Estimation of Lightning-Generated NO_(x) in the Mainland of China Based on Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Location Data

Lightning-generated nitrogen oxides(LNO_(x))have a major influence on the atmosphere and global climate change.Therefore,it is of great importance to obtain a more accurate estimation of LNO_(x).The aim of this study is to provide a reference for the accurate estimation of the total LNO_(x) in the mainland of China based on cloud-to-ground lightning(CG)location data from 2014 to 2018.The energy of each CG flash was based on the number of return strokes per CG flash,the peak current of each return stroke,and the assumed CG breakdown voltage.The energy of intracloud lightning(IC)was based on the estimated frequencies of IC and the assumed energy of each IC flash.Combining the energy of lightning and the number of nitric oxide(NO)molecules produced by unit energy(ρno),the total LNO_(x) production in the mainland of China was determined.The LNO_(x) in the mainland of China estimated in this study is in the range(0.157-0.321)×10^(9) kg per year[Tg(N)yr-1],which is on the high end of other scholars’works.Negative cloud-to-ground lightning(NCG)flashes produce the most moles of NO_(x),while positive cloud-to-ground lightning(PCG)flashes produce the least total moles of NO_(x).The breakdown voltage of PCG is greater than that of IC or NCG,while the latter has a greater output of LNO_(x).

Propagation of positive, negative, and recoil leaders in upward lightning flashes

Leader propagation is a fundamental issue in lightning physics. The propagation characteristics of positive leaders and negative leaders are summarized and compared based on data from high-speed camera and electromagnetic field in rocket-triggered lightning and tower-initiated lightning discharges; available channel base current data recorded in rocket-triggered lightning are also used. The negative leaders propagate in a stepped fashion accompanied by many branches. The stems ahead of the negative leader tip determine the manner and direction of the leader propagation, and even the branching and winding of the lightning channel. The impulsive current, electromagnetic field, and related optical images suggest that the positive leader may develop in a step-like fashion at its initial stage of triggered lightning. However, the stepping processes of the positive leader are obviously different from those of the negative leader. Tower-initiated lightning revealed that the most conspicuous characteristics of the stepwise positive leader involve the intermittent brush-like corona zone in front of the leader tip and the luminosity enhancement of the channel behind the tip. In rockettriggered lightning flashes, the charge transferred during an individual step for the negative leader was nearly an order greater than for the positive counterpart. The successive streamers ahead of the leader tip are essential for both negative and positive leader propagation, and the stems could be formed from one or more streamers in the previous negative streamer zone with the main leader channel dim. High-resolution observation of tower lightning also revealed a new type of bidirectional recoil leader, with polarity contrary to the traditional one, traversing in negative channels associated with tower-initiated and rocket-triggered lightning.

Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Lightning Activity in Ulanqab City

From January 2020 to December 2021,Ulanqab Meteorological Bureau of Inner Mongolia used VLF/LF lightning locator to carry out three-dimensional lightning monitoring in Ulanqab City,and compared with ADTD lightning location data in the same period.The results show that both VLF/LF lightning locator and ADTD lightning locator had excellent monitoring ability for lightning during flood season in Ulanqab.VLF/LF lightning locator was slightly superior to ADTD lightning locator in observation accuracy,the observation ability of low-current cloud-to-ground lightning,intracloud lightning observation and so on.There were obvious temporal and spatial characteristics of cloud-to-ground lightning during flood season in Ulanqab,and there was a certain correlation between the areas where lightning appeared frequently and surface water.Intracloud lightning was mainly concentrated at a height of 1-7 km.Negative cloud-to-ground lightning accounted for about 75%of total cloud-to-ground lightning,and negative intracloud lightning accounted for 39%of total intracloud lightning.

Characteristics of Cloud-to-ground Lightning during a Squall Line Process outside of the Subtropical High

Based on the monitoring data of cloud-to-ground( CG) lightning positioning network and Doppler weather radar as well as MICAPS1°× 1° objective analysis field,a squall line process outside of the subtropical high in low-latitude plateau on May 7,2010 was analyzed. The results showed that wind direction shear between low and high levels and low-level convergence zones provided favorable circulation background for the strong thunderstorm process,while high energy and high humidity,strong thermal instability and ascending motion at low and middle levels offered beneficial environmental conditions for the formation of the thunderstorm. 9 620 return strokes of cloud-to-ground lightning were monitored by the lightning positioning network,and cloud-to-ground lightning was distributed like bands between 584 and 586 hP a. The occurrence of cloud-to-ground lightning was mainly related to echo top and echo intensity at-10 ℃ stratification height,and it mainly appeared in zones where echo top height was larger than 13 km and echo intensity at-10 ℃ stratification height was 35-40 dB Z. Wind convergence and maintaining of high radial velocity were favorable for the development of convective echoes and occurrence of cloud-to-ground lightning.

