Detectable initial breakdown pulses and the following discharges

Abstract:

The initial breakdown which was descripted by so-called BIL model is an important discharge process. Bipolar pulses as important signals of initial breakdown process, were usually used in the research. However, the detectability of the pulses is different in different researches. At the same time, the discharge process from initial breakdown to return stroke is not always the simple BIL model. In the research, using electric field waveforms of lightning discharges observed in Beijing and Guangzhou, the detectable initial breakdown (preliminary breakdown, PB) pulses and the following discharges are analyzed. The results show that, (1) Although, the percentage of detectable PB pulse trains is just as a function of latitude in large range of latitude, the values are similar in Beijing and Guangzhou, which indicate that the characteristic of storm also play a key role in detectable PB besides the latitude. (2)According to the difference in discharge process of following PB pulse, three discharge types, which exhibits PB pulses followed by inverted IC, hybrid flash, leader and RS, can be identified. And the fourth type only exhibits a RS waveform without detectable PB pulses. (3)The discharge with undetectable PB pulse is dominant in Beijing and Guangzhou. But the percentage of each discharge type is obvious different in the two regions. The occurrence of different discharge types and different percentage in Beijing and Guangzhou can be contributed to the difference in low positive charge region.