A comparison of channel-base currents and optical signals for rocket-triggered lightning strokes

A comparative analysis has been performed of the channel-base current and light waveforms for four rocket-triggered lightning strokes. It has been found that the current and light signals at the bottom of the channel exhibit a linear relationship (direct proportionality) in their rising portions. However, just after the peaks the linearity disappears, and the light signals usually decrease faster than the currents during the next several microseconds. Later, this trend is reversed and in some cases the light signals show another rising trend, even when the currents continue to decrease. The linear light/current relationship for the rising portions of the waveforms appears to be the same for different strokes. The findings support the idea of evaluating the variation of return stroke current along the lightning return stroke channel using light signals, provided that evaluation is limited to the rising portions of those signals and assuming that the light/current relationship observed at the bottom of the channel holds at other heights.     

Triggered-lightning properties inferred from measured currents and very close electric fields

Triggered-lightning properties, including dart-leader charge density, return-stroke propagation speed, dart-leader electric potential, dart-leader propagation speed, and dart-leader current, inferred from return-stroke current and very close electric field measurements, are presented. Although most of the estimates are based on relatively crude models, they are all generally in good agreement with independent measurements and/or theoretical considerations found in the literature. The results are likely to be applicable to subsequent strokes in natural lightning.     

Analysis of microsecond- and submicrosecond-scale electric field pulses produced by cloud and ground lightning discharges

We examined microsecond- and submicrosecond-scale pulses in electric field records of cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning discharges acquired in summer 2006, in Gainesville, Florida. A total of 12 cloud and 12 ground flashes were analyzed in detail, with the electric field record length being 96 or 200 ms and sampling interval being 4 or 10 ns. The majority of pulses in both cloud and ground discharges analyzed in this study were associated with the initial breakdown process and were relatively small in amplitude and duration. The typical durations were an order of magnitude smaller than tens of microseconds characteristic of “classical” preliminary breakdown pulses. We estimated that 26% of the pulses in the 12 cloud discharges and 22% of the pulses in the 12 cloud-to-ground discharges had total durations less that 1 µs.     

On the mechanism of X-ray production by dart leaders of lightning flashes

Radiation with energies up to about 250 keV associated with the dart leader phase of rocket-triggered lightning were reported by Dwyer et al. (2004). The mechanism of X-ray generation by dart leaders, however, is unknown at present. Recently, Cooray et al., in pressPlease provide complete bibliographic details for Ref. cooray e al., in press and Saleh et al., in press if available., Cooray et al., 2009a developed physical concepts and mathematical techniques necessary to calculate the electric field associated with the tip of dart leaders. We have utilized the results of these calculations together with the energy dependent frictional force on electrons, as presented by Moss et al. (2006), to evaluate the maximum energy an electron will receive in accelerating in the dart-leader-tip electric field. The main assumptions made in performing the calculations are: (a) the dart leader channel is straight and vertical; (b) the path of the electrons are straight inside the channel; and (c) the decay of the channel temperature is uniform along the length of the dart leader. In the calculation, we have taken into account the fact that the electric field is changing both in space and time and that the gas in the defunct return stroke channel is at atmospheric pressure and at elevated temperature (i.e. reduced gas density). The results of the calculation show that for a given dart leader current there is a critical defunct-return-stroke-channel temperature above which the cold electron runaway becomes feasible. For a typical dart leader, this temperature is around 2500 K. This critical temperature decreases with increase in dart leader current. Since the temperature of the defunct return stroke channel may lie in the range of 2000–4000 K, the results show that the electric field at the tip of dart leaders is capable of accelerating electrons to MeV energy levels.     

The Physics of Lightning

An overview of the physics of cloud-to-ground lightning is given, including its initiation, propagation, and attachment to ground. Discharges artificially initiated (triggered) from natural thunderclouds using the rocket-and-wire technique are discussed with a view toward studying properties of natural lightning. Both conventional and runaway breakdown mechanisms of lightning initiation in thunderclouds are reviewed, as is the role of the lower positive charge region in facilitating different types of lightning. New observations of negative-leader stepping and its attachment to ground are compared to similar processes in long laboratory sparks. The mechanism and parameters of compact intracloud lightning discharges that are thought to be the most intense natural producers of HF-VHF (3–300 MHz) radiation on Earth are reviewed. The M-component mode of charge transfer to ground and its difference from the leader/return-stroke mode are discussed. Lightning interaction with the ionosphere and the production of energetic radiation (X-rays and gamma radiation) by cloud-to-ground leaders are considered.     

