Laboratory studies of the effect of cloud conditions on graupel/crystal charge transfer in thunderstorm electrification

Abstract

Collisions between vapour-grown ice crystals and a riming target, representing a graupel pellet falling in a thunderstorm, were shown by Reynolds, Brook and Gourley to transfer substantial charge, which they showed to be adequate to account for the development of charge centres leading to lightning in thunderstorms. Related experiments by Takahashi and Jayaratne et al. determined that the sign of charge transferred is dependent on the cloud liquid water content and on cloud temperature. There are marked differences between the results of Takahashi and Jayaratne in the details of the dependence they noted of the sign of graupel charging on cloud water and temperature. More recently, Pereyra et al. have shown that results somewhat similar in form to those of Takahashi are obtained by modifying the experimental technique used to prepare the clouds of ice crystals and supercooled water droplets used in the experiments.

In order to help resolve the reason for the differences in charge transfer results in various studies, work has continued in the Manchester laboratory with a modified cloud chamber in which the cloud conditions of the crystals and droplets may be controlled independently. Results indicate a profound effect on the charge sign of the particle growth conditions in the two clouds involved. For example, by suitable adjustments to the water contents of the two clouds, graupel is charged negatively by rebounding ice crystal collisions at higher cloud water contents than have been noted previously. It is suggested that the most important influence on charge sign is the relative diffusional growth rate of the two ice surfaces at the moment of impact and that this is affected by an increase in cloud supersaturation experienced by the ice crystals during the cloud mixing process just prior to collision. A range of cloud conditions is used in the present work in order to help determine the reasons for the various results reported previously.

Examination of some thunderstorm observations in the context of the present results points to the importance of mixing on the sign of the charge transferred during particle collisions when two cloud regions of different histories mix together. Copyright © 2006 Royal Meteorological Society