Sprites, Elves and Intense Lightning Discharges [Hardcover]

Particularly intense lightning discharges can produce transient luminous events above thunderclouds, termed sprites, elves and jets. These short lived optical emissions in the mesosphere can reach from the tops of thunderclouds up to the ionosphere; they provide direct evidence of coupling from the lower atmosphere to the upper atmosphere. Sprites are arguably the most dramatic recent discovery in solar-terrestrial physics. Shortly after the first ground based video recordings of sprites, observations on board the Space Shuttle detected sprites and elves occurring all around the world. These reports led to detailed sprite observations in North America, South America, Australia, Japan, and Europe. Subsequently, sprites were detected from other space platforms such as the International Space Station and the ROCSAT satellite. During the past 15 years, more than 200 contributions on sprites have been published in the scientific literature to document this rapidly evolving new research area.

Contents.Contributing Authors.Preface. Introduction to the Physics of Sprites, Elves and Intense Lightning Discharges.-1.1 Rasic Properties of the Atmosphere.-1.2 Risc Theory of Electrical Phenomena Occurring in the Atmosphere.-1.3 The Properties of Sprites, Elves and Intense Lightning Discharges.-1.4 Introduction to Theoriesand Numerical Modelling of Sprites.-1.5 Conclusions. Acknowledgements. The Meteorology of Transient Luminous an Introduction and Overview.-2.1 Introduction.-2.2 Observations of Convective Phenomena.-2.3 A Brief History of TEE Observations.-2.4 Characteristics of TLE-Parent Lirhthinc and Storms.-2.5 Research Frontiers Acknowledgments. The Microphysical and Electrical Properties of Sprite- Producing Thunderstorms.-3.1 Introduction.-3.2 The Non-Inductive Charging Process in Thunderclouds.-3.3 Cloud Scale Charge Structure Possible with the Non-Inductive Mechanism.-3.4 The Electrical Structure Inside Sprite-Producing Storms in Summer- time.l3J