3D imaging of lightning channel and leader progression velocity

Three‐dimensional imaging of lightning channels by means of UHF interferometers is performed. To realize this, a field campaign was conducted with two observation sites in Darwin, Australia. The distance between the two sites is about 14 km, and the triangulation scheme is applied to estimate locations of UHF radiation sources. Since the UHF radiation is more likely during the leader progression than in the return stroke phase, imaging of lightning channels is obtained mainly for downward leaders. Velocities of downward leaders are estimated and statistics are presented for first and subsequent strokes. The result is consistent with those of former investigations obtained by optical observations. The statistics for the velocity of leader propagation inside thunderclouds are presented herein. Using optical measurement, velocity estimation of leader progressions inside thunderclouds is impossible, and the presented results are concluded to be the first results of their kind. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 137(3): 22–28, 2001