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Two downward negative flashes (F1612 & F1613) with multiple return strokes struck to the 356-m Shenzhen Tower were analyzed. The high-speed camera captured upward positive connecting leaders (UCL) for the first strokes of both flashes and two subsequent strokes of F1612. The observations also show that none of the downward negative leader (DNL) completely propagated to the tower tip before the occurrence of the return stroke (RS), so that we inferred that the UCL initiated from the tower tip might exist for each RS of the two flashes. The possible height of the UCL and DNL connecting point above the tower tip for each RS was estimated, which showed a positive correlation to the speed of corresponding DNL. The striking distances estimated for 8 subsequent RSs in F1612 were in a range from 14.6 m to 85.4 m and that for 3 subsequent RSs in F1613 were from 24.2 m to 66.2 m. There was a weak positive linear relationship between the DNL speed and striking distance for subsequent RSs in the two flashes. The DNL speed showed a positive correlation to the peak current of corresponding RS. • Two negative flashes with multiple return strokes to a tall tower were studied based on high-speed camera measurements. • Upward connecting leaders from the tower tip were observed for the first time for two subsequent return strokes of a flash. • Heights of upward and downward leader connecting points showed a positive correlation to the downward leader speeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A very close high‐speed video observation of lightning attachment to a building revealed novel details regarding the leader streamer zone dynamics. Upward leaders propagate in a steady and unbranched manner, displaying a uniformly luminous corona brush. The exception being the upward connecting leader (UCL) just before connection, when its streamer zone increases in size and develops a more filamentary pattern. Downward negative leaders have 3‐m long multiple streamers emanating from each negative leader tip. On some occasions, plasma formations known as space stems are seen to form in the location previously occupied by negative streamers. Space stems have luminosities comparable to the main leader channel, but are detached from it by 4 m. Some space stems display streamers of their own, including cases where streamers are emanating from both ends. The space stem formation hampered the propagation of the negative leader that was closest to the UCL. Plain Language Summary: A serendipitous close observation of a natural lightning flash revealed novel details of the lightning attachment process to residential buildings in highly populated areas. A staggering total of 31 lightning precursor channels (called leaders) were launched from nearby buildings in an attempt to intercept the down coming negative leaders. The upward positive leaders propagate almost in a straight path manner, do not branch, and display a uniformly luminous "corona brush" at their tips. This contrasts with the negative leaders coming down from the cloud, which present substantial branching and have numerous filaments (called streamers) emanating from their tips. The high‐speed and high‐resolution images obtained also revealed that, in some cases, the negative leaders display a luminous formation that is about 2 m long and is detached from the main channel by about 4 m. These observations consist of one of the rare sightings of these luminous formations known in the peer‐reviewed literature as "space stems." It is understood that space stems play a key role in the stepped propagation of negative leaders. In these observations, it seems that they hamper the leader propagation, making the upward connecting leader intercept a different downward branch, which was originally more distant from the striking point. Key Points: Very close high‐speed video observation of lightning attachment reveals details of corona brush, streamers and space stemsStreamer zone of upward connecting leader increases in size and develops a more filamentary patternSome space stems display streamers emanating from both ends, forming an embryonic bidirectional space leader [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using video data recorded at 50,000 frames per second for nearby negative lightning flashes, estimates are derived for the length of positive upward connecting leaders (UCLs) that presumably formed prior to new ground attachments. Return strokes were 1.7 to 7.8 km distant, yielding image resolutions of 4.25 to 19.5 m. No UCLs are imaged in these data, indicating those features were too transient or too dim compared to other lightning processes that are imaged at these resolutions. Upper bound lengths for 17 presumed UCLs are determined from the height above flat ground or water of the successful stepped leader tip in the image immediately prior to (within 20 μs before) the return stroke. Better estimates of maximum UCL lengths are determined using the downward stepped leader tip's speed of advance and the estimated return stroke time within its first frame. For 17 strokes, the upper bound length of the possible UCL averages 31.6 m and ranges from 11.3 to 50.3 m. Among the close strokes (those with spatial resolution <8 m per pixel), the five which connected to water (salt water lagoon) have UCL upper bound estimates averaging significantly shorter (24.1 m) than the average for the three close strokes which connected to land (36.9 m). The better estimates of maximum UCL lengths for the eight close strokes average 20.2 m, with slightly shorter average of 18.3 m for the five that connected to water. All the better estimates of UCL maximum lengths are <38 m in this dataset [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A downward negative lightning flash that contained three return strokes and terminated on a 440-m-high building in Guangzhou in 2012 was analyzed. The three-dimensional (3-D) channels of the return stroke and an unconnected upward leader (UUL) were reconstructed using the dual-station optical observation data. The 3-D propagation characteristics of the downward leader, the upward connecting leader (UCL), and the UUL during the attachment process prior to the first return stroke were obtained. For the 3-D propagation speed, both the UCL and the UUL exhibit an increasing trend after their inception, whereas the downward leader shows no clear trend, except for the final 200 μs preceding the first return stroke onset. The