Studies on the Distribution Characteristics of the Cloud-to-Ground Lightning and Its Disasters Prevention in Xinjiang, China in 2017

Xinjiang, China is affected by geographical terrain and other factors, and is prone to lightning disasters. In order to effectively carry out lightning protection and disaster reduction work and improve defense capabilities, based on the data of lightning location monitoring in Xinjiang in 2017 and the statistics reports of the lightning disasters from 2015 to 2017, the characteristics of the cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning activities and disasters in Xinjiang were statistically analyzed. The results show that the CG lightning in Xinjiang is mainly the negative one, accounting for 79.7% of the total lightning. In 2017, the distribution of positive, negative and total the CG lightning months mainly focuses on June to August, and the main occurrence period is from 14 to 23 hours. The intensity of total the CG lightning and negative the CG lightning mainly distributes from 20 to 40 kA, and the peak value appears in 30 kA. The CG lightning intensity is mainly distributed in 30 - 70 kA. The distribution of the CG lightning density in Xinjiang is larger in the north than in the south and larger in the west than in the east. Lightning disasters mainly occur from May to August, accounting for 93.2 percent of the total, with the largest number in June. From 2005 to 2017, 44.6% of lightning accidents occurred in farming and pastoral areas, followed by civil electronic equipment damage. In addition, electrical equipment, buildings and factory equipment are damaged by lightning strikes to varying degrees.

ANALYSIS OF CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING CHARACTERISTICS IN MESOSCALE STORM IN BELIING AREA

The research indicates that there is a positive correlation between the negative CG flash rate and the area of radarecho with its reflectivity being equal to or greater than 30 dBz in the mesoscale convective system in Beijing area.A max-imum of the positive CG flash rate exists at both the initial and the dissipating stages.The CG flashes are usually locatednear but not within the high reflectivity center.The negative flashes are associated with.the positions of the updraft re-gion,and with the regions of wind convergence and wind shear.Generally,the negative CG flashes are concentrative andthe positive ones are dispersive.

Observation and study on the whole process of cloud-to-ground lightning using narrowband radio interferometer

A narrowband radio interferometer has been developed and used to locate the entire sources of VHF radiations from a negative cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning discharge which contains 19 strokes. This system uses five antennas to form an array consisting of short- and long-baselines along two or- thogonal directions. The system error which comes from frequency conversion is reduced by phase detection through direct high frequency amplifying. An interactive graphic analysis procedure is used to remove the fringe ambiguities which exist inherently in interferometry and to determine the direction of lightning radiation sources in two dimensions (azimuth and elevation) as a function of time at a time resolution of microsecond orders. With the developed system, the whole progression process in time and space of a lightning flash can be reconstructed. In this paper, combining the synchronous data of electric filed change and VHF radiation, the whole processes of an example negative CG flash have been studied in detail. It is found that the preliminary breakdown event of the CG flash started from negative charge region and exhibited firstly a downward pregression and then an upward propagation. There were very intense and continuous radiations during stepped leaders which became much stronger when the first return stroke began. In contrast, there were less and only discrete radiations during dart leaders. Stepped leader and dart leader may transform to each other depending on the state of the ionization of the path. The progression speed of initial stepped leaders was about 105 ms?1, while that was about 4.1×106 and 6.0×106 ms?1 for dart leaders and dart-stepped leaders, respectively. M events produced hook-shaped field changes accompanied by active burst of radiations at their begin- nings. Followed these active radiation processes, M events appeared to contact finally into conducting main discharge channels. The mean progression speed of M events was about 7×107 ms?1, greater than that of the dart leaders and dart-step leaders. K events and attempted leaders were essentially the same as dart leaders except that they could not reach the ground and initiate return strokes.

Observations on the leader-return stroke of cloud-to-ground lightning with the broadband interferometer

Radio frequency observations of cloud-to-ground lightning (CG) were made in 1999 in Guangdong Province with the broadband lightning interferometer. In this paper, radiation source locations and electric field waveforms are analyzed for different types of breakdown events, including the preliminary breakdown of in-cloud activities, the stepped leaders of initial strokes to ground and activities during and following return strokes. It is shown that the structure and development of lightning discharges and associated breakdown processes can be reconstructed by using this new type of lightning radiation source location system. The detectable radiation of lightning was primarily produced by the negative breakdown process. The channel was concentrated with few branches during the preliminary breakdown stage of CG lightning flashes. The radiation sources appeared generally at the tip of the channel. During the late period of the stepped leader, the radiation sources were dispersed with branches extended away from the main channel. The radiation sources were in a certain length segment of the channel and the altitude of the segment descended along with the propagation of the leader to the ground. During the preliminary breakdown and the stepped leader of initial strokes to the ground, a sequence of fast negative streamers were observed to start continually from or farther away the lightning-initiated region and propagate along the developed leader channel, which may supply negative charge that assisted the leader's development. The progression speed of fast negative streamers was about ten times faster than the average speed of lightning channel.

A PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THUNDERSTORM FORECAST WITH LS-SVM METHOD

The LS-SVM(Least squares support vector machine) method is presented to set up a model to forecast the occurrence of thunderstorms in the Nanjing area by combining NCEP FNL Operational Global Analysis data on 1.0°×1.0° grids and cloud-to-ground lightning data observed with a lightning location system in Jiangsu province during 2007-2008.A dataset with 642 samples,including 195 thunderstorm samples and 447 non-thunderstorm samples,are randomly divided into two groups,one(having 386 samples) for modeling and the rest for independent verification.The predictors are atmospheric instability parameters which can be obtained from the NCEP data and the predictand is the occurrence of thunderstorms observed by the lightning location system.Preliminary applications to the independent samples for a 6-hour forecast of thunderstorm events show that the prediction correction rate of this model is 78.26%,false alarm rate is 21.74%,and forecasting technical score is 0.61,all better than those from either linear regression or artificial neural network.