Measurement and Anaylsis of Vertical Profiles of the Electric Field in Severe Storms During STEPS

计划于2000年初夏在堪萨斯州西部进行的严重雷暴电气化和降水研究野外计划(STEPS)将使用飞机、雷达和其他观测系统提供雷暴及其周围的广泛观测。作为步骤的一部分，MacGorman博士和他的合作者David Rust博士将发射气球，这些气球配备了测量并传输回地面的温度、风速和方向，以及气球在雷暴中上升时的电场强度。这项研究的目的是(1)从不同类型的强风暴的电荷分布来研究闪电的成因；(2)确定相对罕见的带正电的云对地闪电是否与冰雹的产生有关，并可用作风暴严重程度的指标；(3)确定雷暴的电气结构与风暴中的空气运动和降水的关系。对数据的分析将与美国国家科学基金会支持的其他STEPS项目密切协调，包括新墨西哥理工学院闪电测绘仪(ATM-9912073)、寒风雷达(ATM-9912051和-9982030)以及南达科他州装甲T-28飞机(ATM-9981175)。

The Severe Thunderstorm Electrification and Precipitation Study field program (STEPS), planned for the early summer of 2000 in western Kansas, will provide a wide range of observations in and around thunderstorms using aircraft, radar, and other observing systems. As part of STEPS, Dr. MacGorman and his Co-PI Dr. David Rust will launch balloons that are equipped to measure and transmit back to ground the temperature, wind speed and direction, and electric field strength as the balloons ascend through thunderstorms. Objectives of the research are (1) to examine the genesis of lightning flashes relative to the charge distribution of different types of severe storms; (2) to ascertain whether the relatively infrequent occurrence of positively charged cloud-to-ground lightning is associated with hail production and may be used as an indicator of storm severity; (3) to determine the electrical structure of thunderstorms in relation to the air motions and precipitation in the storms. Analysis of the data will be closely coordinated with other NSF-supported STEPS projects, including the New Mexico Tech lightning mapper (ATM-9912073), the CHILL radar (ATM-9912051 and -9982030), and the South Dakota armored T-28 airplane (ATM-9981175).