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.

Study on the Scope of Small Amplitude of Cloud-to-ground Lightning in Lightning Weather Monitoring

Based on lightning location data in Chongqing region during 1999-2008,the frequency of lightning in various amplitude ranges and its annual variations were analyzed firstly.Afterwards,with the aid of matlab mathematical software,the distribution of the lightning location data was fitted using logarithmic normal distribution function.The results showed that after data of cloud-to-ground lightning with current amplitude from-5 to5 kA were deleted from lightning location data,the statistical characteristics of cloud-to-ground lightning could be reflected well.Meanwhile,lightning with current amplitude from-5 to 5 kA accounted for 1.05%（less than 2%）,which accorded with the detection principle of lightning position indicator（there existed error detection）.Therefore,cloud-to-ground lightning with current amplitude of-5-5 kA in lightning location data of Chongqing region was defined as small amplitude of cloud-to-ground lightning,which could provide scientific references for the processing of lightning location data in Chongqing region as well as analysis and quality control of lightning location data in other regions.

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.

Characteristics of Cloud-to-ground Lightning during a Local Rainstorm in Meizhou City

Based on cloud-to-ground lightning data of lightning location system,Doppler radar data,and precipitation data of regional automatic weather stations,the characteristics of cloud-to-ground lightning during a local rainstorm on June 4,2016 in Meizhou City were analyzed. The results showed that the spatial distribution of cloud-to-ground lightning from 14： 00 to 20： 00 on June 4,2016 in Meizhou City had obvious local characteristics,and the proportion of negative lightning was larger than that of positive lightning（ only 16. 8%）. The concentration period of positive lightning coincided with that of cloud-to-ground lightning. The peak of proportion of positive lightning lagged behind the peak of cloud-to-ground lightning,and appeared in the late period of thunderstorm disappearance. The dense area of cloud-to-ground lightning and the area with heavy rainfall coincided with the area with strong radar echoes. Doppler weather radar data had the feature of the headwind zone,strong combined reflectivity,vertical height of strong echoes,high echo top,and fast radial movement. The peak of cloud-to-ground lightning appeared one hour earlier than that of precipitation. There was no significant correlation between the frequency of cloud-to-ground lightning and precipitation. The peak of negative lightning corresponded to that of positive lightning,and cloud-to-ground lightning ended earlier than rainfall. After the peak of precipitation,convective system rapidly weakened and disappeared. Precipitation and the frequency of cloud-to-ground lightning fluctuated frequently during the whole process. The jumps and peaks of negative lightning were indicative of rainfall changes.

Evolution of the Total Lightning Activity in a Leading-Line and Trailing Stratiform Mesoscale Convective System over Beijing

Data from the Beijing SAFIR 3000 lightning detection system and Doppler radar provided some insights into the three-dimensional lightning structure and evolution of a leading-line and trailing-stratiform （LLTS） mesoscale convective system （MCS） over Beijing on 31 July 2007. Most of the lightning in the LLTS-MCS was intracloud （IC） lightning, while the mean ratio of positive cloud-to-ground （＋CG） lightning to –CG lightning was 1：4, which was higher than the average value from previous studies. The majority of CG lightning occurred in the convective region of the radar echo, particularly at the leading edge of the front. Little IC lightning and little ＋CG lightning occurred in the stratiform region. The distribution of the CG lightning indicated that the storm had a tilted dipole structure given the wind shear or the tripole charge structure. During the storm’s development, most of the IC lightning occurred at an altitude of ～9.5 km; the lightning rate reached its maximum at 10.5 km, the altitude of IC lightning in the mature stage of the storm. When the thunderstorm began to dissipate, the altitude of the IC lightning decreased gradually. The spatial distribution of lightning was well correlated with the rainfall on the ground, although the peak value of rainfall appeared 75 min later than the peak lightning rate.

Distribution of lightning spatial modes and climatic causes in China

本文利用中国气象局国家雷电监测网(CNLDN)的地闪观测数据集,分析了2010-2020年中国陆地区域地闪空间模态分布特征及其可能的气候成因.研究发现,夏季地闪第一模态的方差贡献率为32.86%,其分布从北到南呈现出“-+-”的经向跷跷板模式,当东太平洋和印度洋的海温异常增暖,西北太平洋的海温异常变冷时,在中国黄海,东海及热带西太平洋地区激发出气旋性环流,随着水汽南下至华南地区,与来自孟加拉湾的水汽汇合,上升运动在此加强,从而使得该地区的雷电活动增强.表明厄尔尼诺-南方涛动(ENSO)现象,是发生在中国陆地区域的地闪活动的气候驱动因子。

