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5 October 2012
Rare upward lightning videos reveal potential downward triggers
Meteorologists have documented upward lightning, which travels upward from the ground to the clouds, since 1939, but they remain puzzled about how it happens. Now, one research team’s analysis of high-speed video taken in Rapid City, South Dakota, captures a possible clue: a downward flash that preceded most upward lightning filmed by the observers.
GeoSpace is a blog on Earth and space science, managed by AGU’s Public Information staff. The blog features posts by AGU writers and guest contributors on all sorts of relevant science topics, but with a focus on new research and geo and space sciences-related stories that are currently in the news.