Atmospheric Corrections Using MODTRAN for TOA and Surface BRDF Characteristics from High Resolution Spectroradiometric/ Angular Measurements from a Helicopter Platform

l. IntroductionThe cIassicaI definition of bi--directional reflectance--distribution function (BRDF) is aderivative, distribution function, relatlng the irradiance incident from one given direction tolts contribution to the radiance renected in another direct1on (N1codemus et al., l977).f r (0,, rp,; 0,, rp, )= dL, (0,, P,; 0,, 9,; E, )/ dE, (0,, 9,) [sr-- 1 ], (l)where 0 (zenith angle) and 9 (azimuth angle) together indicate a direction, the subscr1pt i indi-cates quantities associated wi…     

Mechanisms of isomorphic substitution in quartz

Mechanisms of the incorporation of isomorphic impurities of Al, Ti, and Ge into quartz were studied by EPR techniques. For this purpose, laboratory experiments were carried out on quartz annealing, which allowed us to model the processes of impurity atom introduction into the quartz lattice. The investigation of the kinetics of these processes showed that they are described by diffusion-controlled reactions. In many samples, a proportional relationship was observed between the concentrations of Al and Ti impurities incorporated into the quartz structure during laboratory annealing. A comparison of the experimental results with the character of the natural distribution of isomorphic impurities in quartz revealed their similarity. Based on the analysis of the results of our investigations, two main mechanisms were proposed for isomorphic substitutions in quartz. One of them is referred to as the capture mechanism and corresponds to the incorporation of isomorphic impurities during mineral formation. The second, diffusion mechanism operates after the crystallization of quartz. The isomorphic impurities incorporated into the quartz structure by this mechanism are either formed through the decomposition and transformation of composite complexes or as a result of diffusion from crystalline and gas-liquid inclusions. It was suggested that both mechanisms are responsible for the incorporation of Al and Ge impurities into the mineral lattice, whereas Ti is introduced mainly by the diffusion mechanism. The accounting for the mechanisms of isomorphic substitutions provides a means to significantly increase the reliability of the interpretation of genetic information recorded in the distribution of structural impurities in quartz. Original Russian Text ? L.T. Rakov, 2006, published in Geokhimiya, 2006, No. 10, pp. 1085–1096.     

热液金刚石压腔在地质流体研究中的应用

热液金刚石压腔(HDAC)是专为模拟地壳温压条件下的地质作用而设计的，它尤其适用于观测水或其它流体与地质物质之间的相互作用。HDAC可时-190～1200℃，0～10GPa的热液体系进行实验，并可在实验的温压条件下．用各种先进的光学方法分析样品，更可以把实验的全程录像存档。充满流体的HDAC本身就可当做是一个人工合成的流体包裹体。因此它可以用来研究流体的状态方程和相关系。它又可时其它流体包裹体样品施加外压力，因此在热分析的过程中可免除包裹体的膨胀或爆破的困境。HDAC可应用到颇为宽广的温压范围，它已被广泛地用来观测各种化学体系的临界现象，包括在地质方面特别有用的含水硅酸盐体系。HDAC也可与同步辐射X光源相结合，而取得各种金属或稀土元素水溶液的x射线吸收精细结构(X-ray absorption fine structure；XAFS)光谱，因而时在热液里的金属或稀土元素络合物的组分和结构提供了最基本的资料。然而，X光的强度在透过金刚石时，因绕射和吸收而大大地减弱，因此应用一般的HDAC来获取那些吸收边在10keV以下的元素的XAFS光谱颇为困难。目前已有两种改良式的HDAC解除了这方面的困难，而时在元素周期表上的第一排过渡性金属元素和稀土元素的水溶液，提供清晰的XAFS光谱。这些资料可用来研究金属或稀土元素络合物在地质热液里的特性，及其在元素迁移和成矿作用方面的效应。而这些元素在地质应用方面特别重要。     

A review of ten years of triggered-lightning experiments at Camp Blanding, Florida

The principal results of triggered-lightning experiments conducted at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) at Camp Blanding, Florida, from 1993 through 2002 are reviewed. These results include (a) characterization of the close lightning electromagnetic environment, (b) first lightning return-stroke speed profiles within 400 m of ground, (c) new insights into the mechanism of the dart-stepped (and by inference stepped) leader, (d) identification of the M-component mode of charge transfer to ground, (e) first optical image of upward connecting leader in triggered-lightning strokes, (f) electric fields in the immediate vicinity of the lightning channel, (g) inferences on the interaction of lightning with ground and with grounding electrodes, (h) discovery of X-rays produced by triggered-lightning strokes, (i) new insights into the mechanism of cutoff and reestablishment of current in rocket-triggered lightning. Selected results are discussed.