A Comparison of the Characteristics of Total and Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Activities in Hailstorms

The region of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei is covered by two different lightning detection networks： SAFIR （Systeme d＇Alerte Fondre par Interferometrie Radioelecctrique） for total lightning, including IntraCloud （IC） flashes and Cloud-to-Ground （CG） flashes, and the ADTD （ADvanced TOA and Direction system; TOA denotes time of arrival） network of China for CG lightning. Fourteen isolated hail-bearing thunderstorms in this region were examined in this study, using the data of SAFIR and ADTD. The peak of lightning frequency, for both total lightning and CG lightning, was often observed in advance of the occurrence of hailstones on the ground, with a trend of a rapid increase of lightning frequency before the hail was reported. The average lead times of the two types of lightning jump before hail events were obtained （total lightning： 32.2 min; CG： 25.4 min） through the 2a lightning jump algorithm. Additionally, in hailstorms with a high ratio of positive CG flashes, the diameter of hail was larger and the duration of hail was longer; when negative CG flashes dominated, the diameter of hail was relatively small. The comparison of the characteristics of total lightning and CG flashes in hailstorms in this study is expected to serve as a supplementary tool for hail forecasting.

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.

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.

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.

Optical Observations on Propagation Characteristics of Leaders in Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Flashes

Using 2 high-speed cameras, we have recorded 14 negative cloud-to-ground （CG） lightning flashes, half of which are natural and the others are artificially triggered. The two-dimensional （2D） propagation speed of different type leaders and the luminosity of lightning channel are analyzed in detail. Bidirectional leader processes are observed during the initial processes of two altitude triggered negative lightning （ATNL） flashes. The analysis shows： the propagation speed of the upward positive leader （UPL） before the initiation of the downward negative leader （DNL） is at the order of 10^4-10^5 m s-1; the UPL can be intensified by the initiation and development of the DNL in the way that the luminosity is enhanced and the speed is sped up; after initiation, the DNL in one ATNL flash propagates downward three times intermittently with interval of about 1 ms, while that in the other ATNL flash propagates downward continuously with a speed at the order of 10^5 m s^-1. In the five classical triggered negative lightning （CTNL） flashes, the propagation speeds of the UPLs vary between 0.35×10^5 and 7.71×10^5 m s-1, and the variations of their luminosities and speeds are quite complex during the development processes. Among the four observed natural negative lightning flashes occurred on the land, three have only one return stoke （RS） each and all of their DNLs have many branches with an average speed at the order of 10^5 m s-l; while the another one has 13 RSs. In the CG flash with 13 RSs, the DNL before the first RS has no obvious branch below 1.4 km above the ground, and its speed ranges from 2.2×10^5 to 2.3×10^6 m s-1 between the heights of 0.7 and 1.4 km and exceeds 3.9×10^6 m s-1 below 0.7 km; preceding the 4th RS, an attempted leader is observed with a speed ranging from 1.1× 10^5 to 1.1×10^6 m s-1 between 0.8 and 1.5 km. As for the three observed natural negative lightning flashes occurred on the sea, each has only one RS, and each DNL preceding the RS has a few branches, two of which have an average propagation speed at the order of 10^5 m s-1, and the other of 10^6 m s-1, respectively. All the DNLs contained in the observed natural negative lightning flashes, except the attempted leader, propagate with gradually increasing luminosity and increasing speed in whole.

Positive Charge Region in Lower Part of Thunderstorm and Preliminary Breakdown Process of Negative Cloud-to-Ground Lightning

A new lightning locating technology, called Lightning Mapping Array （LMA）, has been developed. The system takes advantage of GPS technology to measure the times of arrival （TOA） of lightning impulsive very high frequency （VHF） radiation events at each remote location. The spatiotemporal development processes of lightning are described in three-dimension by measurement of the system with high time resolution （50 ns） and space precision （50-100 m）. The charge structures in thunderstorm and their relationship with lightning discharge processes are revealed. The temporal and spatial characteristics of preliminary breakdown process involved in negative cloud-to-ground （CG） lightning discharges are analyzed based on the data of lightning VHF radiation events. The effect of positive charge region in lower part of thunderstorm on the occurrence of negative CG lightning discharge is discussed. The results indicate that the preliminary breakdown process with longer duration in negative CG lightning discharges is an intracloud discharge process. It occurs between negative and positive charge regions located in middle and lower parts of thunderstorm respectively. It initiates from the negative charge region and propagates downward. After propagating into the positive charge region, the lightning channel develops horizontally. The characteristics of the preliminary breakdown process are consistent with that of intracloud lightning discharges. The stepped leaders are initiated by the K type breakdown which occurs in the last stage of the preliminary breakdown process and develops downward through the positive charge region. The existence of positive charge region in lower part of thunderstorm results in the occurrence of preliminary breakdown process with longer duration before the return stroke of negative CG lightning discharges.

