World Wide Lightning Location Network Research Articles

Comparison of lightning activity in the two most active areas of the Congo Basin

Abstract. A comparison of the lightning activity in the two most active areas (Area_max for the main maximum and Area_sec for the secondary maximum) of the Congo Basin is made with data obtained by the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) during 2012 and 2013. Both areas of same size (5° × 5°) exhibit flash counts in a ratio of about 1.32 for both years and very different distributions of the flash rate density (FRD) with maximums in a ratio of 1.94 and 2.59 for 2012 and 2013, respectively. The FRD is much more widely distributed in Area_sec, which means the whole area contributes more or less equal to the lightning activity. The diurnal cycle is much more pronounced in Area_max than in Area_sec with a ratio between the maximum and the minimum of 15.4 and 4.7, respectively. However, the minimum and maximum of the hourly flash rates are observed roughly at the same time in both areas, between 07:00 and 09:00 UTC and between 16:00 and 17:00 UTC, respectively. In Area_sec the proportion of days with low lightning rate (0–1000 flashes per day) is much larger (∼ 45 % in 2013) compared to Area_max (∼ 23 % in 2013). In Area_max the proportion of days with moderate lightning rate (1001–6000 flashes per day) is larger (∼ 68.5 % in 2013) compared to Area_sec (∼ 46 % in 2013). The very intense convective events are slightly more numerous in Area_sec. In summary, the thunderstorm activity in Area_sec is more variable at different scales of time (annually and daily), in intensity and in location. Area_max combines two favourable effects for thunderstorm development, the convergence associated with the African easterly jet of the Southern Hemisphere (AEJ-S) and a geographic effect due to the orography and the presence of a lake. The location of the strong convection in Area_sec is modulated by the distance of westward propagation/regeneration of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) in relation to the phase of Kelvin waves.

Characteristics of cloud-to-ground lightning and its relationship with climate change in Muli, Sichuan province, China

Along with climate change, cloud-to-ground lightning (CG)-caused forest fires are becoming increasingly pronounced. This study employed the Chinese lightning location system data (2009–2015) and worldwide lightning location network data (2005–2015) to jointly analyze CG characteristics and study the correlation between CG and climate change. The Muli county in southwest China was taken as research area. The CG number showed a clear increasing trend on yearly timescale. At the monthly timescale, CG occurred from March to October, with a peak in June. At the daily timescale, 15:00–23:00 (local time) and 00:00–05:00 both had a high CG frequency, and the peak was at 18:00–19:00. We divided CG electric current intensity into six grades and found that negative CG accounted for more than 90% of total CG and, among these, the 3rd and 4th intensity grades accounted for about 70%. To examine the spatial distribution, we focused on lightning-caused forest fires high occurrence seasons. In spring, CG distribution changed from the initial southeast to the northwest, gradually spreading to the whole area of Muli, whereas the CG area gradually moved back to the southeast in autumn. Our research suggested that minimum temperature was the most sensitive temperature to CG change. In March, the relationship between CG and minimum temperature showed a strong positive correlation. Considered jointly, we suggest the CG and related lightning-caused forest fires could increase in the future under an increased minimum temperature and decreased precipitation, especially in March.

Spectral Characteristics of VLF Sferics Associated With RHESSI TGFs.

We compared the modeled energy spectral density of very low frequency (VLF) radio emissions from terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) with the energy spectral density of VLF radio sferics recorded by Duke VLF receiver simultaneously with those TGFs. In total, six events with world wide lightning location network (WWLLN) defined locations were analyzed to exhibit a good fit between the modeled and observed energy spectral densities. In VLF range the energy spectral density of the TGF source current moment is found to be dominated by the contribution of secondary low‐energy electrons and independent of the relativistic electrons which play their role in low‐frequency (LF) range. Additional spectral modulation by the multiplicity of TGF peaks was found and demonstrated a good fit for two TGFs whose VLF sferics consist of two overlapping pulses each. The number of seeding pulses in TGF defines the spectral shape in VLF range, which allows to retrieve this number from VLF sferics, assuming they were radiated by TGFs. For two events it was found that the number of seeding pulses is small, of the order of 10. For the rest of the events the lower boundary of the number of seeding pulses was found to be between 10 to 103.

Estimation of detection efficiency of the world wide lightning location network in the democratic republic of congo basin using lightning imaging sensor (LIS) as reference

An estimation of detection efficiency of the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) in the Congo Basin has been done by comparison of its data with Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) data for the same period from 2005 to 2013. This comparison shows the relative detection efficiency of the WWLLN (DE) in the 2500 km × 2500 km region increases from about 1.70% in the beginning of the period to 5.90% in 2013, and it is in agreement with previous results for other regions of the world. However, the increase of DE is not uniform over the whole region.

