LAUSR

Abstract We examine the broadband ( +500 kA, and the associated charge transfer is also considerable (typically >+20 C km). The observed complexity of TGF-associated lightning emissions can also be interpreted in the context of the initial development of normal IC lightning flashes, where the upward negative leader drives the millisecond-scale current and may also provide the seed electrons for avalanche multiplication in the upper part of active thunderstorms. Our analyses show that the thunderstorms in the land area of South China produce TGFs that can be readily observed by Fermi/GBM, and the future ground-based coordinated observations in this area would be rather promising to gain more insights into the physical mechanism of TGFs.