Temporal and Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Lightning Activity in the Pan-Pearl River Delta

Based on the lightning data acquired by a lightning imaging sensor(LIS)carried on the TRMM satellite from 1998 to 2013,the spatial distribution,seasonal,monthly,and diurnal characteristics of lightning activity in the Pan-Pearl River Delta were analyzed.The results show that in the Pan-Pearl River Delta,lightning activity was more in the south and less in the north.Near 23°N,lightning density was high from Guangdong and Guangxi to the southern edge of Yunnan.Lightning density weakened continuously as the latitude increased.Among the provinces in the Pan-Pearl River Delta,the maximum and average of lightning density in Hainan Province was greater than that of other provinces.Besides,the lightning activity showed obvious seasonal changes.In the whole year,lightning activity was the weakest in November and next February.Lightning activity in most areas of the Pan-Pearl River Delta was the strongest in August.The peak of lightning activity in most areas of the Pan-Pearl River Delta occurred from 12:00 to 20:00.Lightning activity was the weakest between 07:00 and 10:00 in most areas.

Quantitative Characteristics Analysis of FY4A Satellite Products during a Thunderstorm Weather Process

Based on the lightning monitoring and FY4A satellite data in 12 periods during a thunderstorm,the relationship between lightning activity and four satellite digital products:blackbody radiation brightness temperature(TBB),cloud top temperature(CTT),cloud top height(CTH)and cloud top pressure(CTP)was quantitatively analyzed.The following conclusions were obtained:(1)at lightning location,90.5%of TBB values were less than 214.1 K;88.5%of CTT values were less than 207.7 K;88.5%of CTP values were less than 137.7 hPa,and 88.5%of CTH values were greater than 14872 m.At location without lightning,92.5%of TBB values were greater than 214.1 K;90.4%of CTT values were greater than 207.7 K;89%of CTP values were greater than 137.7 hPa,and 92%of CTH values were less than 14872 m.(2)Lightning activity was concentrated in the cloud area with TBB between 190-210 K,CTT between 185-210 K,CTP between 50-150 hPa and CTH between 12-18 km.Lightning intensity was roughly positively correlated with TBB,CTT and CTP,and negatively correlated with CTH.With the increase of CTH,lightning intensity decreased.(3)TBB,CTT,CTP and CTH can well indicate the location and activity frequency of lightning in thunderstorm weather.

Study of factors influencing the occurrence rate of 60 Hz power line radiation in the topside ionosphere:A systematic survey using the CSES satellite

We analyze the topside ionosphere power line radiation(PLR)at 60 Hz over the US using electric field data collected by CSES satellite between January 2019 and December 2022.The study aimed to further investigate the month-to-month variation characteristic of PLR occurrence rate observed by satellite and its several influencing factors,including solar radiation,lightning activity,and try to clarify the influence of electricity consumption.The results show that the solar radiation(solar zenith angle and F10.7)plays a major role in the variation of the PLR occurrence rate,and that there is no direct connection with the number of lightning.For the relationship between PLR occurrence rate and electricity consumption,the low occurrence rate associated with decreased weekend electricity consumption was not observed in the US.However,there is a significant difference in PLR occurrence rate between the East and West Coasts of the US at the same latitude during the same time period,suggesting that the significant difference in PLR occurrence rate is caused by the significant difference in electricity consumption between the two coasts.After excluding the effect of solar radiation on PLR occurrence rate,we concluded that only a significant difference in regional electricity consumption could lead to a corresponding change in PLR occurrence rate detected by the Low-Earth-Orbit satellite.Finally,we also found there is seasonal variation in the diurnal differences of the PLR occurrence rate caused by seasonal variation of the lower ionosphere.

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 radar echo 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 located near 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 and the positive ones are dispersive.