A 10-Year Survey of Tropical Cyclone Inner-Core Lightning Bursts and Their Relationship to Intensity Change

Abstract This study seeks to reconcile discrepancies between previous studies analyzing the relationship between lightning and tropical cyclone (TC) intensity change. Inner-core lightning bursts (ICLBs) were identified from 2005 to 2014 in North Atlantic (NA) and eastern North Pacific (ENP) TCs embedded in favorable environments (e.g., vertical wind shear ≤ 10 m s−1; sea surface temperatures ≥ 26.5°C) using data from the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) transformed onto a regular grid with 8-km grid spacing to replicate the expected nadir resolution of the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM). Three hypothesized factors that could impact the 24-h intensity change after a burst were tested: 1) prior intensity change, 2) azimuthal burst location, and 3) radial burst location. Most ICLBs occurred in weak TCs (tropical depressions and tropical storms), and most TCs intensified (remained steady) 24 h after burst onset in the NA (ENP). TCs were more likely to intensify 24 h after an ICLB if they were steady or intensifying prior to burst onset. Azimuthally, 75% of the ICLBs initiated downshear, with 92% of downshear bursts occurring in TCs that remained steady or intensified. Of the ICLBs that initiated or rotated upshear, 2–3 times more were associated with TC intensification than weakening, consistent with recent studies finding more symmetric convection in intensifying TCs. The radial burst location relative to the radius of maximum wind (RMW) provided the most promising result: TCs with an ICLB inside (outside) the RMW were associated with intensification (weakening).

Global association of aerosol with flash density of intense lightning

A global scale study of the association between aerosol loading and lightning production was conducted, using a full year’s data for 2012 (as well as seasonal data) of the cloud-to-ground lightning record from the world wide lightning location network and aerosol optical depth measured by MODIS. 70% of all grid squares examined and 94% of the statistically significant ones had higher flash densities under polluted conditions than the clean ones. This trend is evident for large continental regions in North, Central and South America, Europe, southern Africa and north-east Australia. A detailed examination of the link to the meteorology was performed for four continental regions: the Amazon, North America, southern Africa and the Maritime Continent. The findings showed a similar trend under different meteorological conditions (defined by subsets of specified CAPE values and pressure velocity at 400 hPa). The results of this study suggest a route to association between aerosol loading and lightning-production rates in thunderclouds.

Lightning enhancement over major oceanic shipping lanes

AbstractUsing 12 years of high‐resolution global lightning stroke data from the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN), we show that lightning density is enhanced by up to a factor of 2 directly over shipping lanes in the northeastern Indian Ocean and the South China Sea as compared to adjacent areas with similar climatological characteristics. The lightning enhancement is most prominent during the convectively active season, November–April for the Indian Ocean and April–December in the South China Sea, and has been detectable from at least 2005 to the present. We hypothesize that emissions of aerosol particles and precursors by maritime vessel traffic lead to a microphysical enhancement of convection and storm electrification in the region of the shipping lanes. These persistent localized anthropogenic perturbations to otherwise clean regions are a unique opportunity to more thoroughly understand the sensitivity of maritime deep convection and lightning to aerosol particles.

Assessment of the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) detection efficiency by comparison to the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS)

In this study, strokes detected by the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) were compared to the flashes detected by the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) between the years 2012 and 2014. To evaluate the WWLLN detection efficiency, the strokes detected by WWLLN in the field of view of LIS were determined and matched with the flashes detected by LIS. The spatial and time distribution of the strokes detected by WWLLN show a good correlation with the flashes detected by LIS despite the low detection efficiency reported for WWLLLN. The analysis shows that WWLLN is capable of detecting more than one stroke per flash with a global multiplicity of 1.5. However, not all strokes detected by WWLLN in the field of view of LIS could be assigned to a flash. These unmatched strokes show a spatial and time distribution, as well as an energy distribution, similar to those of the matched strokes. The unmatched strokes seem to correspond to cloud‐to‐ground flashes which are not well detected by LIS. Based on matched flashes and multiplicity, a correction of the WWLLN data was derived. With this correction, a global lightning flash rate of 60 fl s‐1 was obtained and a map of the corrected flash density detected by WWLLN was performed. The spatial distribution of WWLLN multiplicity and detection probability are available for the community.