A Case Study of Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Activities in Hailstorms under Cold Eddy Synoptic Situation

There were three hailstorms in Shandong Province, caused by a same northeast cold eddy situation on 1 June 2002. Cloud-to-ground （CG） flashes occurring in the weather event were observed by Shandong Lightning Detection Network （SLDN）, which consists of 10 sensors covering all over Shandong Province. The temporal and spatial distributions of CG lightning are investigated for the three hailstorms by using the data from SLDN, Doppler radar and satellite. The results show that different thunderstorms present different lightning features even if under the same synoptic situation. The percentage of positive CG lightning is very high during the period of hail falling. CG flashes mainly occurred in the region with a cloud top brightness temperature lower than -50℃. Negative CG flashes usually clustered in the lower temperature region and tended to occur in the region with maximum temperature gradient, while the positive ones usually spread discretely. Negative CG flashes usually occurred in intense echo regions with reflectivity greater than 50 dBz, while the positive CG flashes often occurred in weak and stable echo regions （10-30 dBz） or cloud anvils, although they can be observed in strong convective regions sometimes. Almost all haft falling took place in the stage with active positive flashes, and the peak positive flash rate is a little prior to the hail events. The thunderstorm could lead to disastrous weather when positive CG lightning activities occur in cluster. Severe thunderstorms sometimes present a low flash rate at its vigorous stage, which is probably caused by the ＂mechanism of chargeregion lift＂ through investigating the reflectivity evolution. Combined with the total lightning （intracloud and CG） data obtained by LIS onboard TRMM, the phenomenon of high ratio of intracloud flash to CG flash in severe hailstorm has been discussed. The competition of the same charge sources between different lightning types can also be helpful for explaining the cause of low CG lightning activities in severe storms.

大兴安岭林区雷击火成因机理及影响因素研究进展

闪电是雷击火发生的火源,森林雷击火给人类和生态环境带来了巨大损失.本研究从大兴安岭林区雷击火发生的时空规律、引燃机理、影响因素和预测预报等方面,总结梳理了国内外研究进展结合对雷击火高发区域地质背景研究分析,认为地质要素对云-地闪电有重要影响,地质多要素是雷击火发生的重要条件,并对未来研究趋势进行了探讨和展望.

云南省两套闪电定位系统地闪回击参数对比及探测性能分析

根据2017—2020年云南省ADTD二维和VLF/LF三维闪电定位系统观测资料,对比两套系统地闪回击参数分布差异。在实际回击位置和雷电流强度信息难以获得的情况下,研究利用两套系统反演资料对相同回击事件的识别匹配和时空阈值选取方法,分析相对定位偏差。结果表明:两套系统的回击密度、雷电流幅值在滇东、滇西南和滇西北等地的空间分布差异明显,由三维系统得到的回击密度较大,但二维系统雷电流幅值均值更高。两套系统均以单回击地闪占比更高,正地闪中的单回击地闪比重较负地闪更大,三维系统对于0~5 kA负回击小幅值电流的探测效率有所提高。通过采用10km、1 ms的时空阈值匹配窗口,得到两套系统对于同一次回击的相对定位时间差主要集中在0.05 ms内,距离偏差集中在1 km内。系统匹配回击在滇中、滇西南的时空偏差较小,滇西北的偏差较大。从回击极性、相关系数、相对误差、幅值比及幅值累积概率等方面,分析得到两套系统对于相同回击事件的电流强度反演结果一致性较好,验证了应用系统反演资料对于同一回击事件的识别匹配方法是客观可靠的。

