Abstract
Blue jets are beams of blue light propagating from the tops of active thunderclouds up to altitudes of ∼50 km. They resemble tall trees with quasi-vertical trunk and filamentary branches. Their apparent speeds are in the range of 10 s to 100 s km/s. Other events, having essentially lower terminal altitudes (<26 km), are named blue starters. These phenomena represent the first documented class of upward electrical discharges in the stratosphere. Some of upward discharges, termed gigantic jets, propagate into the lower ionosphere at much higher speeds in the final phase. We describe salient features of the upward discharges in the atmosphere, give an assessment of the theories of their development, and discuss the consequences for the electrodynamics and chemistry of the stratosphere. We argue that this upward lightning phenomenon can be understood in terms of the bi-directional leader, emerging from the anvil.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
M. Arrayás, U. Ebert, W. Hundsdorfer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 174502-1–174502-4 (2002).
N. Babaeva, G. Naidis, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 25, 375 (1997)
E. Bazelyan, Y. Raizer, Spark Discharge (CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1998)
E. Bazelyan, Y. Raizer, Lightning Physics and Lightning Protection (IOP Publishing, Bristol, 2000)
T. Briels, J. Kos, E. van Veldhuizen et al., Appl. Phys. D 39, 5201 (2006)
W. Boeck, O. Vaughan, R. Blakeslee et al., J. Geophys. Res. 100, 1465 (1995)
W. Boeck, O. Vaughan, R. Blakeslee et al., J. Atm. Sol. Terr. Phys. 60, 669 (1998)
P. Crutzen, Quart. J.R. Met. Soc. 96, 320 (1970)
S. Cummer, N. Jaugey, J. Li, W. Lyons et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 33, L04104 (2006). doi:10.1029/2005GL024969
P. Domens, A. Gibert, J. Dupuy et al., Appl. Phys. D 24, 1748 (1991)
R. Franz, R. Nemzek, J. Winckler, Science 249(4964), 48051 (1990)
G. Garipov, M. Panasyuk, V. Tulupov et al., JETP Lett. 82, 185 (2005)
A. Gurevich, N. Borisov, G. Milikh, Physics of Microwave Discharge. Artificially Ionized Regions in the Atmosphere (Gordon and Breach, Reading, 1997)
A. Gurevich, K. Zybin, Physics-Uspekhi 44, 1119 (2001)
R. Holtzworth, H. Hu, Adv. Space Res. 16(5), 131 (1995)
H. Kasemir, J. Geophys. Res. 65, 1873 (1960)
I. Kochetov, E. Mishin, V. Telegin, Sov. Phys. Doklady 31, 990 (1986)
I. Kossyi, A. Kostinsky, A. Matveyev et al., Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 1, 207 (1992)
M. Lawrens, W. Chameides, P. Kasibhata et al., in Handbook of Atmospheric Electrodynamics, vol. 1, ed. by H. Volland (CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1995), p. 189
N. Lehtinen, U. Inan, Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L08804 (2007). doi:10.1029/2006GL029051
W. Lyons, Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 875 (1994)
W. Lyons, M. Stanley, T. Nelson et al., EOS 81, F131 (2000)
W. Lyons, T. Nelson, R. Armstrong et al., Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 84, 445 (2003)
V. Mazur, L. Ruhnke, J. Geophys. Res. 103, 23299 (1998)
E. Mishin, Geophys. Res. Lett. 24, 1919 (1997)
L. Niemeyer, L. Pietronero, H. Wiesmann, Phys. Rev. Lett. 52, 1033 (1984)
V. Pasko, M. Stanley, J. Mathews et al., Nature 416, 152 (2002)
V. Pasko, J. George, J. Geophys. Res. 107(23299), 1458 (2002). doi:10.1029/2002JA009473
V. Pasko, U. Inan, T. Bell, Geophys. Res. Lett. 23, 301 (1996)
N. Petrov, G. Petrova, Tech. Phys. 44, 472 (1999)
Y. Raizer, Gas Discharge Physics (Springer, Berlin, 1991)
Y. Raizer, G. Milikh, M. Shneider et al., Appl. Phys. D 31, 3255 (1998)
Y. Raizer, G. Milikh, M. Shneider, Geophys. Res. Lett. 33, L23801 (2006). doi:10.1029/2006GL027697
Y. Raizer, G. Milikh, M. Shneider, J. Atm. Sol. Terr. Phys. 69, 925 (2007)
V. Rakov, M. Uman, Lightning: Physics and Effects (Cambridge, Cambridge, 2003)
R. Roussel-Dupré, A. Gurevich, J. Geophys. Res. 101, 2297 (1996)
H. Rowland, J. Atmos. Sol. Terr. Phys. 60, 831 (1998)
C. Saunders, Space Sci. Rev. (2008, this issue)
D. Sentman, E. Wescott, Geophys. Res. Lett. 20, 2857 (1993)
D. Sentman, E. Wescott, EOS Trans., AGU 77, 1 (1996)
D. Sentman, E. Wescott, D. Osborne et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 22, 1205 (1995)
N. Smirnova, A. Lyakhov, S. Kozlov, Int. J. Geom. Aeron. 3, 281 (2003)
H. Stenbaek-Nielsen, M. McHarg, T. Kanmae et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 34, L11105 (2007). doi:10.1029/2007GL029881
M. Stoltzenburg, T. Marshal, Space Sci. Rev. (2008, this issue). doi:10.1007/s11214-008-9338-z
H. Su, R. Hsu, A. Chen, Y. Wang et al., Nature 423, 974 (2003)
A. Sukhorukov, E. Mishin, P. Stubbe et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 23, 1625 (1996)
A. Sukhorukov, P. Stubbe, J. Atmos. Sol. Terr. Phys. 60, 725 (1998)
V. Trakhtengerts, D. Iudin, Radiophys. Quant. Electron. 48, 720 (2005)
A. Vallance-Jones, Aurora (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1974)
O. Vaughan Jr., B. Vonnegut, J. Geophys. Res. 94, 13179 (1989)
O. Vaughan Jr., R. Blakeslee, W. Boeck et al., Mon. Weather Rev. 120(7), 1459 (1992)
E. Wescott, D. Sentman, D. Osborne et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 22, 1209 (1995)
E. Wescott, D. Sentman, M. Heavner et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 23, 2153 (1996)
E. Wescott, D. Sentman, M. Heaver et al., J. Atm. Sol. Terr. Phys. 60, 713 (1998)
E. Wescott, D. Sentman, H. Stenbaek-Nielsen et al., J. Geophys. Res. 106, 21549 (2001)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mishin, E.V., Milikh, G.M. Blue Jets: Upward Lightning. Space Sci Rev 137, 473–488 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-008-9346-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-008-9346-z