Measurement of charge transfer in sprite‐producing lightning using ELF radio atmospherics

Transient high altitude optical emissions referred to as “sprites” are believed to occur as a result of the transfer of large amounts of charge (∼100–300 C) from cloud altitudes of 5–10 km to the ground. Using a general subionospheric ELF propagation model, we quantitatively interpret magnetic field waveforms of ELF radio atmospherics originating in mid‐western U.S. lightning discharges and observed at Stanford (∼1800 km range) to determine the temporal variation of the lightning current and thereby measure the charge transfer during the stroke. For 6 sprite‐producing lightning current waveforms observed on July 24, 1996, we find that 25 to 325 coulombs of charge was transferred during the first 5 ms of the discharges, assuming a 10 km altitude for the initial charge.