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A theoretical discussion of the discharge effects of upward lightning simulated with a fine-resolution 2D thunderstorm model is performed in this paper, and the results reveal that the estimates of the total induced charge on the upward lightning discharge channels range from 0.67 to 118.8 C, and the average value is 19.0 C, while the ratio of the induced charge on the leader channels to the total opposite-polarity charge in the discharge region ranges from 5.9% to 47.3%, with an average value of 14.7%. Moreover, the average value of the space electrostatic energy consumed by upward lightning is 1.06×109 J. The above values are lower than those related to intracloud lightning discharges. The density of the deposited opposite-polarity charge is comparable in magnitude to that of the preexisting charge in the discharge area, and the deposition of these opposite-polarity charges rapidly destroys the original space potential well in the discharge area and greatly reduces the space electric field strength. In addition, these opposite-polarity charges are redistributed with the development of thunderstorms. The space charge redistribution caused by lightning discharges partly accounts for the complexity of the charge structures in a thunderstorm, and the complexity gradually decreases with the charge neutralization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of atmospheric electricity research has been increasingly recognized in recent decades. Research on atmospheric electricity has been actively conducted since the 1980s in China. Lightning physics and its effects, as important branches of atmospheric electricity, have received more attention because of their significance both in scientific research and lightning protection applications. This paper reviews atmospheric electricity research based primarily on ground-based field experiments at different regions in China in the last decade. The results described in this review include physics and effects of lightning, rocket-triggered lightning and its physical processes of discharge, thunderstorm electricity on the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas, lightning activity associated with severe convective storms, the effect and response of lightning to climate change, numerical simulation of thunderstorm electrification and lightning discharge, lightning detection and location techniques, and transient luminous events above thunderstorms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]