A review of ten years of triggered-lightning experiments at Camp Blanding, Florida

The principal results of triggered-lightning experiments conducted at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) at Camp Blanding, Florida, from 1993 through 2002 are reviewed. These results include (a) characterization of the close lightning electromagnetic environment, (b) first lightning return-stroke speed profiles within 400 m of ground, (c) new insights into the mechanism of the dart-stepped (and by inference stepped) leader, (d) identification of the M-component mode of charge transfer to ground, (e) first optical image of upward connecting leader in triggered-lightning strokes, (f) electric fields in the immediate vicinity of the lightning channel, (g) inferences on the interaction of lightning with ground and with grounding electrodes, (h) discovery of X-rays produced by triggered-lightning strokes, (i) new insights into the mechanism of cutoff and reestablishment of current in rocket-triggered lightning. Selected results are discussed.