Extended Abstract (2.3M)5.1
Powerful VHF pulses from thunderstorms as a satellite-remote-sensing proxy for severe convection
Abram R. Jacobson, LANL, Los Alamos, NM
The most powerful Very High Frequency (VHF; 30-300 MHz) signals from thunderstorms have been known for several years to be associated with a class of intracloud discharges that appears to be distinct both phenomenologically [Jacobson, 2003a; Jacobson, 2003b; Jacobson and Light, 2003; Le Vine, 1980; Light and Jacobson, 2002; Massey and Holden, 1995; Massey et al., 1998; Willett et al., 1989] and in underlying physical process [Gurevich et al., 1999]. In this contribution I will review the observations pertaining to this class of discharges. The goal is to clarify the relevance of this class of intracloud discharge to remote sensing of severe storms.
Gurevich, A.V., K.P. Zybin, and R.A. Roussel-Dupré, Lightning initiation by simultaneous effect of runaway breakdown and cosmic ray showers, Phys. Lett., A254, 79-87, 1999. Jacobson, A.R., How do the strongest radio pulses from thunderstorms relate to lightning flashes?, J. Geophys. Res., 108 (D24), 4778, doi:10.1029/2003JD003936, 2003a. Jacobson, A.R., Relationship of intracloud-lightning radiofrequency power to lightning-storm height, as observed by the FORTE satellite, J. Geophys. Res., 108 (D7), 4204, doi:1029/2002JD002956, 2003b. Jacobson, A.R., and T.E.L. Light, Bimodal radiofrequency pulse distribution of intracloud-lightning signals recorded by the FORTE satellite, J. Geophys. Res., 108 (D9), 4266, doi:10.1029/2002JD002613, 2003. Le Vine, D.M., Sources of the strongest rf radiation from lightning, J. Geophys. Res., 85 (C7), 4091-4095, 1980. Light, T.E.L., and A.R. Jacobson, Characteristics of impulsive VHF lightning observed by the FORTE satellite, J. Geophys. Res., 107 (D24), 4756, doi:10.1029/2001JD001585, 2002. Massey, R.S., and D.N. Holden, Phenomenology of transionospheric pulse pairs, Radio Sci., 30 (5), 1645-1659, 1995. Massey, R.S., D.N. Holden, and X.-M. Shao, Phenomenology of trans-ionospheric pulse pairs: Further observations, Radio Sci, 33, 1755-1761, 1998. Willett, J.C., J.C. Bailey, and E.P. Krider, A class of unusual lightning electric field waveforms with very strong high-frequency radiation, J. Geophys. Res., 94 (D13), 16255-16267, 1989.
Supplementary URL: http://nis-www.lanl.gov/nis-projects/forte_science/
Session 5, Advances in lightning technology and transfer from research to operations
Tuesday, 11 January 2005, 8:30 AM-9:45 AM
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