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A Rocket-Triggered Lightning Flash Containing Negative-Positive-Negative Current Polarity Reversal during its Initial Stage
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  • Fengquan Li,
  • Zhuling Sun,
  • Rubin Jiang,
  • Guoying Tang,
  • Mingyuan Liu,
  • Xiao Li,
  • Hongbo Zhang,
  • Shanfeng Yuan,
  • Ye Tian,
  • Xiushu Qie
Fengquan Li
Key Laboratory of Middle Atmosphere and Global Environment Observation
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Zhuling Sun
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Rubin Jiang
Key Laboratory of Middle Atmosphere and Global Environment Observation
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Guoying Tang
Institute of Arid Meteorology
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Mingyuan Liu
Key Laboratory of Middle Atmosphere and Global Environment Observation
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Xiao Li
Key Laboratory of Middle Atmosphere and Global Environment Observation
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Hongbo Zhang
Key Laboratory of Middle Atmosphere and Global Environment Observation
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Shanfeng Yuan
Key Laboratory of Middle Atmosphere and Global Environment Observation
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Ye Tian
Beijing Meteorological Observation Center, Beijing Meteorological Service, Beijing 100089, China
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Xiushu Qie
Key Laboratory of Middle Atmosphere and Global Environment Observation
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Abstract

A rocket-triggered lightning flash containing negative–positive–negative current polarity reversal during its initial stage is analyzed using multiple synchronized observation data. The flash was triggered under a thunderstorm transition zone between the convective region and the stratiform region. Both positive leaders developing in the transition zone and negative leaders developing toward the convective region could be identified. As the negative initial continuous current (ICC) declined, a negative leader was transformed from a recoil leader which turned to break down virgin air off the preconditioned positive leader branch. As the negative leader developing forward, a reactivated breakdown leader bridging the grounding trunk channel and the initiation region of the negative leader caused the current polarity reversed from negative to positive 0.22 ms later, which is reported for the first time. The negative leader channel terminated after propagating for 71.08 ms, and the ICC reversed to be negative again owing to the propagation of another positive branch. The horizontal dipole charge structure contributed to the branching of positive leader and the initiation of negative leader, which combined to produce the upward bipolar lightning. During the positive ICC stage, both positive and negative channels simultaneously contributed to the channel-base current and several negative recoil leaders injecting negative charge to the grounding trunk channel produced a fast decrease of the current.
16 May 2021Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres volume 126 issue 9. 10.1029/2020JD033187