Characteristics of Lightning Electromagnetic Fields Produced by Antarctica Storms
Sulaiman Ali Mohammad,
Mohd Riduan Ahmad,
Mardina Abdullah,
Park Sangjong,
Shamsul Ammar Shamsul Baharin,
Norbayah Yusop,
Gaopeng Lu,
Vernon Cooray
Affiliations
Sulaiman Ali Mohammad
Space Science Centre (ANGKASA), Institute of Climate Change (IPI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Mohd Riduan Ahmad
Atmospheric and Lightning Research Laboratory, Centre for Telecommunication Research and Innovation (CeTRI), Fakulti Kejuruteraan Elektronik dan Kejuruteraan Komputer, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Durian Tunggal 76100, Melaka, Malaysia
Mardina Abdullah
Space Science Centre (ANGKASA), Institute of Climate Change (IPI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Park Sangjong
Korea Polar Research Institute, 26 Songdomirae-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 406-840, Korea
Shamsul Ammar Shamsul Baharin
Atmospheric and Lightning Research Laboratory, Centre for Telecommunication Research and Innovation (CeTRI), Fakulti Kejuruteraan Elektronik dan Kejuruteraan Komputer, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Durian Tunggal 76100, Melaka, Malaysia
Norbayah Yusop
Atmospheric and Lightning Research Laboratory, Centre for Telecommunication Research and Innovation (CeTRI), Fakulti Kejuruteraan Elektronik dan Kejuruteraan Komputer, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Durian Tunggal 76100, Melaka, Malaysia
Gaopeng Lu
Key Laboratory of Middle Atmosphere and Global Environment Observation, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
Vernon Cooray
Ångström Laboratory, Division for Electricity, Department of Engineering Sciences, Uppsala University, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
This paper presents the temporal characteristics of electromagnetic fields produced by cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flashes associated with Antarctica storms. A total of 51 positive CG (+CG) and 103 negative CG (−CG) flashes have been recorded by a magnetic direction finder (MDF) sensor in King Sejong Station, King George Island. In total, 47 positive and 107 negative return strokes were located, ranges from 32 to 569 km. All CG flashes were detected to occur over the ocean. The return strokes characteristics include the observations of slow front, fast rising, rise time, and pulse duration with geometric mean values of 3.2, 0.53, 3.21, 13.12, and 67.09 µs for +CG flashes, while 3.9, 0.57, 3.72, 20.75, and 69.86 µs for −CG flashes, respectively. Additionally, the average peak currents of +CG and −CG flashes were 4.13 kA and 3.14 kA, respectively. The temporal characteristics of the return strokes of Antarctica storms are comparable to other geographical regions. The smaller peak currents might be due to small magnitude of Antarctica cloud charges when compared to other geographical regions.
