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Observations of Blue Corona Discharges in Thunderclouds
  • +6
  • Lasse Husbjerg,
  • Torsten Neubert,
  • Olivier Chanrion,
  • Krystallia Dimitriadou,
  • Dongshuai Li,
  • Martin Stendel,
  • Eigil Kaas,
  • Nikolai Østgaard,
  • Víctor Reglero
Lasse Husbjerg
National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space)

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Torsten Neubert
Department of Solar System Physics, Denmark
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Olivier Chanrion
National Space Institute (DTU Space)
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Krystallia Dimitriadou
National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space)
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Dongshuai Li
National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space)
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Martin Stendel
Danish Meteorological institute
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Eigil Kaas
University of Copenhagen
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Nikolai Østgaard
Birkeland Centre for Space Science,University of Bergen
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Víctor Reglero
University of Valencia
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Abstract

Blue electric streamer discharges in the upper reaches of thunderclouds are observed as flashes of 337.0 nm (blue) with faint or no emissions of 777.4 nm (red). Analyzing 3 years of measurements by the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) on the International Space Station (ISS), we find that their distribution in rise time falls into two categories. One with fast rise times of 30 μs or less that are relatively unaffected by cloud scattering and emanate from within ∼2 km of the cloud tops, and another with longer rise times from deeper within the clouds. 46% of cells generating shallow events are associated with overshooting tops compared to 31% of cells generating deeper events. The median Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) of the cells is ∼50% higher for the shallow events and ∼30% higher for the deeper events than for lightning cells, suggesting the discharges are favoured by strongly convective environments.