Electron acceleration above thunderclouds

• Published in: Environmental Research Letters
• Main Authors: Martin Füllekrug, Ivana Kolmasova, Ondrej Santolik, Thomas Farges, József Bór, Alec Bennett, Michel Parrot, William Rison, Ferruccio Zanotti, Enrico Arnone, Andrew Mezentsev, Radek Lan, Ludek Uhlir, Giles Harrison, Serge Soula, Oscar van der Velde, Jean-Louis Pinçon, Christiane Helling, Declan Diver
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 2013-01-01
• Subjects: 92.60.Pw; 92.60.Ta; 92.60.Qx; atmospheric electricity; lightning; electromagnetic wave propagation
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035027

The acceleration of electrons results in observable electromagnetic waves which can be used for remote sensing. Here, we make use of ∼4 Hz–66 MHz radio waves emitted by two consecutive intense positive lightning discharges to investigate their impact on the atmosphere above a thundercloud. It is found that the first positive lightning discharge initiates a sprite where electrons are accelerated during the exponential growth and branching of the sprite streamers. This preconditioned plasma above the thundercloud is subsequently exposed to a second positive lightning discharge associated with a bouncing-wave discharge. This discharge process causes a re-brightening of the existing sprite streamers above the thundercloud and initiates a subsequent relativistic electron beam.