Wavelet analysis of lightning return stroke

In this investigation, time series consisting of electric field waveforms of 15 positive return strokes and 10 negative return strokes were analyzed. The data came from a summer thunderstorm in March in a range of about 200 km around São José dos Campos, São Paulo. The electric field recording system consisted of a flat plate antenna with a decay time constant of 260 μs and a sample rate of 800,000 samples per second. The bandwidth observed was up to 100 kHz and the recording system was synchronized with GPS time and located at São José dos Campos. Wavelet analysis of the electric field waveforms was done in order to investigate the behavior of the return stroke spectrum in time. The return stroke was suggested to be divided into two portions: initial stage and overshoot (for far return stroke) and initial stage and ramp (for close return stroke). The return stroke power spectrum was observed to be distributed in a frequency range with the peak value also distributed in a fraction of this range. Power peaks for ramps are stronger than power peaks for initial stage and overshoot. Finally, it was observed how powerful the wavelet is in the analysis of lightning.