On the percentage of lightning flashes that begin with initial breakdown pulses

Marshall, T. C.; Stolzenburg, Maribeth; Karunarathne, Sumedhe; Karunarathna, N.; Schulz, Wolfgang; Vergeiner, Christian

doi:10.1002/2013jd020854

Cited by 58 publications

(136 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…It is statistically significant at the 99.9% confidence level. Similar trends were previously observed in Florida [12], Japan [25], and China [26]. …”

Section: Characteristics Of Pb Pulse Trainssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Statistics for the PB-RS interval, PB/RS pulse peak ratio, PB pulse train duration, and bipolar pulse width, as well as for the NLDN-reported current and distance are given in Table 1. The AM PB/RS pulse peak ratio of 0.15 in Table 1 is comparable to the AM values of 0.20 to 0.29 reported in [8,12,17]. The AM PB-RS interval of 8.8 ms in Table 1 is more than a factor of two smaller than previously reported, this disparity being likely due to the very high AM peak current of 134 kA (GM = 122 kA) in our dataset.…”

Section: Characteristics Of Pb Pulse Trainssupporting

confidence: 82%

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A Study of Preliminary Breakdown and Return Stroke Processes in High-Intensity Negative Lightning Discharges

2016

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Abstract:Using an automated data processing algorithm, we examined electric field records of 5498 negative cloud-to-ground flashes reported by the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) within 50 to 500 km of the Lightning Observatory in Gainesville (LOG), Florida. Out of the 5498 flashes, 3496 (64%) had detectable preliminary breakdown (PB) pulse trains. Only 3077 flashes with a single PB pulse train and NLDN-reported first-return-stroke (RS) peak current ≥50 kA were selected for detailed analysis. The arithmetic mean values of PB pulse train duration, PB-RS interval, and PB/RS pulse peak ratio were 2.7 ms, 8.8 ms, and 0.15, respectively. The PB-RS interval was found to decrease with increasing RS peak current (Spearman correlation coefficient was statistically significant and equal to −0.80). The range-normalized PB pulse peak exhibited statistically significant positive correlation with the RS peak current, with Spearman correlation coefficient being 0.48. Thus, it appears that the high-intensity (≥50 kA) negative lightning is characterized by shorter (and, by inference, faster) stepped leaders and more pronounced PB pulse trains.

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“…It is statistically significant at the 99.9% confidence level. Similar trends were previously observed in Florida [12], Japan [25], and China [26]. …”

Section: Characteristics Of Pb Pulse Trainssupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Characteristics Of Pb Pulse Trainssupporting

confidence: 82%

A Study of Preliminary Breakdown and Return Stroke Processes in High-Intensity Negative Lightning Discharges

2016

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“…Higher latitudes have a higher percentage of detectable PBPs than lower latitudes. In contrast, many researchers have argued that the first return stroke always involves PBPs in all negative CG flashes [7][8][9]. Their studies revealed that the detectable PBP percentage does not depend on latitude.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Some Characteristics of Multiple Stroke Negative Cloud to Ground Lightning Flashes in Padang

