Modeling Transient Currents above the Thunderstorm Clouds

摘要

We investigate the way in which different types of lightning flashes, both cloud-to-ground (CG) and intracloud (IC) flashes, drive current in the global circuit. A numerical model of the transient electric field due to CG and IC lightning flashes and their Maxwell relaxation (slow transients) has been developed. The electric field (E) and current distributions, and the total charge transferred to the ionosphere and the ground are calculated. CG and IC flash efficiencies in moving charge in the global electric circuit are calculated and compared. Examples of balloon E data have been used for theory verification