Catalog of Absolutely Calibrated, Range Normalized, Wideband, Electric Field Waveforms from Located Lightning Flashes in Florida: July 24 and August 14, 1985 Data

• Main Authors: Bailey, J C, Willett, J C
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: ANTENNAS; Atmospheric Physics; BROADBAND; ELECTRIC FIELDS; ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; FLASHES; FLAT PLATE ANTENNAS; FLORIDA; GROUND LEVEL; HIGH FREQUENCY; LIGHTNING; PE61153N; Radiofrequency Wave Propagation; SPECTRUM ANALYSIS; STATISTICAL ANALYSIS; STORMS; TIME; WAVEFORMS; WINDOWS; WUDN155016

The electric field and its time derivative from located intra-cloud and cloud to ground lightning discharges were measured in Florida over salt water paths with flat plate antennas mounted on the roof of a metallic trailer. Also recorded was the HF energy spectral density within a 1.45 microsecs time window at either 5, 10, or 15 MHz averaged over a 1 MHz bandwidth. In this report we present range-normalized waveforms of all located lightning events in two storms occurring on 07/24/85 and 08/14/85. These events are classified into 15 categories according to previously identified electric field waveforms. Statistical and spectral analyses of these data will be presented in forthcoming papers. One result became evident from the data. Approximately 57% of the first return strokes had HF radiation preceding them indicative of the characteristic pulses described by Beasley et al. 1984. It was unclear if this result indicates that characteristic pulses do not always precede first return strokes. Keywords: Lightning; Electric field; Electromagnetic radiation; High frequency; Radiation.