Les orages sont associés à des nuages de fort développement vertical appelés cumulonimbus qui abritent des régions chargées électriquement. Ils produisent des éclairs au sein du nuage et entre celui-ci et le sol. Au-dessus du nuage, plusieurs types de décharges électriques peuvent se produire et sont regroupés sous le terme TLE, de l’anglais Transient Luminous Event : les blue starters, les blue jets et les jets géants émergent du sommet nuageux et se différencient par l’altitude qu’ils atteignent (environ 20 km, 40 km et 90 km, respectivement), la région du nuage où ils démarrent et la polarité de la charge qu’ils transfèrent ; les sprites (farfadets en français) qui se déclenchent aux alentours de 70 km d’altitude au-dessus des régions stratiformes suite à un éclair nuage-sol positif ; les Elves sous la forme d’un anneau lumineux à la base de l’ionosphère (90 km la nuit) produites par des puissants éclairs nuage-sol. Cet article décrit les principales caractéristiques et les mécanismes de formation de ces TLEs.
Thunderstorms are associated with clouds of strong vertical development called cumulonimbus which contain electrically charged regions. They produce lightning flashes within the cloud and between it and the ground. Above the cloud, several types of electrical discharges can occur and are grouped under the term TLE, from the English Transient Luminous Event: blue starters, blue jets and giant jets emerge from the cloud top and are differentiated by the altitude they reach (around 20 km, 40 km and 90 km, respectively), the region of the cloud where they start and the polarity of the charge they transfer; sprites (farfadet in French) which are triggered at about 70 km altitude above the stratiform regions following a positive cloud-to-ground flash; Elves in the form of luminous rings at the base of the ionosphere (90 km at night) produced by powerful cloud-to-ground lightning. This article describes the main characteristics and formation mechanisms of these TLEs.
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Keywords: Thunderstorm, Electrical discharge, Transient luminous event, Lightning flash, Cumulonimbus
Serge Soula 1
CC-BY 4.0
@article{CRMECA_2025__353_G1_747_0,
author = {Serge Soula},
title = {La face cach\'ee des orages},
journal = {Comptes Rendus. M\'ecanique},
pages = {747--760},
publisher = {Acad\'emie des sciences, Paris},
volume = {353},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.5802/crmeca.301},
language = {fr},
}
Serge Soula. La face cachée des orages. Comptes Rendus. Mécanique, Volume 353 (2025), pp. 747-760. doi : 10.5802/crmeca.301. https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/mecanique/articles/10.5802/crmeca.301/
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