a model of compact intracloud discharges (CID/NBE).
Clouds play a major role in Earth's energy budget and hydrological cycle. Clouds dynamical structure and mixing with the ambient air have a large impact on their vertical mass and energy fluxes and on precipitation. Most of the cloud evolution and mixing occurs at scales smaller than presently observable from geostationary orbit, which is less than 1 km. A satellite mission is planned for bridging this gap, named "Cluster for Cloud evolution, ClImatE and Lightning" (C3IEL). The mission is a collaboration between the Israeli (ISA) and French (CNES) space agencies, which is presently at the end …
Unveiling the Mysteries of Lightning: Exploring its fundamental Physical Processes with SKA-LOW
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)（荷兰射电天文研究所）；Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University Groningen（卡普坦天文研究所，格罗宁根大学）；Inter-University Institute For High Energies (IIHE), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)（布鲁塞尔自由大学跨大学高能物理研究所）；Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, Radboud University Nijmegen（奈梅亨拉德堡德大学天体物理学系/IMAPP）；Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Duke University（杜克大学电气与计算机工程系）；Nationaal Instituut voor Kernfysica en Hoge Energie Fysica (NIKHEF)（荷兰核物理与高能物理国家研究所）
Observations of brown dwarfs (BDs), free-floating planetary-mass objects, and directly imaged extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) exhibit rich evidence of large-scale weather. Cloud radiative feedback has been proposed as a potential mechanism driving the vigorous atmospheric circulation on BDs and directly imaged EGPs, and yet it has not been demonstrated in three-dimensional dynamical models at relevant conditions. Here we present a series of atmospheric circulation models that self-consistently coupled dynamics with idealized cloud formation and its radiative effects. We demonstrate that vigoro…
