High Peak Current Lightning and the Production of Elves

Abstract

Elves are observed as expanding rings of light in the UV and visible optical bands. They are produced when electromagnetic pulses from lightning discharges interact with the lower parts of the ionosphere. Elves are well known to be associated with high peak current lightning discharges. Here, we use data from the Modular Multi‐spectral Imaging Array (MMIA) of the Atmosphere‐Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM), and search for observations of Elves when high peak current lightning discharges are detected by Vaisala's Global Lightning Detection network GLD360. We present two groups of events; high peak current detections associated with Elves and high peak current detections not associated with Elves. To understand why some current pulses with high peak currents do not produce observable Elves, we investigate and compare the lightning activity occurring before these two types of events, in terms of both the number of lightning discharges detected by GLD360 and the peak currents of the preceding discharges. Our results, using data from GLD360, suggest that current pulses with peak currents above |120| kA tend to produce Elves nearly always, regardless of the preceding lightning activity. For current pulses with peak currents between |70| and |120| kA, the number of observed Elves might be affected by the preceding lightning activity, or is the result of the characteristics of the storm cells that produce the Elve.