Sprites, Blue Jets,
and Elves
What’s On the Other Side of
the Storm
What Are They?
 Sprites, Blue Jets and
Elves are upperatmospheric lightning
recently discovered in
1995.
 They are formed when
the electric field of
thunderstorms generates
ambient electrons,
causing them to impact
one another and create
optical emissions only
visible from 100s of
miles away.
Where They Form
Sprites
 These form at ~70km
altitude and move both
upward and downward
from their origination
point.
 Sprites usually occur
during the dying stages
of a thunderstorm, and
are frequent with large
cloud-to-ground lightning
strikes.
 Although Sprites have a
weak electromagnetic
emission, they can reach
up to 100km tall,
sometimes breaking the
ozone barrier.
Blue Jets
 Blue Jets do not occur
because of cloud-to-ground
lightning, but interestingly
are frequent during hail
storms.
 They reach ~35km altitude
with an upward velocity of
112km/s (Geophysical Institute,
Heavener, Moudry, Sentman and
Wescott).
 It is argued that because of
its intense velocity, blue jets
emanate from the center of
thunderstorms, but this
claim is widely disputed
(Science and Technology News).
Larger View of Blue Jet
Elves
 E.l.v.e.s stands for
Emissions of Light and
VLF perturbations due
to EMP Sources
(Fukunishi et al.,
1995).
 These generally occur
above thunderstorms,
both in conjunction
with sprites and alone.
 At an altitude of 7595km, they are located
higher than sprites,
and can span
horizontally as much as
530km (Heavener,
Matthew 2000)
What’s the Big Deal?
 I had two main questions:
1) How much electromagnetic
energy do these forms of
lightning put out?
2) Does the electromagnetic
energy have any effect on the
ozone layer, and if so, what
does that mean for global
warming?
Sprite, Blue Jet and Elves
Electromagnetic Emissions
 On the whole,red
spectral observations
(sprites) showed an
emission of 550-850 nm.
 Blue Jets were stronger,
emitting anywhere from
700-1000 nm, showing a
higher energy process
was at stake.
(Heavener, Matthew 2000)
 Circular Elves are so
short lived that they
are deemed less
important
energetically that
sprites and jets
(aww).
So, What About Global Warming
and the Ozone?
Whaa, wha, whaaaaaa!
 Actually, the technical explanation gets into some
atmospheric chemistry models, none of which I am
familiar with…
 But, I can say that the amount of electromagnetic
energy put out by these 3 millisecond bursts are not
enough to battle the sun once it comes up.
 However, since this is a new field of study for chemists
and meteorologists alike, these tiny changes in the
climate system’s initial conditions might add up to a
problem in the long run, especially if global warming
increases the incidences of strong electrical storms, thus
create more sprites, blue jets, and elves.
My Conclusion:
They ROCK!
Sources
 Amato, Ivan. “Sprites Trigger Sky-High Chemistry.”Chemical and
Engineering News. 20 Mar, 2006. Vol 84.
 Barrington-Leigh, C.P., Bell, T.F.,Cummer, S.A., Inan, U.S. “Elf
Radiation Produced by Electrical Currents in Sprites.”Space,
Telecommunications and Radioscience Laboratory, Stanford
University. Stanford, CA. Geophysical Research Letters,15 Apr
1998. Vol 25, No. 8
 Heavener, Matthew J., Moudry, Dana R., Sentman, Davis D., Wescott,
Eugene M. “Sprites, Blue Jets, and Elves: Optical Evidence of
Energy Transport Across the Stratopause.” Geophysical
Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks. 19 Sept, 1999. Vol 5.