中国南方地区夏季地闪和降水协同变化的特征及气象要素分析

利用ADTD地闪定位数据和地基-卫星-雷达融合降水数据,通过耦合自组织映射网络(SOM)的聚类方法,分析了2016—2021年中国夏季地闪和降水协同变化的时空分布特征。研究区域位于我国南方地区(105~122°E,20~35°N范围内),覆盖了地闪密度和降水气候态的大值区。聚类结果显示我国地闪-降水耦合分布型可归为5类,其中第一类和第五类中地闪密度和降水异常的协同变化最一致。第一类表现为江淮地区降水-地闪活动偏多且华南地区降水-地闪活动偏少的偶极型分布,第五类与其分布相似,但符号相反。不同类型的地闪-降水耦合分布型对应着不同的地闪密度和降水异常中心,并且地闪密度和降水关系呈现出明显的地域差异性、非线性和非对称性。进一步研究发现,不稳定的大气层结、显著的中低层湿度差和有利的大尺度大气环流背景场是造成我国南方地区地闪-降水协同变化的重要因素。

江西省地闪特征及其与雷达特征量关系研究

利用2013—2020年3—9月江西省多普勒天气雷达和地闪观测资料,对地闪分布特征及其与雷达主要特征量之间的关系进行统计分析。结果表明:江西省地闪频数从东北到西南逐渐减小,其北部鄱阳湖平原为地闪频数高值区;地闪频数具有明显的季节变化和日变化特征,总地闪频数在16:00达到一天的峰值;地闪频数与低层(3 km)雷达回波强度的关系可用对数拟合方程来描述,地闪频数与低层雷达回波面积的变化趋势正相关,回波越强相关性越强,但二者存在位相差,地闪增加先于回波面积增加的情况约占57%~60%,大多数情况下可在18 min内发现两者均有增加;箱线图特征显示,随着回波强度增大,地闪发生时的回波伸展高度相应减小,而回波厚度略增大,从而得出不同强度回波的地闪发生格点周围10 km半径范围的雷达回波特征。

西南地区复杂地形对地闪与降水影响分析

基于2016-2020年夏季(6-8月)重庆市ADTD地闪定位资料和1686个自动气象站逐小时地面降水观测资料,并结合DEM高程数据,研究了西南地区盆地、丘陵和高山山地等3种不同地形条件下地闪活动与降水变化特征。结果表明,由盆地、丘陵到高山山地区域地闪活动逐渐减弱,降水逐渐增加,盆地区域的降水量主要来自降水强度的贡献,丘陵、高山山地区域的降水量主要来自降水频次的贡献。地闪活动与短时强降水分布密切相关,不同地形条件下强对流活动日变化特征迥异,自西向东由盆地、丘陵到高山山地区域强对流系统由夜间主导型逐渐向白天主导型转变。重庆市RPF(总降水量/总地闪次数)为0.24×10^(8)~3.74×10^(8) kg·fl^(-1),复杂地形对其影响显著,其值随海拔抬升呈线性递增,随地闪频次增加呈线性递减。地形抬升有利于触发对流活动,但山地区域不利于深对流活动的持续和发展。

江西省闪电定位资料与人工观测雷暴日的对比分析

利用江西省81个气象站1984—2013年雷暴日观测资料和2010—2019年闪电定位资料,对比分析了3—19 km半径下闪电日数与雷暴日数的关系。结果表明,全省范围内闪电日数与雷暴日数相等的监测半径置信区间为10.1—11.5 km,监测半径为10 km和11 km时全省闪电日数与雷暴日数差异不显著,相对偏差最小。聚类分析表明,全省闪电日数与雷暴日数相等的半径可分为5个区域:R1—R5,对应闪电日数与雷暴日数相等的半径均值分别为14.5、9.4、9.6、10.5、10.2 km。

2010-2022年海南儋州洋浦地区雷暴和闪电活动特征

为给海南儋州洋浦(简称儋洋)地区雷电安全工作提供科学依据,利用2020-2022年海口天气雷达和海南系统过程编型集、2010-2022年海南省ADTD闪电定位系统等资料,采用数理统计方法,分析儋洋地区雷暴和闪电活动特征。结果表明:儋洋地区系统性雷暴占六成,局地雷暴占三成,混合型雷暴占一成;混合型雷暴发生地闪的可能性最高(93.8%)、局地雷暴次之(82.5%)、系统性雷暴最低(70.5%)。海南的各种天气系统均会产生雷暴和闪电,低压槽类系统产生的雷暴最多且发生地闪的概率最大(90%左右)。儋洋地区雷暴和地闪活动主要发生在4-10月,地闪活动在13-19时最频繁;多数雷暴在11-17时回波强度增强到35 dBZ以上,且雷暴持续时间大多小于7 h。局地雷暴最多在南部和中部生成,主要向东北方向移动;系统性雷暴主要从南部移入、往西北和东北方向移动。地闪活动呈现南多北少、东多西少的分布特征。雷暴和地闪活动的时空分布具有较好的一致性。