Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Observations from TOGA COARE: Selected Results and Lightning Location Algorithms

Abstract

Abstract Recently, observations of electrified oceanic convection and associated cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning were obtained over the tropical western Pacific Ocean during TOGA COARE (Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment). During COARE, observations of convection were made using a variety of instrument platforms including ship and airborne Doppler radars, an advanced lightning direction finder (ALDF) network, and a shipborne inverted electric field mill. This study focuses on data collected by the COARE ALDF network, fusion of those data with observations, and the methods used to calculate accurate CG return stroke locations. Analysis of CG lightning data and Doppler radar data indicates that lightning-producing oceanic convection is characterized by deep, vertically developed convective cells with radar reflectivities exceeding 30-dBZ above the height of the −10°C level. In several cases a peak in CG frequency occurred coincident with the descent of precipitation...