Total Lightning Characteristics and Electric Structure Evolution in a Hailstorm

In this paper, total lightning data observed by SAFIR3000 3-D Lightning Locating System was combined with radar data to analyze characteristics of the lightning activity and electric structure of a hailstorm that occurred in Beijing on 31 May 2005. The results indicated that there were two active periods for the lightning activity during the hailstorm process. The hail shooting was found in the first period. After the end of the hail shooting, lightning frequency decreased suddenly. However, more active lightning activities occurred in the second period with lots of them appearing in the cloud anvil region. The peak of the lightning frequency came about 5 min prior to the hail shooting. Only 6.16% of the total lightning was cloud-to-ground （CG） lightning, among which 20% had positive polarity. This percentage was higher than that in normal thunderstorms. In addition, heavier positive CG lightning discharge occurred before rather than after the hail shooting. In the stage of the hail shooting, the electric structure of the hailstorm was inverted, with the main negative charge region located around the -40℃ level and the main positive charge region around the -15℃ level. In addition, a weak negative charge region existed below the positive charge region transitorily. After the hail shooting, the electric structure underwent fast and persistent adjustments and became a normal tripole, with positive charge in the upper and lower levels and negative charge in the middle levels. However, the electric structure was tilted under the influence of the westerly wind in the middle and upper levels. The lightning activity and electric structure were closely related to the dynamic and microphysical processes of the hailstorm. It was believed that severe storms with stronger updrafts were more conducive to an inverted tripolar electric structure than normal thunderstorms, and the inverted distribution could then facilitate more positive CG lightning in the severe storms.

Land-Sea Contrast in the Lightning Diurnal Variation as Observed by the WWLLN and LIS/OTD Data

Data from the World Wide Lightning Location Network （WWLLN） for the period 2005-2011 and data composite of the Lightning Imaging Sensor/Optical Transient Detector （LIS/OTD） for 1995-2010 are used to analyze the lightning activity and its diurnal variation over land and ocean of the globe. The Congo basin shows a peak mean annual flash density of 160.7 fl km-2 yr-1 according to the LIS/OTD. The annual mean land to ocean flash ratio is 9.6：1, which confirms the result from Christian et al. in 2003 based on only 5-yr OTD data. The lightning density detected by the WWLLN is in general one order of magnitude lower than that of the LIS/OTD. The diurnal cycle of the lightning activity over land shows a single peak, with the maximum activity occurring around 1400-1900 LT （Local Time） and a minimum in the morning from both datasets. The oceanic diurnal variation has two peaks： the early morning peak between 0100 and 0300 LT and the afternoon peak with a stronger intensity between 1100 and 1400 LT over the Pacific Ocean, as revealed from the WWLLN dataset; whereas the diurnal variation over ocean in the LIS/OTD dataset shows a large fluctuation.

Recent Advances in Research of Lightning Meteorology

Lightning meteorology focuses on investigating the lightning activities in different types of convective weather systems and the relationship of lightning to the dynamic and microphysical processes in thunder- storms. With the development and application of advanced lightning detection and location technologies, lightning meteorology has been developed into an important interdiscipline between atmospheric electricity and meteorology. This paper mainly reviews the advances of lightning meteorology research in recent years in China from the following five aspects： 1） development of advanced lightning location technology, 2） char- acteristics of lightning activity in different convective systems, 3） relationship of lightning to the dynamic and microphysical processes in thunderstorms, 4） charge structure of thunderstorms, and 5） lightning data assimilation techniques and application to severe weather forecasting. In addition, some important aspects on future research of the lightning meteorology are proposed.

Increasing trend of lightning activity in the South Asia region

Lightning is an important natural source of wildfires and oxynitride,and hence significantly influences ecological systems and atmospheric chemistry.Here,we choose South Asia,an important region for global water reallocation and global climate changes,to examine lightning variations based on the longest existing lightning dataset from the OTD/LIS observations.We identify a clear increase in lightning density in the research region,increasing at a rate of 0.096 fl km^(-2)a^(-1)over the last two decades.Multiple linear regression analysis is adopted to identify the main influencing factors among ten potential thermodynamic or microphysical factors and the crucial areas contributing to the increases in lightning.The surface latent heat flux along the west coast of the Indian subcontinent is the largest contributor,explaining52%of the lightning variance and contributing to a 0.025 fl km^(-2)a^(-1)increase.The sea surface temperature in the Arabian Sea,the convective available potential energy(CAPE)over the northwestern Indian subcontinent,and the wind shear along the northwestern coast also make important contributions to the lightning increase,indicating that the thermodynamic effects overwhelm the microphysical effects on lightning activity over the South Asia region.

