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  4. Bipolar Lightning Flashes Observed at the Säntis Tower: Do We Need to Modify the Traditional Classification?
 
research article

Bipolar Lightning Flashes Observed at the Säntis Tower: Do We Need to Modify the Traditional Classification?

Azadifar, Mohammad  
•
Rachidi, Farhad  
•
Rubinstein, Marcos
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2016
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

We present and discuss current waveforms associated with 13 bipolar lightning flashes recorded at the Santis Tower during the period from June 2010 to January 2015. During this period, a total of 427 flashes were recorded, of which 13 (3%) were classified as bipolar flashes. The majority of the recorded flashes (10 out of 13) exhibited a polarity reversal during the initial continuous current, therefore belonging to Category I according to the classification proposed by Rakov (2003). Of the three remaining flashes, two were characterized by different polarities of the initial stage current and the following return stroke or strokes (Category II), and one flash involved return strokes of opposite polarity within the same flash (Category III). In Category I bipolar flashes, the polarity reversal is usually assumed to be associated with in- cloud processes. However, two of our 10 Category I flashes appeared to be each a sequence of two upward discharges of opposite polarity, initiated from the tower within tens of milliseconds of each other. This is the first time that such a sequence has been observed from the same tower. We suggest that the traditional classification of bipolar flashes should be modified to distinguish between two types of Category I flashes: those in which the polarity reversal during the initial stage is associated with in- cloud processes (Category Ia) and those in which the polarity reversal is due to initiation of two opposite- polarity leaders from the tower (Category Ib).

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1002/2016Jd025461
Web of Science ID

WOS:000394520300017

Author(s)
Azadifar, Mohammad  
Rachidi, Farhad  
Rubinstein, Marcos
Rakov, Vladimir A.
Paolone, Mario  
Pavanello, Davide
Date Issued

2016

Publisher

American Geophysical Union

Published in
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Volume

121

Issue

23

Start page

14117

End page

14126

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
SCI-STI-FR  
DESL  
Available on Infoscience
December 15, 2016
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/132016
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