Abstract
The Lightning Mapping Imager (LMI) onboard the geostationary meteorological satelliteFengYun-4A (FY-4A) detects both intra-cloud (IC) and cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning continuously during daytime and nighttime. This study examined, for the first time, the optical characteristics and distribution of the “Event,” “Group,” and “Flash” observed by the LMI in the whole LMI observation domain. The optical properties and spatial distribution of the LMI lightning were compared with those of the Lightning Imaging Sensor on the International Space Station (ISS-LIS) based on the dataset during 2018–2020. Due to the different spatial resolutions and detection efficiencies of these two lightning imagers, the number of ISS-LIS lightning was more than that of LMI lightning. The ISS-LIS Flash duration was also larger than that of the LMI Flash. The duration, radiance, and footprint of LMI lightning in different regions were analyzed in detail based on the LMI lightning dataset in 2019. The duration and radiance of the Flash were generally less than 50–500 ms and 200 Jm−2ster−1μm−1, respectively. The footprint of Flashes was distributed from 200 to 600 km2. The number of Groups per Flash was mostly less than five. Considering the spatial distribution and temporal variations in the LMI lightning compared with the ground-based Lightning Location Network in China (LLNC), it was found that the LMI Group number was close to the LLNC CG (Cloud-to-Ground) Event number. The maximum Flash density was found in the middle and lower south of the Yangtze River and Pearl River Delta region, respectively, while the lower values were in western China, where the mean radiance per Flash was greater. There was more LMI lightning during the nighttime than that during the daytime, indicating the higher detection efficiency of the LMI in the nighttime than in the daytime.
Highlights
There are two optical lightning imagers onboard satellites in geostationary orbits that can monitor lightning and thunderstorms on a continual basis so far
The optical characteristics and lightning distribution in China detected by the Lightning Mapping Imager (LMI) are discussed
It could be found that the geographical distribution of the maximum LMI Event density is generally in qualitative agreement with the International Space Station (ISS)-LightningImaging Sensor (LIS) Event, a significantly larger Event density is obtained by ISS-LIS, suggesting the advantages of high resolution in the charge-coupled device (CCD) array
Summary
There are two optical lightning imagers onboard satellites in geostationary orbits that can monitor lightning and thunderstorms on a continual basis so far. The optical emission from a flash detected by a space-based lightning imager is usually scattered by the cloud hydrometeor and attenuated as it propagates in the cloud [6,7,8,9]. The flash rate detected by a space-based optical lightning imager is associated with the optical properties of lightning at different scales and the organization of thunderstorms [10,11,12]. The FY-4A LMI detects total lightning, including both intra-cloud (IC) and cloudto-ground (CG) lightning over China and its adjacent oceans during daytime and nighttime [14,15]. We used a LMI dataset to investigate the optical properties of lightning and lightning activity by comparing the LMI with the ISS-LIS and ground-based lightning locating system. “LMI lightning” indicates all three parameters [16,17]
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