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Upward electrical discharges from thunderstorms

Nature Geoscience volume 1, pages 233–237 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Thunderstorms occasionally produce upward discharges, called blue jets and gigantic jets, that propagate out of the storm top towards or up to the ionosphere1,2,3,4. Whereas the various types of intracloud and cloud-to-ground lightning are reasonably well understood, the cause and nature of upward discharges remains a mystery. Here, we present a combination of observational and modelling results that indicate two principal ways in which upward discharges can be produced. The modelling indicates that blue jets occur as a result of electrical breakdown between the upper storm charge and the screening charge attracted to the cloud top; they are predicted to occur 5–10 s or less after a cloud-to-ground or intracloud discharge produces a sudden charge imbalance in the storm. An observation is presented of an upward discharge that supports this basic mechanism. In contrast, we find that gigantic jets begin as a normal intracloud discharge between dominant mid-level charge and a screening-depleted upper-level charge, that continues to propagate out of the top of the storm. Observational support for this mechanism comes from similarity with ‘bolt-from-the-blue’ discharges5 and from data on the polarity of gigantic jets6. We conclude that upward discharges are analogous to cloud-to-ground lightning. Our explanation provides a unifying view of how lightning escapes from a thundercloud.

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Figure 1: Basic scenario leading to blue jet formation.
Figure 2: Upward negative jet from an inverted polarity storm on 12 June UTC during STEPS 2000.
Figure 3: Two bolt-from-the-blue discharges.
Figure 4: Simulated discharges illustrating the different known and postulated lightning types in a normally electrified storm.

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Acknowledgements

We thank E. R. Williams for comments on the paper and further references. T. Hamlin, J. Harlin, S. Kieft, W. Winn and S. Hunyady contributed to the operation and data processing of the Lightning Mapping Array at Langmuir Laboratory and during STEPS. The radar data of Fig. 2a were obtained by the National Center for Atmospheric Research S-Pol radar. The work was supported by the Physical and Dynamical Meteorology and Aeronomy Programs of the National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics Department, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, New Mexico 87801, USA

    Paul R. Krehbiel & Harald E. Edens

  2. CSSL Laboratory, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

    Jeremy A. Riousset & Victor P. Pasko

  3. Electrical Engineering Department, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, New Mexico 87801, USA

    Ronald J. Thomas & William Rison

  4. 114 Mesa Verde Road, Jemez Springs, New Mexico 87025, USA

    Mark A. Stanley

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Contributions

P.R.K. drafted the manuscript and developed the electrodynamic model. J.A.R. carried out the lightning simulations, prepared the figures and drafted the methods section. J.A.R. and V.P.P. developed the lightning simulation model. W.R., R.J.T. and P.R.K. developed the Lightning Mapping Array, conducted the field programs and carried out the data analyses for the study. M.A.S. carried out low-frequency measurements and analyses. H.E.E. obtained the photograph of Fig. 3b. All authors contributed to discussion of the results and preparation of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Paul R. Krehbiel or Jeremy A. Riousset.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary figures S1-S5 and table S1 (PDF 315 kb)

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Krehbiel, P., Riousset, J., Pasko, V. et al. Upward electrical discharges from thunderstorms. Nature Geosci 1, 233–237 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo162

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