Difference Between 2D and 3D Development Characteristics of an Upward Lightning Leader

Guan Yunong; Lü Weitao; Qi Qi; Wu Bin; Ma Ying; Chen Lüwen; Liu Hengyi; Zhang Yijun

doi:10.11898/1001-7313.20230508

Vol.34, NO.5, 2023

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Guan Yunong, Lü Weitao, Qi Qi, et al. Difference between 2D and 3D development characteristics of an upward lightning leader. J Appl Meteor Sci, 2023, 34(5): 598-607. DOI: 10.11898/1001-7313.20230508.

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Guan Yunong, Lü Weitao, Qi Qi, et al. Difference between 2D and 3D development characteristics of an upward lightning leader. J Appl Meteor Sci, 2023, 34(5): 598-607. DOI: 10.11898/1001-7313.20230508.

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Difference Between 2D and 3D Development Characteristics of an Upward Lightning Leader

DOI: 10.11898/1001-7313.20230508

Guan Yunong^{1, 2},
Lü Weitao^{2
,
,},
Qi Qi²,
Wu Bin^{2, 3},
Ma Ying²,
Chen Lüwen⁴,
Liu Hengyi²,
Zhang Yijun¹

1.
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences & Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438
2.
State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather & CMA Key Laboratory of Lightning, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081
3.
CMA Research Center on Meteorological Observation Engineering Technology, Beijing 100081
4.
Guangzhou Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology, CMA, Guangzhou 510641

Received Date: 2023-02-08
Rev Recd Date: 2023-05-25
Publish Date: 2023-09-30

Abstract

Abstract

Tall object not only has a high probability of being struck by downward lightning, but also is easy to trigger upward lightning. Comparing with 2D optical observation, reconstructed 3D observation by dual-station optical observation can better reflect the real characteristics of the lightning channel. Based on the synchronous dual-station optical observations from the Tall-Object Lightning Observatory in Guangzhou (TOLOG), an upward lightning triggered by a nearby positive cloud-to-ground (CG) flash at Guangzhou Tower is investigated, and 2D and 3D development characteristics of the upward leader are compared.The result shows that the length of 3D channel is 5.4 km, which is 1.5 times of 2D channel. 3D channel is developed at a height of more than 4.6 km in the vertical direction and about 800 m in the horizontal direction. 2D speed ranges from 1.8×10⁴ to 4.5×10⁵ m·s^-1, with an average of 1.8×10⁵ m·s^-1. 3D speed ranges from 3.8×10⁴ to 7.2×10⁵ m·s^-1, with an average value of 2.8×10⁵ m·s^-1. Within 10 ms after the leader initiation, 3D and 2D speeds show roughly the same trend. After 10 ms, 2D rate decreases significantly and changes little over time, while 3D speed shows an obvious irregular fluctuation with time. The ratio of 3D speed and 2D speed ranges from 1 to 4.7, with an average of 1.5. The ratio remains stable at 1-2 for the first 10 ms after leader initiation and then shows irregular fluctuations with time. In fact, due to the change of horizontal development direction of the channel 10 ms after the leader initiation, the distance between the channel and the station-1 increases rapidly, leading to increasing speed difference between 3D and 2D observations. The cause for the fluctuation of 3D speed and 2D speed ratio is that the angle between the development direction of the channel and the sight direction of the observation station changes greatly. The results of 2D and 3D vary greatly at a certain stage of upward leader development, which further proves the importance of analyzing 3D development characteristics of lightning.
- upward flash;
- dual-station optical observation;
- 3D reconstruction of channel;
- 3D development characteristics;
- difference in characteristics

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References(46)

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1 Waveforms of changes in fast electric field(a) and image brightness(b)

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Fig. 2 Positions of Canton Tower relative to ground termination points of positive cloud-to-ground flash, station-1 and station-2

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Fig. 3 2D leader speed change with time(a) and change with height(b) of FA19014

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图 4 观测点1的HC-1(a)和观测点2的LCI-03(b)拍摄的此次上行闪电图像

(为提升显示效果，对图像进行反相处理并对闪电通道进行增强)

Fig. 4 Upward lightning images captured by HC-1 at station-1(a) and LCI-03 at station-2(b)

(images are inverted and pixel values of lightning channel in images are enhanced for better display)

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Fig. 5 reconstruction channel of FA19014 and projection view on X-Y plane(a),X-Z plane(b) and Y-Z plane(c)

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Fig. 6 3D speed changes with time(a) and with height(b) of FA19014

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Fig. 7 3D speed,2D speed and their ratio change with time of FA19014

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图 8 三维速率和二维速率差异

(a)三维速率和二维速率之比的实际值与理论值关系，(b)速率比实际值与理论值随时间变化, (c)三维闪电通道与观测点1在空间中的位置对比(灰色通道表示该部分三维速率与二维速率差异较大)，(d)d₁与φ随时间变化

Fig. 8 Differences in velocity between 3D and 2D

(a)actual ratio of 3D speed and 2D speed versus theoretical values of ratio, (b)changes of actual and theoretical ratio with time, (c)relative position of 3D reconstruction channel and station-1 in space (grey channel denotes huge difference between 3D and 2D speed), (d)changes of d₁ and φ with ime

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Table 1 Details of optical observation instruments in the study

设备编号	观测站点	帧率/s^-1	空间分辨率	记录时长/ms	预触发时长/ms	焦距/mm
HC-1	观测点1	20000	1024 × 1024	50	25	14
HC-3	观测点1	1000	1024 × 1024	1650	150	8
LCI-03	观测点2	50	780 × 582			5

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