Statistical analysis of space-time relationships between sprites and lightning

Details Statistical analysis of space-time relationships between sprites and lightning Statistical analysis of space-time relationships between sprites and lightning

Mar 2003

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003jastp..65..525s&link_type=abstract

Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 65, Issue 5, p. 525-535.

Physics

29

Scientific paper

We present a detailed statistical analysis of the association of 40 sprite events with lightning from the parent thunderstorm. Both temporal and spatial criteria were used to identify the parent cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning. Sprite images were GPS time stamped and their locations triangulated. In contrast to previous reports of nearly one-to-one association of sprites with positive cloud-to-ground (+CG) lightning, 11 events (27%) did not have a +CG recorded by the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN), and 7 events (17%) had neither NLDN nor very low frequency (VLF) signatures associated with them. A negative cloud-to-ground /(-CG) preceded one of these events by 9ms. As expected for ~16.7ms integrated images, none of the sprites without a +CG had any discernible visual characteristic that would distinguish them from ``regular positive sprites''. We have calculated the distribution of time intervals (Δt=tsprite-tlightning) for the sprites that had a parent +CG flash registered by the NLDN or VLF systems, and the distribution of distances between the sprite nadir positions and the flash locations registered by the NLDN. The time interval /(Δt) distribution had a peak around 10-20ms and a mean of 30ms (total). This distribution is broadly consistent with the characteristic single electron avalanche time scale associated with streamer growth between /~70 and 85km. The distribution of the distances /(Δs) between the nadir point of sprites and the parent +CGs showed that approximately two-thirds of the sprites occurred within 50km lateral displacement from the parent +CG. The parent +CG peak current distribution had a maximum at 40-50kA and mean of 60kA, suggesting that high peak currents (I>=75kA) are not a necessary prerequisite for sprites. The peak current distribution for all +CGs of the storm, with a maximum around 10-20kA and mean of 27kA, exhibits a qualitatively different form from the peak current distribution of the parent +CGs producing sprites.

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