Spatial and temporal distribution of lightning strokes over North Asia and its comparison with solar activity variations in 2009–2016

We analyze variations of lightning activity presented by the lightning stroke number obtained by the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) within the territory with boundaries 40–80° N and 60–180° E in 2009–2016. There are two regions with high lightning activity: western (48–60° N, 60–90° E) and eastern (40–55° N, 110–140° E). The lightning stroke density in these regions is 10–100 times higher than that in surrounding areas. The comparison between daily variations of lightning stroke number and the 10.7 cm solar radio flux shows no correlation: the linear cor-relation coefficient varied from –0.55 to 0.86 in the western region and from –0.78 to 0.39 in the eastern region during all summer seasons. During the ascending phase of solar cycle 24, there was a spatial lightning redistribution between the western and eastern regions of high lightning activity. During peaks of the solar cy-cle and its descending phase, the redistribution was not so pronounced as that during the ascending

On the timing between terrestrial gamma ray flashes, radio atmospherics, and optical lightning emission

AbstractOn 25 October 2012 the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscope Imager (RHESSI) and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellites passed over a thunderstorm on the coast of Sri Lanka. RHESSI observed a terrestrial gamma ray flash (TGF) originating from this thunderstorm. Optical measurements of the causative lightning stroke were made by the lightning imaging sensor (LIS) on board TRMM. The World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) detected the very low frequency (VLF) radio emissions from the lightning stroke. The geolocation from WWLLN, which we also assume is the TGF source location, was in the convective core of the cloud. By using new information about both RHESSI and LIS timing accuracy, we find that the peak in the TGF light curve occurs 230 μs before the WWLLN time. Analysis of the optical signal from LIS shows that within the uncertainties, we cannot conclude which comes first: the gamma emission or the optical emission. We have also applied the new information about the LIS timing on a previously published event by Østgaard et al. (2012). Also for this event we are not able to conclude which signal comes first. More accurate instruments are needed in order to get the exact timing between the TGF and the optical signal.

Пространственно-временное распределение грозовых разрядов по территории северного региона Азии и его сравнение с солнечной активностью в 2009–2016 гг.

We analyze variations of lightning activity presented by the lightning stroke number obtained by the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) within the territory with boundaries 40–80° N and 60–180° E in 2009–2016. There are two regions with high lightning activity: western (48–60° N, 60–90° E) and eastern (40–55° N, 110–140° E). The lightning stroke density in these regions is 10–100 times higher than that in surrounding areas. The comparison between daily variations of lightning stroke number and the 10.7 cm solar radio flux shows no correlation: the linear cor-relation coefficient varied from –0.55 to 0.86 in the western region and from –0.78 to 0.39 in the eastern region during all summer seasons. During the ascending phase of solar cycle 24, there was a spatial lightning redistribution between the western and eastern regions of high lightning activity. During peaks of the solar cy-cle and its descending phase, the redistribution was not so pronounced as that during the ascending

Performance assessment of Beijing Lightning Network (BLNET) and comparison with other lightning location networks across Beijing

The performances of Beijing Lightning Network (BLNET) operated in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban cluster area have been evaluated in terms of detection efficiency and relative location accuracy. A self-reference method has been used to show the detection efficiency of BLNET, for which fast antenna waveforms have been manually examined. Based on the fast antenna verification, the average detection efficiency of BLNET is 97.4% for intracloud (IC) flashes, 73.9% for cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes and 93.2% for the total flashes. Result suggests the CG detection of regional dense network is highly precise when the thunderstorm passes over the network; however it changes day to day when the thunderstorms are outside the network. Further, the CG stroke data from three different lightning location networks across Beijing are compared. The relative detection efficiency of World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) and Chinese Meteorology Administration - Lightning Detection Network (CMA-LDN, also known as ADTD) are approximately 12.4% (16.8%) and 36.5% (49.4%), respectively, comparing with fast antenna (BLNET). The location of BLNET is in middle, while WWLLN and CMA-LDN average locations are southeast and northwest, respectively. Finally, the IC pulses and CG return stroke pulses have been compared with the S-band Doppler radar. This type of study is useful to know the approximate situation in a region and improve the performance of lightning location networks in the absence of ground truth. Two lightning flashes occurred on tower in the coverage of BLNET show that the horizontal location error was 52.9m and 250m, respectively.

