Spatial and temporal structures of sprites and elves observed by array photometers

To observe rapid spatial and temporal structures of sprites and elves, we developed high-speed array photometers using multianode photomultipliers and operated these photometers and image intensified CCD cameras at Yucca Ridge Field Station (40.7degreesN, 104.9degreesW), Colorado during the SPRITES campaigns in the Summer seasons from 1996 to 1999. We also operated these instruments at Dodaira Observatory (36.0degreesN, 139.2degreesE) and Sendai (38.3degreesN, 140.9degreesE) in Japan in December 1998 and January 1999, and succeeded for the first time in observing sprites and elves above the coast of the Sea of Japan near the Hokuriku region in the winter season. The obtained space-time structures of sprites and elves are consistent with those predicted from the quasi-electrostatic (QE) model and the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) model, respectively.