Various Properties of Natural and Triggered Lightning Discharges

小行星9726100 虽然闪电现象已经观察了一段时间，但许多方面都是未知的。 这项研究的总体目标是进一步提高现有的知识，包括闪电放电的物理过程。本文拟进行实验和理论研究。 实验研究将在佛罗里达布兰丁营的国际闪电研究和测试中心以及盖恩斯维尔的佛罗里达大学校园的闪电观测站进行。 布兰丁营地有独特的设施，可以从头顶的雷雨云中人工引发（触发）闪电。 对于触发和自然闪电放电，将测量电场和磁场。此外，还将测量触发闪电时的基电流。 闪电通道的光学图像将通过各种视频、静态和条纹相机以及数字光学系统获得。 GPS定时将允许这些测量与国家闪电探测网络报告和舒曼共振瞬变的发生相关。 将尝试启动和表征更有活力和潜在的精灵生产正闪电。 将研究从未接地物体引发闪电和闪电附着到地面的详细机制。 在8个站点测量电场和磁场，其中7个站点位于触发闪电通道的5米至500米之间，将用于推断闪电通道上电荷密度和电流的分布，并验证或反驳现有的闪电模型。 首次尝试通过实验研究闪电能量，以解决长期存在的关于闪电能量大小的争议。 总体而言，拟议研究的结果将为各种照明过程的物理学提供新的见解，并对大气赫里克科学的其他领域产生影响，包括大气化学（闪电产生痕量气体的能量）以及闪电与高层大气的相互作用（特别是正闪电产生的精灵）。 ***

9726100 Rakov While the phenomenon of lightning has been observed for some time, many aspects are unknown. The overall objective of this research is further improvement in the existing knowledge of the physical processes comprising the lightning discharge. Both experimental and theoretical studies are planed. The experimental studies will be conducted at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing at Camp Blanding, Florida, and at the Lightning Observatory on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. Camp Blanding contains unique facilities for artificial lightning initiation (triggering) from overhead thunderclouds. For both triggered and natural lightning discharges, electric and magnetic fields will be measured. Channel-base currents will be additionally measured for triggered lightning. Optical images of lightning channels will be obtained with a variety of video, still, and streak cameras, and with a digital optical system. GPS timing will allow the correlation of these measurements with the National Lightning Detection Network reports and to the occurrence of Schumann resonance transients. Attempts to initiate and characterize more energetic and potentially sprite-producing positive lightning will be made. Detailed mechanisms of lightning initiation from an ungrounded object and of lightning attachment to ground will be studied. Measurements of electric and magnetic fields at eight stations, seven of them between 5 and 500 meters of the triggered-lightning channel, will be used to infer the distribution of charge density and current on the lightning channel and to validate or refute existing lightning models. The first attempt to study experimentally the lightning energy in order to resolve the long-standing controversy on its magnitude will be made. Overall, the results of the proposed research will provide new insights into the physics of various lighting processes with implications for other areas of Atmosp heric Sciences, including atmospheric chemistry (energy available for trace gas production by lightning) and the interaction of lightning with the upper atmosphere (in particular, the production of sprites by positive lightning). ***