Electromagnetic Methods of Lightning Detection

Both cloud-to-ground and cloud lightning discharges involve a number of processes that produce electromagnetic field signatures in different regions of the spectrum. Salient characteristics of measured wideband electric and magnetic fields generated by various lightning processes at distances ranging from tens to a few hundreds of kilometers (when at least the initial part of the signal is essentially radiation while being not influenced by ionospheric reflections) are reviewed. An overview of the various lightning locating techniques, including magnetic direction finding, time-of-arrival technique, and interferometry, is given. Lightning location on global scale, when radio-frequency electromagnetic signals are dominated by ionospheric reflections, is also considered. Lightning locating system performance characteristics, including flash and stroke detection efficiencies, percentage of misclassified events, location accuracy, and peak current estimation errors, are discussed. Both cloud and cloud-to-ground flashes are considered. Representative examples of modern lightning locating systems are reviewed. Besides general characterization of each system, the available information on its performance characteristics is given with emphasis on those based on formal ground-truth studies published in the peer-reviewed literature.     

Understanding the dynamical-microphysical-electrical processes associated with severe thunderstorms over the Beijing metropolitan region

The Dynamical-microphysical-electrical Processes in Severe Thunderstorms and Lightning Hazards(STORM973)project conducted coordinated comprehensive field observations of thunderstorms in the Beijing metropolitan region(BMR)during the warm season from 2014 to 2018.The aim of the project was to understand how dynamical,microphysical and electrical processes interact in severe thunderstorms in the BMR,and how to assimilate lightning data in numerical weather prediction models to improve severe thunderstorm forecasts.The platforms used in the field campaign included the Beijing Lightning Network(BLNET,consisting of 16 stations),2 X-band dual linear polarimetric Doppler radars,and 4 laser raindrop spectrometers.The collaboration also made use of the China Meteorological Administration’s mesoscale meteorological observation network in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.Although diverse thunderstorm types were documented,it was found that squall lines and multicell storms were the two major categories of severe thunderstorms with frequent lightning activity and extreme rainfall or unexpected local short-duration heavy rainfall resulting in inundations in the central urban area,influenced by the terrain and environmental conditions.The flash density maximums were found in eastern Changping District,central and eastern Shunyi District,and the central urban area of Beijing,suggesting that the urban heat island effect has a crucial role in the intensification of thunderstorms over Beijing.In addition,the flash rate associated with super thunderstorms can reach hundreds of flashes per minute in the central city regions.The super(5%of the total),strong(35%),and weak(60%)thunderstorms contributed about 37%,56%,and 7%to the total flashes in the BMR,respectively.Owing to the close connection between lightning activity and the thermodynamic and microphysical characteristics of the thunderstorms,the lightning flash rate can be used as an indicator of severe weather events,such as hail and short-duration heavy rainfall.Lightning data can also be assimilated into numerical weather prediction models to help improve the forecasting of severe convection and precipitation at the cloud-resolved scale,through adjusting or correcting the thermodynamic and microphysical parameters of the model.     

Some observations of bipolar flashes during summer thunderstorms near Warsaw

Lightning discharges monitored by the SAFIR network system in Poland have been additionally identified over the 100×100 km area near Warsaw by single-point independent recordings of electric field and Maxwell current rapid changes. The data collected in summer thunderstorm days of 2002 showed some untypical properties of the lightning discharges which are rarely observed. Especially remarkable was a number of ground multi-stroke flashes with the return strokes (RS) which transported to the earth charges of opposite signs. Bipolar flashes (BF) of this kind were mostly involved in the events in which the nearby intracloud (ic) and cloud-to-ground (c-g) discharges were very closely associated in time. Events of such a close collocation of two different types of lightning discharges, previously called the complex lightning discharge events (CLDE), were quite often observed during summer thunderstorms in Poland. The events of this kind, i.e. 8 flashes, identified by the SAFIR detection system as BF’s present the multiple stroke flashes of the mean horizontal separation distance between striking points of particular RS equal to (2.8 ± 2.1) km and of the mean time interval between strokes of (46.8 ± 74.4) ms. The time separation between the observed BF and the adjacent ic flashes was from 0.1 to 335 ms, and horizontal separation distance between them ranged from 1.8 to 14.5 km. The multiplicity of the recorded BF’s ranged from 2 to 4 strokes. Four of these BF’s followed the ic discharge, but the other three preceded the ic and one was alone with no close ic.     

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.     

