Comparing a Regional, Subcontinental, and Long-Range Lightning Location System over the Benelux and France

Abstract

Abstract Increasing possibilities for using lightning data—for instance, in monitoring and tracking applications—necessitate proper spatial and temporal mapping of lightning events. It is therefore of importance to assess the capabilities and limitations of a ground-based lightning network of interest to locate electromagnetic signals emitted by lightning discharges. In this paper, data covering two storm seasons, between May and September 2011 and 2012, are used to compare the spatial and temporal lightning observations of three different lightning location systems over an area covering the Benelux and France. The lightning datasets from a regional network employing Surveillance et Alerte Foudre par Interférométrie Radioélectrique (SAFIR) sensors operated by the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (RMIB), a subcontinental network operated by Météorage (MTRG), and the Met Office's long-range Arrival Time Difference network (ATDnet) are considered. It is found that the median location difference among corresponding strokes and flashes between ATDnet and MTRG is 1.9 and 2.8 km, respectively, and increases by a factor of ~3 when comparing ATDnet and/or MTRG to SAFIR. The absolute mean time difference between shared events fluctuates between approximately 25 and 100 μs. Furthermore, lightning data are correlated in terms of relative detection efficiency, quantifying the number of detections that coincide between two different networks. The highest relative values are found among ATDnet and MTRG. In addition, a lower limit of ~25% of ATDnet's flashes are of type inter/intracloud. Finally, it is demonstrated that all three networks are competent in mapping the electrical activity in thunderstorms.