Simulations of electric fields within a thunderstorm

Abstract

Given measurements for the electric fields in a thunderstorm, what are the associated current generators? Fits based on an analytic formula that neglects conduction currents give approximations to the current generators while simulations based on the thunderstorm model yield refinements to the generators. As a specific illustration, we obtain estimates for current generators associated with a storm observed at the Kennedy Space Center. It is observed that as the charged particles associated with the thunderstorm are spread over a larger and larger volume, the flash rate decreases while the charge transfer associated with each flash increases. Also, it is seen that a series of intracloud flashes can produce a charge imbalance in the cloud that will eventually lead to a cloud-to-ground discharge. -from Authors