Scattering of VLF from an experimentally described sprite

In an accompanying paper, Rodger et al. (1998)modelled a red sprite as a set of thin columns ('spritelets'). By examining a semi-random distribution of coupled spritelets, they showed that the scattered field from a VLF; radio transmitter has a complex amplitude pattern with deep minima, and sometimes produces backscattering with similar amplitudes to forward scatter. In this special issue, Wescott et al. (1998) have presented the positions of the columns in a sprite event determined by 3D triangulation. Using this distribution of columns and with specific reference to the radio physics observations during Sprites campaigns, we show that. the conclusions arrived at using a semi-random distribution of columns holds for the experimentally determined distribution. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.