speed of the UCL can reach five times that of the downward leader. The two-dimensional propagation characteristics of these leaders during the attachment process were also analyzed using single-station high-speed video recordings and compared with the 3-D results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of the corona space charge layer created at ground level on lightning attachment to high (20–100 m) slender objects is numerically studied. The shielding effect of corona space charge produced near the object tip on the electric field at ground level is considered. The behavior of a non-stationary streamer-free corona developed from ground irregularities in a time-varying thundercloud electric field is discussed. The initiation of an upward leader from the tip of a high grounded object is simulated in the electric field created by a storm-cloud, approaching downward leader and space charge produced by corona at ground level and near the object tip. The corona space charge produced on the ground surface is shown to affect only slightly the inception of an upward connecting leader from the object when the local electric field near the object tip rises rapidly due to an approaching downward leader. The effect of neutral aerosol particles on lightning attachment to high grounded slender objects is also small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six downward negative flashes terminated on tall structures in Guangzhou are analyzed. The three-dimensional (3-D) lightning channels are reconstructed from dual-station optical observations. For each reconstructed 3-D upward connecting leader (UCL) channel, its 3-D length and speed are calculated. The 3-D length values of the six positive UCLs range from 180 to 818 m. There are 38 3-D speed values which are calculated combining the 3-D UCL channel and the high-speed images for the six UCLs. The 3-D speed values range from 0.8 to 14.3 × 10 5 m s − 1 and four of them (11%, 4/38) are on the order of 10 6 m s − 1 . For comparison, the corresponding two-dimensional (2-D) parameters are calculated using the single-station high-speed images. The values of the 2-D length and 2-D speed range from 147 to 610 m and 0.3 to 10.6 × 10 5 m s − 1 , respectively. From the statistical analysis, we determine that the average value of the 3-D speed is 1.3 times that of the 2-D speed. When the time is approaching the return stroke (RS), the propagation speed of the UCL is increasing. All of the four 3-D speed values on the order of 10 6 m s − 1 occur less than 0.2 ms prior to the RS. When the 3-D length is shorter than 300 m, 77% (20/26) of the corresponding 3-D speed values are smaller than 5 × 10 5 m s − 1 . When the 3-D length is longer than 300 m or the UCL tip height is higher than 650 m, all of the corresponding 3-D speed values are faster than 5 × 10 5 m s − 1 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a generalized transmission line model of the lightning return stroke, we have investigated the influences of the presence of a tall strike object and an upward connecting leader on the magnitude of lightning current and on associated electric and magnetic fields. For a typical subsequent lightning return stroke, the peak current at the bottom of a 100-m-high object is 1.5 times larger than the channel base peak current for the same strike to the flat ground, regardless of the presence of a 20-m-long upward connecting leader, while the lightning peak current at the top of the strike object is not much different from the current in the absence of the object. The vertical electric field due to a lightning strike to a 100-m-high object Eẕflat is reduced relative to that due to the same strike to the flat ground Eẕflat at distances ranging from 30 m to 200 m from the object and enhanced at distances greater than 200 m. The azimuthal magnetic field for the tall object case H φ̱tall is larger than that for the flat ground case H φ̱flat at any distance. Beyond about 3km, E ẕtall/E ẕflat becomes insensitive to distance change and is equal to H φ̱tall/H φ̱flat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: For the purpose of estimating the efficacy of a lightning rod, the current of a corona was numerically calculated from a rod placed (i) centrally on the roof of a vertical grounded cylindrical structure, a model of a man-made object, and (ii) at the top of a grounded hemispherical structure of large radius, such as a hill or mountain. The calculations were carried out for a slowly varying thundercloud electric field and when this field was enhanced by the charge of an approaching downward leader. In case (i), variation of the ratio between the height and radius of the cylindrical structure leads to a variation in the (a) corona current from the tip of the rod over a wide range and (b) distance from which lightning is attached to the rod. In case (ii), it is shown that, contrary to the case of rods installed on the ground surface, a slowly rising thundercloud electric field can be sufficient to initiate streamers and upward leaders from rods tens of meters in height installed on the top of tall, grounded, hemispherical structures. When the thundercloud electric field is enhanced by the charge of an approaching downward leader, the discharge processes near the rod depend on its length and the height of the tip of the downward leader relative to the top of the hemispherical structure, but are almost independent of the hemisphere radius. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The principal results of triggered-lightning experiments conducted at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) at Camp Blanding, Florida, from 1993 through 2002 are reviewed. These results include (a) characterization of the close lightning electromagnetic environment, (b) first lightning return-stroke speed profiles within 400 m of ground, (c) new insights into the mechanism of the dart-stepped (and by inference stepped) leader, (d) identification of the M-component mode of charge transfer to ground, (e) first optical image of upward connecting leader in triggered-lightning strokes, (f) electric fields in the immediate vicinity of the lightning channel, (g) inferences on the interaction of lightning with ground and with grounding electrodes, (h) discovery of X-rays produced by triggered-lightning strokes, (i) new insights into the mechanism of cutoff and reestablishment of current in rocket-triggered lightning. Selected results are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]