Irregularities of ionospheric VTEC during lightning activity over Antarctic Peninsula

This paper investigates the irregularities of vertical total electron content (VTEC) during lightning activity and geomagnetic quiet days over Antarctic Peninsula in year 2014. During the lightning event, the ionosphere may be disturbed which may cause disruption in the radio signal. Thus, it is important to understand the influence of lightning on VTEC in the study of upper-lower interaction. The lightning data is obtained from World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) and the VTEC data has analyzed from Global Positioning System (GPS) for O’Higgins (OHI3), Palmer (PALV), and Rothera (ROTH). The results demonstrate the VTEC variation of ∼0.2 TECU during low lightning activity which could be caused by energy dissipation through lightning discharges from troposphere into the thermosphere.

Spatial pattern of lightning strikes in North Asia

The averaged data of observations oflightning strikes in North Asia in 2009-2014 are presented. The pattern is retrieved from the data of World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN); one station of this network is located in Yakutsk. The dependence of thunderstorm activity on latitude, longitude, and altitude is demonstrated.

Bayesian techniques to analyze and merge lightning locating system data

AbstractAs more lightning locating systems (LLSs) become available, there is a growing need to assess how each LLS performs and how to best merge data from multiple LLSs. A Bayesian analysis is used to compare the worldwide data of LLSs from three providers for November 2014 to October 2015: Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN, Earth Networks), the combined data from the Global Lightning Detection 360 and National Lightning Detection Network (Vaisala), and the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN, University of Washington). By using the union of the data sets we are able to determine an estimate for the upper limit of the absolute detection efficiency of each system. Globally, ENTLN detected 56.8% of the discharges, the combined Vaisala networks detected 59.8%, and WWLLN detected 7.9%. In addition, there were 2.842 × 109 unique discharges detected by these LLSs, an average of 90.1 strokes/s.

Characteristics of lightning activity in tropical cyclones developed over North Indian Ocean basin during 2010–2015

The characteristics of lightning activity in tropical cyclones (TCs) over North Indian Ocean (NIO) are presented using sample of 21 TCs developed during 2010–2015 using TRMM and World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) datasets along with information from annual reports of Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC), New Delhi. The microphysical features such as Polarization Corrected Brightness Temperature (PCT), attenuation corrected reflectivity factor, Ice Water Path (IWP) play a pivotal role in development of convective systems within TCs. The TCs exhibited systematic variation in lightning flashes per day within 300km of estimated center during their life cycle irrespective of their severity and flash rate within 300km of storm center. The lightning flashes ranged from 1 to 3500 flashes per day during pre-cyclone stage, 100 to 8000 flashes per day during cyclone stage and 0 to 4300 flashes per day during post-cyclone stage. The TCs produced maximum flash density in eyewall region (20–40km) and outer rainband region (200–260km). The WWLLN recorded 165,512 flashes within 300km of TC centers during their life cycle. The maximum flashes occurred during cyclone stage followed by pre-cyclone and post-cyclone. The time variation of flash rate for all cyclones was episodic and primarily peaked during late night and early morning hours. The diurnal variation of lightning flashes during TCs due to variation in detection efficiency of WWLLN also controls temporal distribution of lightning activity. During rapid intensification, TCs produced profuse lightning flashes per hour. Episodic lightning flashes per hour occurred during weakening stage and prior to landfall. It is evident that outbreaks of lightning flashes prior to maximum intensity change as manifested in maximum sustained wind speed and fall in estimated central pressure (ECP) indicate potential predictive value of lightning activity for TC intensity change.

Detection of multiple terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes from thunderstorm systems

AbstractSince their discovery, Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes (TGFs) exhibited an evident correlation with thunderstorms and lightning activity. The fleeting nature of these events and the heavy absorption of gamma rays in the lowest atmospheric layers severely hamper the observation of this phenomenon, making us reveal just a small fraction of a probably much wider population. As each thunderstorm produces a large amount of lightning discharges during its lifetime, it is reasonable that even a large amount of TGFs are produced during the same event. However, detection of multiple TGFs coming from the same storm is difficult to perform, as it requires the constant monitoring of a spatially limited geographic region: this is not an easy task to perform for satellites on high‐inclination orbits that make them experience nonnegligible latitudinal shifts at each orbital passage over a certain region, preventing the monitoring of a limited geographic region throughout successive overpasses. In this perspective, the quasi‐equatorial (2.5°) orbit of the Astrorivelatore Gamma ad Immagini LEggero (AGILE) satellite ensures a minimal latitudinal shift when flying over the same region at successive passages, allowing for the follow‐up of thunderstorms in time. We exploit this feature of the AGILE satellite to search for multiple TGFs coming from the same geographic region and, in particular, from the same thunderstorm. We carry out this search on the AGILE TGF database (2009–2016), ending up with a sample of 79 systems producing more than one TGF, both during the same overpass and up to four overpasses after. Data acquired by geostationary meteorological satellites and cross correlation with radio sferics detected by World Wide Lightning Location Network are used to support this investigation. The AGILE satellite for the first time clearly establishes the multiple occurrences of TGFs from convective thunderstorms, both on timescales of minutes to several hours.

