Journal
ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH
Volume 135, Issue -, Pages 274-284Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2012.10.009
Keywords
atmospheric electricity; lightning; thunderstorm; inverted polarity; electrification
Categories
Funding
- NSF [ATM-0233268]
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
- UCAR/COMET [Z11-91820]
- GOES-R GLM Science Program
- Directorate For Geosciences
- Div Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences [1063966] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Several field campaigns since the year 2000 have focused on anomalously electrified or inverted polarity thunderstorms. This study synthesizes these recent results, and considers how variability in the non-inductive relative-growth rate electrification mechanism might clarifying the meaning of inverted polarity. Instead of falling into two polarity classes, electrification and charge structure in strong updrafts vary continuously, as expected if depletion of supercooled water is a primary control on electrification. Two- or three-dimensional storm flows or other electrification mechanisms are required to combine one or more of these electrification regimes into inverted or otherwise complicated local charge sequences. Cloud flashes that result from these local charge sequences should be termed positive and negative instead of normal and inverted because cloud flashes of either polarity can occur at any altitude in thunderstorms. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available