Modeling Methods for 3D Lightning Mapping from Space

Jackson Remington; Timothy Lang; Sonja Behnke; Harald Edens; Patrick Gatlin; Nikhil Pailoor; Mason Quick; Sarah Stough

NASA NTRS · 20230009120

Modeling Methods for 3D Lightning Mapping from Space

Jackson Remington·Timothy Lang·Sonja Behnke·Harald Edens·Patrick Gatlin·Nikhil Pailoor·Mason Quick·Sarah Stough

Abstract

Global lightning detection has advanced greatly over the past few decades both on ground and from orbit. Ground-based systems like the Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) excel at high-precision 3D reconstruction of local flashes, while spaceborne lightning sensors have much larger potential coverage but are limited by coarser resolution and often rely on data from other instruments to determine 3D flash locations. CubeSpark is a new mission concept focused on combining these two methods in the form of six small satellites in low-Earth orbit. CubeSpark will combine RF and bispectral optical measurements of lightning in order to map the 3D structure of both individual flashes and their parent thunderstorms at 1-2 km spatial resolution on a global scale, enabling a host of new atmospheric, climate, and space electricity studies. The goal of this study is to assess the feasibility and expected resolution of lightning mapping via indivudal VHF sources using different methods and detector combinations. Flashes were simulated beneath orbital configurations consisting of 1-6 satellites, taking into account the complicated interactions with Earth's ionosphere. In the multi-satellite (>5) approach, RF detectors on each satellite measure the arrival times of impulsive VHF sources to collectively pinpoint their locations in 3D and reconstruct flashes with higher resolution than has been achieved from space. The same can process can be performed with 3-4 satellites by constraining sources' horizontal locations with onboard optical imagers. A 1-2 station approach follows the established method of determining the height of an RF source using the arrival time difference between direct RF waves and their reflections off the Earth's surface. Here we present preliminary results of the expected accuracy of these methods to inform potential satellite missions like CubeSpark.

Explore related subjects

Lightning Satellite CubeSpark VHF imager

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Jackson Remington, Timothy Lang, Sonja Behnke, Harald Edens, Patrick Gatlin, Nikhil Pailoor, Mason Quick, Sarah Stough. Modeling Methods for 3D Lightning Mapping from Space. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20230009120

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related reports

NASA NTRS2024

Using Satellite Observations of Lightning and Precipitation to Diagnose the Behavior of Deep Convection in Tropical Cyclones Traversing the Midlatitudes

This study uses a unique combination of geostationary and low-Earth orbiting satellite-based lightning and precipitation observations, respectively, to examine the evolution of deep convection during the tropical cyclone (TC) lifecycle. The study spans the 2018-2021 Atlantic Basin hurricane seasons and is unique as it provides the first known analysis of total lightning (intra-cloud and cloud-to-ground) observed in TCs through their extratropical transition and post-tropical cyclone (PTC) phases. We consider the TC lifecycle stage, geographic location (e.g., land, coast, and ocean), shear strength, and quadrant relative to the storm motion and environmental shear vectors. Total lightning maxima are found in the forward right quadrant relative to storm motion and downshear of the TC center, consistent with previous studies using mainly cloud-to-ground lightning. Increasing environmental shear focuses the lightning maxima to the downshear right quadrant with respect to the shear vector in tropical storm phases. Vertical profiles of radar reflectivity from the Global Precipitation Measurement mission show that super electrically active convective precipitation features (>75 flashes) within the PTC phase of TCs have deeper mixed phase depths and higher reflectivity at -10°C than other phases, indicating the presence of more intense convection. Differences in the net convective behavior observed throughout TC evolution manifest in both the TC-scale frequency of lightning-producing cells and the intensity variations amongst individual convective cells. The combination of continuous lightning observations and precipitation snapshots improves our understanding of convective scale processes in TCs, especially in PTC phases, as they traverse the tropics and mid-latitudes.

Lightning↗

NASA NTRS2023

ENSO and MJO Modulation of U.S. Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Activity

Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning substantially impacts human health and property. However, the relations between U.S. lightning activity and the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), two predictable drivers of global climate variability, remain uncertain, in part because most lightning datasets have short records that cannot robustly reveal MJO- and ENSO-related patterns. To overcome this limitation, we developed an empirical model of 6-hourly lightning flash count over the contiguous U.S. (CONUS) using environmental variables (convective available potential energy and precipitation) andNational Lightning Detection Network data for 2003–2016. This model is shown to reproduce the observed daily and seasonal variability of lightning over most of CONUS. Then, the empirical model was applied to construct a proxy lightning dataset for the period 1979–2021, which was used to investigate the summer MJO-lightning relationship at daily resolution and the winter-spring ENSO-lightning relationship at seasonal resolution. Overall, no robust relationship between MJO phase and lightning patterns was found when seasonality was taken into consideration. El Niño is associated with increased lightning activity over the Coastal Southeast U.S. during early winter, the Southwest during winter through spring, and the Northwest during late spring, whereas La Niña is associated with increased lightning activity over the Tennessee River Valley during winter.

Lightning↗

NASA NTRS2021

Thunderstorm and Fair-weather Quasi-Static Electric Fields Over Land and Ocean

Natural lightning and the associated clouds are known to behave differently over land and ocean, but many questions remain. We expand the related observational datasets by obtaining simultaneous quasi-static electric field observations over coastal land, near-shore water, and deep ocean regions during both fair-weather and thunderstorm periods. Oceanic observations were obtained using two 3-m NOAA buoys that were instrumented with Campbell Scientific electric field mills to measure the quasi-static electric fields. These data were compared to selected electric field records from the existing on-shore electric field mill suite of 31 sensors at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Lightning occurrence times, locations and peak current estimates for both onshore and ocean were provided by the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network. The buoy instruments were first evaluated on-shore at the Florida coast, and the first system was calibrated for field enhancements and to confirm proper behavior of the system in elevated-field environments. The buoys were then moored 20 mi and 120 mi off the coast of KSC in February (20 mi) and August (120 mi) 2014. Diurnal fair-weather fields at both ocean sites matched will with each other and with those found during the Carnegie cruise, but mean values were 33% smaller, due at least in-part to constraints on the calibration procedure. Diurnal fair-weather fields variations at coastal and inland sites were a poorer match than offshore, likely because the offshore environment is “cleaner” with limited variations in local space charge, lower surface aerosol densities, little surface heating to disturb the surface charge layer during fair weather, and fewer local radioactive sources to modulate the near-surface electrical conductivity. Storm-related static fields were 4-5× larger at both oceanic sites than over land, likely due to decreased screening by near-surface space charge produced by corona current. The time-evolution of the electric field and field changes during storm approach are sufficiently different over land and ocean to warrant further study. This work shows the quality, accuracy, and reliability of these data, and has demonstrated the practicality of off-shore electric field measurements for safety- and launch-related decision making at KSC.

Lightning↗