Impact of Updraft on Neutralized Charge Rate by Lightning in Thunderstorms:A Simulation Case Study

The rate of neutralized charge by lightning（RNCL） is an important parameter indicating the intensity of lightning activity.The total charging rate（CR）,the CR of one kind of polarity（e.g.,negative） charge（CROP）,and the outflow rate of charge on precipitation（ORCP） are proposed as key factors impacting RNCL,based on the principle of conservation of one kind of polarity charge in a thunderstorm.In this paper,the impacts of updraft on CR and CROP are analyzed by using a 3D cloud resolution model for a strong storm that occurred in Beijing on 6 September 2008.The results show that updraft both promotes and inhibits RNCL at the same time.（1） Updraft always has a positive influence on CR.The correlation coefficient between the updraft volume and CR can reach 0.96.Strengthening of the updraft facilitates strengthening of RNCL through this positive influence.（2） Strengthening of the updraft also promotes reinforcement of CROP.The correlation coefficient between the updraft volume and CROP is high（about0.9）,but this promotion restrains the strengthening of RNCL because the strengthening of CROP will,most of the time,inhibit the increasing of RNCL.（3） Additionally,increasing of ORCP depresses the strengthening of RNCL.In terms of magnitude,the peak of ORCP is equal to the peak of CR.Because precipitation mainly appears after the lightning activity finishes,the depression effect of ORCP on RNCL can be ignored during the active lightning period.

Correlation Between Total Lightning Activity and Precipitation Particle Characteristics Observed from 34 Thunderstorms

A total of 34 thunderstorms around Shanghai and Wuhan of China are analyzed in order to determine the relationship between total lightning activity and precipitation particle characteristics.Precipitation particle concentration data are obtained from the 2A12 product of TRMM/TMI（Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission/TRMM Microwave Image） and lightning activity data are from the TRMM/LIS（Lightning Imaging Sensor） and SAFIR3000（Surveillance et Alerte Founder par Interferometric Radioelectirque）.On a spatial scale of 0.1°×0.1°,a weak spatial relationship is found between total lightning and the vertically integrated content（VIC） of precipitation particles（cloud water,precipitation water,cloud ice,and precipitation ice）. A strong power relationship is identified between the lightning density（D_（30）;fl km^（-2） min^（-1））,relative to a rainfall intensity threshold value of 30 mm h^（-1）,and the maximum rainfall intensity（R_（max）;mm h^（-1））;the obtained regression equation is R_（max） = 23.10D_（30）^（0.18） ＋ 11,with a correlation coefficient of 0.841.Lightning frequency shows a significant linear correlation with the contents and covering areas of precipitation particles （in which the VICs exceed threshold values）.Furthermore,ice particles above the -10℃level exhibit a stronger correlation with lightning activity than those above the 0℃level or the integrated ice particles at all levels.The results demonstrate that the particles responsible for the most significant charging process and lightning activity are restricted by the threshold value of VIC among the particles,which reflects the demand of the charging process on dynamic characteristics.The obtained fitting equations can provide useful reference for assimilating lightning information into numerical prediction models so as to improve the reliability of forecast results.The particle products from the prediction models are also helpful in estimating the occurrence of lightning activity within 2-6-h periods.

Plasma perturbations in the coexisting environment of VLF transmitter emission, lightning strokes and seismic activity

We analyzed plasma perturbations occurring in the coexisting environment of powerful VLF transmitter emission, intense lightning strokes and strong seismic activity during pregnant period. The results suggest that anomalous electron bursts with energy dispersion in the range of ~100–350 keV, forming the "wisp" signature, are due to cyclotron resonance of electrons with monochromatic waves from the powerful NWC VLF transmitters during nighttime. The intense broad band VLF emissions (up-going 0+ whistlers) are observed while the DEMETER satellite goes through the region of intense thunderstorm activities at mid-latitudes. However, the effects of intense lightning activity and pregnant earthquake have little impact on this kind of stable energy-dispersed electron structures, despite the fact that they are presumably two primary reasons for the particle precipitation in the ionosphere. The case studied here provides us a valuable opportunity to address the various sources triggering the anomalous plasma perturbations in the ionosphere.