Hazmi¹,

Emeraldi²,

Hamid³

et al. 2016

ijeei

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The characteristics of multiple stroke negative cloud to ground (CG) lightning flashes in Padang, Indonesia based on electric field recording were investigated. 100 negative CG lightning flashes containing 623 strokes, recorded from August to October 2014, were examined. It was observed that all first return strokes (RS) negative CG lightning flashes were preceded by preliminary breakdown pulses (PBPs). However, only 40% of the detecable PBP trains could be analyzed statistically on PBP train duration, PBP-RS separation, and PBP/RS ratio, while the detectable leader pulses was 69%. In addition, it was also found that the arithmetic mean (AM) and maximum number of strokes were 5.2 and 18, respectively. The AM and geometric mean (GM) interstroke interval were 55.34 and 34.71 ms, respectively. Furthermore, 2% of the subsequent return stroke (SRS) peak electric fields were larger than those of the first return stroke (RS). The AM and GM ratios of SRS/RS were 0.36 and 0.3, respectively.Keywords: negative cloud to ground, preliminary breakdown, leader, return stroke, interstroke interval, peak electric field ratio IntroductionNegative cloud to ground (CG) lightning flashes is the most common type of CG discharges and has thereafter studied by many authors. A CG lightning flash usually contains preliminary breakdown pulses (PBPs) in the cloud and downward stepped leader (SL) propagation followed by the first return stroke (RS). The characteristics of a negative CG could largely be determined by the magnitude of the so called lower positive charge regions (LPCR) [1][2][3][4]. A larger LPCR causes the direction of negative leader propagation to be predominantly horizontal, even though finally the stepped leader propagates toward the ground. Meanwhile, a smaller LPCR causes negative stepped leader propagation to be predominantly vertical [5][6]. The time separation between PBPs and RS is approximately several milliseconds to hundreds of milliseconds. The generated electric field signature differentiates these processes. Nag and Rakov [5] stated that in negative CG lightning flashes, PBPs may not be detected on the first return stroke when the magnitude of the LPCR is very small. They claimed that CG lightning flashes vary in detectable PBP percentage according to latitude. Higher latitudes have a higher percentage of detectable PBPs than lower latitudes. In contrast, many researchers have argued that the first return stroke always involves PBPs in all negative CG flashes [7][8][9]. Their studies revealed that the detectable PBP percentage does not depend on latitude. A PBP can be detected if the amplitude of the PBP is above the noise level of the environment and electric field change sensors. However, Marshall et al. [9] have stated that they "cannot be certain that detection of PBPs always equals 100%" for all latitudes. In a more recent study, Zhu et al. [10] found that PBP detectability is not only affected by the sensor noise level but also by storm type, RS peak current and observation distance. The diffe...

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“…These pulses are called initial breakdown pulses or IBPs herein and have been called preliminary breakdown pulses, B pulses, and characteristic pulses by others. Many studies have been carried out using E-change sensors to characterize IBPs and to understand the physics behind them [e.g., Appleton and Chapman, 1937;Clarence and Malan, 1957;Kitagawa and Brook, 1960;Weidman and Krider, 1979;Beasley et al, 1982;Gomes et al, 1998;Nag and Rakov, 2008;Nag et al, 2009;Marshall et al, 2014]. Most of these studies have focused on the largest amplitude IBPs, which have a typical duration of 10-100 μs and often have several fast-rising subpulse on the initial portion of the bipolar waveform [e.g., Weidman and Krider, 1979]; these pulses have been called "classic" IBPs by Nag et al [2009].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling initial breakdown pulses of CG lightning flashes

et al. 2014

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Electric field change waveforms of initial breakdown pulses (IBPs) in cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flashes were recorded at ten sites at Kennedy Space center, Florida, in 2011. Six "classic" IBPs were modeled using three modified transmission line (MTL) models called MTLL, MTLE, and MTLK. The locations of the six IBPs were obtained using a time-of-arrival method and used as inputs for the models; the recorded IBP waveforms from six to eight sites were used as model constraints. All three models were able to reasonably fit the measured IBP waveforms; the best fit was most often given by the MTLE model. For each individual IBP, there was good agreement between the three models on several physical parameters of the IBPs: current risetime, current falltime, current shape factor, current propagation speed, and the total charge moment change. For the six IBPs modeled, the ranges, mean values, and standard deviations of these quantities are as follows: current risetime

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On the percentage of lightning flashes that begin with initial breakdown pulses

Cited by 58 publications

References 33 publications

A Study of Preliminary Breakdown and Return Stroke Processes in High-Intensity Negative Lightning Discharges

A Study of Preliminary Breakdown and Return Stroke Processes in High-Intensity Negative Lightning Discharges

Some Characteristics of Multiple Stroke Negative Cloud to Ground Lightning Flashes in Padang

Modeling initial breakdown pulses of CG lightning flashes

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