WWLLN lightning and satellite microwave radiometrics at 37 to 183 GHz: Thunderstorms in the broad tropics

AbstractWe investigate lightning strokes and deep convection through the examination of cloud‐to‐ground (CG) lightning from the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) and passive microwave radiometer data. Microwave channels at 37 to 183.3 GHz are provided by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) and the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellite F16. The present study compares WWLLN stroke rates and minimum radiometer brightness temperatures (Tbs) for two Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere summers (2009–2011) in the broad tropics (35°S to 35°N). To identify deep convection, we use lightning data and Tbs derived from all channels and differences in the Tbs (ΔTbs) of the three water vapor channels near 183.3 GHz. We find that stroke probabilities increase with increasing Tb depressions for all frequencies examined. Moreover, we apply methods that use the 183.3 GHz channels to pinpoint deep convection associated with lightning. High lightning stroke probabilities are found over land regions for both intense and relatively weak convective systems, although the TMI 85 GHz results should be used with caution as they are affected by a 7 km gap between the conical scans. Over the ocean, lightning is associated mostly with larger Tb depressions. Generally, our results support the noninductive thundercloud charging mechanism but do not rule out the inductive mechanism during the mature stages of storms. Lastly, we present a case study in which lightning stroke rates are used to reconstruct microwave radiometer Tbs.

The rarity of terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes: 2. RHESSI stacking analysis

AbstractWe searched for gamma‐ray emission from lightning using the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) satellite by identifying times when RHESSI was near over 2 million lightning discharges localized by the Worldwide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN). We then stacked together the gamma‐ray arrival times relative to the sferic times, correcting for light propagation time to the satellite. The resulting stacked gamma‐ray time profile is sensitive to an average level of gamma‐ray emission per lightning discharge far lower than what can be recognized above background for a single terrestrial gamma‐ray flash (TGF). The summed signal from presumed small, previously unknown TGFs simultaneous with WWLLN discharges is remarkably weak: for the region from 0 to 300 km beneath RHESSI's footprint, (6.2 ± 3.8) × 10−3 detector counts/discharge are measured, as opposed to a typical range of 12–50 detector counts for TGFs identified solely from the gamma‐ray signal. Under the assumption of a broken power law differential distribution of TGF intensities, we find that the index must harden dramatically or cut off just below the sensitivity limit of current satellites and that for most scenarios less than 1% of lightning can produce a TGF that belongs anywhere in the same distribution as those that are observable. For the minority of scenarios where more than a few percent of flashes produce a TGF, most of these “TGFs” are less than 10−4 of the luminosity of the faintest RHESSI TGFs and therefore closer to the luminosity of lightning stepped leaders. The rarity of TGFs holds not only for TGFs simultaneous with the sferic observed by WWLLN but also for any time within 10 ms of the sferic, allowing (for example) for the possibility that different events within the upward propagation of a negative leader in positive intracloud lightning triggered the TGF and WWLLN's detection.

The Impact of Lightning Data Assimilation on Deterministic and Ensemble Forecasts of Convective Events

AbstractA general lightning data assimilation technique is developed and tested with observations from the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN). The technique nudges the water vapor mixing ratio toward saturation within 10 km of a lightning observation and is more general than other approaches that require specific model microphysics or flash rates. This approach is applied to both deterministic and ensemble forecasts of the 29 June 2012 derecho event over the eastern United States and a deterministic forecast of the 17 November 2013 convective event over the Midwest using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model run at a convection-permitting resolution. Lightning data are assimilated over the first three hours of the forecasts, and the subsequent impact on forecast quality is evaluated. For both events, the deterministic simulations with lightning-based nudging produce more realistic predicted composite reflectivity fields. For the forecasts of the 29 June 2012 event using ensemble data assimilation, forecast improvements from lightning assimilation were more modest than for the deterministic forecasts, suggesting that lightning assimilation may produce greater improvements in convective forecasts where conventional observations (e.g., aircraft, surface, radiosonde, satellite) are less dense or unavailable.