Simultaneous records of current and 380-km distant electric field of a bipolar lightning flash

In this paper, we present and discuss simultaneous records of current and wideband electric field waveforms at 380 km distance from the strike point associated with an upward bipolar flash initiated from the Säntis Tower. The flash contains 23 negative strokes and one positive stroke. The height of the ionospheric reflection for the positive pulse was inferred to be about 94.9 km, a value which is significantly higher than for negative pulses of this same flash, which range from 73 to 81 km. It is also found that the ratio of the peak field to the current peak is about two times smaller for the positive pulse compared to negative pulses. This difference can be attributed to a lower return stroke speed for the positive stroke compared to that for negative strokes, and also to the fact that the enhancement of the electric field due to the presence of the tower and the mountain might be more significant for negative pulses, which are characterized by faster risetimes, than for the positive pulse.