Charge source of cloud-to-ground lightning and charge structure of a typical thunderstorm in the Chinese Inland Plateau

GPS-synchronized measurements of electric (E) field changes induced by lightning flashes were recorded at six stations in the northeastern verge of the Tibetan Plateau. The height and magnitude of charge neutralized by 65 return strokes, including 16 negative cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes and 2 positive CG flashes, have been fitted with the nonlinear least-square method based on the E field changes of CG flashes observed in a typical thunderstorm with larger-than-usual lower positive charge center (LPCC). Results show that the height of the charge region neutralized by negative CG flashes ranges from 3 km to 5 km above the ground, corresponding to an ambient temperature between − 2 °C and − 15 °C. For the two positive CG flashes, the neutralized charge regions are located at a height of about 5.5 km and the ambient temperature is about − 18 °C, indicating the existence of upper positive charge in the thunderstorm.