不同电结构雷暴中的地闪特征

对观测资料的分析表明,甘肃地区和海南岛的地闪特征具有很大差异。海南岛负地闪（P型）首次回击前的电场变化波形与国外的报道类似,而甘肃地区仅有30％左右的负地闪属P型,约70％的负地闪首次回击前的电场变化波形具有明显的云闪特征（C型负地闪）。海南岛没有发现正地闪,甘肃地区有正地闪。该两地区存在两类电结构不同的雷暴,两类雷暴中地闪放电过程及特征的很大差异,说明我国的防雷规范及措施很可能需要考虑雷暴的地区差异性。     

Low-frequency E-field Detection Array(LFEDA)—Construction and preliminary results

In recent years, locating total lightning at the VLF/LF band has become one of the most important directions in lightning detection. The Low-frequency E-field Detection Array(LFEDA) consisting of nine fast antennas was developed by the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences in Guangzhou between 2014 and 2015. This paper documents the composition of the LFEDA and a lightning-locating algorithm that applies to the low-frequency electric field radiated by lightning pulse discharge events(LPDEs). Theoretical simulation and objective assessment of the accuracy and detection efficiency of LFEDA have been done using Monte Carlo simulation and artificial triggered lightning experiment, respectively. The former results show that having a station in the network with a comparatively long baseline improves both the horizontal location accuracy in the direction perpendicular to the baseline and the vertical location accuracy along the baseline. The latter results show that detection efficiencies for triggered lightning flashes and return strokes are 100% and 95%, respectively. The average planar location error for return strokes of triggered lightning flashes is 102 m. By locating LPDEs in thunderstorms, we find that LPDEs are consistent with convective regions as indicated by strong reflectivity columns, and present a reasonable distribution in the vertical direction.In addition, the LFEDA can reveal an image of lightning development through mapping the channels of lightning. Based on three-dimensional locations, the vertical propagation speed of the preliminary breakdown and the changing trend of the leader's speed in an intra-cloud and a cloud-to-ground flash are investigated. The research results show that the LFEDA has the capability for three-dimensional location of lightning, which provides a new technique for researching lightning development characteristics and thunderstorm electricity.     

Using full-flash narrowband energy for ranging of lightning ground strokes

We demonstrate that narrowband measurements can be used for rudimentary ranging of cloud-to-ground lightning flashes. The system at present responds to both intra-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning; ranging is demonstrated for a subset of flashes known to be cloud-to-ground lightning. The system uses a ferrite-core antenna with a length of about 4 cm and diameter 4 mm, and operates on a narrow band at about 1 MHz, close to the HF band (3–30 MHz). It downmixes the signal to audio frequencies and operates in a manner which is very similar to an AM radio. The system triggers on all impulses which exceed a given adjustable threshold above the ambient noise level, and records 1 s of data. Such a system was used to collect lightning-caused electromagnetic disturbances during summer 2006 in Finland. The output is compared to two scientifically verified references: a flat-plate broadband antenna measuring the vertical electric field and a commercial lightning location network giving flash location. A key aim of the system is to reduce the information to as few parameters as possible. Peak intensity and full-flash energy were used as simple parameters. It is shown that accurate flash-by-flash ranging is not possible with this method; however, it is shown that the method can be used to track clusters of ground flashes within a range of about 50–100 km with an accuracy of about 10 km.     

Lightning activity and precipitation structure of hailstorms

By using the cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning location data from the lightning detection network of He- nan Province, surface Doppler radar data and standard orbit data of PR, TMI and LIS on TRMM satellite, the spatial and temporal characteristics of CG lightning flashes in 10 severe hailstorms are analyzed. The results show that the percentage of CG lightning in these hailstorms is high with an average value of 45.5%. There is a distinct increase in CG flash rate during the rapid development stage of hailstorms. The hailstone falling corresponds to an active positive flash period, and the increase of CG flash rate is generally accompanied with a decrease of –CG flash rate. The flash rate declines rapidly during the dissipating stage of hailstorms. The precipitation structure and lightning activity in two typical hail- storms are studied in detail. It is found that strong convective cells with reflectivity greater than 30dBZ mainly are situated in the front region of hailstorms, whereas the trailing stratiform region is in the rear part of the hailstorms. The maximum heights of echo top are higher than 14 km. Convective rain con- tributes much more rainfall to the total than stratiform rain, and the convective rain takes about 85% and 97% of the total in the two cases, respectively. Total lightning in the hailstorms is very active with the flash rate up to 183 fl/min and 55 fl/min, respectively. The results also indicate that most lightning flashes occurred in the echo region greater than 30 dBZ and its immediate periphery. The probability of lightning occurrence is 20 times higher in the convective region than in the stratiform region. The result suggests that the lightning information is helpful to the identification of convective rain region. The linear relationship between flash rate and ice water content is disclosed primarily.     

Lightning Applications in Weather and Climate Research

Thunderstorms, and lightning in particular, are a major natural hazard to the public, aviation, power companies, and wildfire managers. Lightning causes great damage and death every year but also tells us about the inner working of storms. Since lightning can be monitored from great distances from the storms themselves, lightning may allow us to provide early warnings for severe weather phenomena such as hail storms, flash floods, tornadoes, and even hurricanes. Lightning itself may impact the climate of the Earth by producing nitrogen oxides (NOx), a precursor of tropospheric ozone, which is a powerful greenhouse gas. Thunderstorms themselves influence the climate system by the redistribution of heat, moisture, and momentum in the atmosphere. What about future changes in lightning and thunderstorm activity? Many studies show that higher surface temperatures produce more lightning, but future changes will depend on what happens to the vertical temperature profile in the troposphere, as well as changes in water balance, and even aerosol loading of the atmosphere. Finally, lightning itself may provide a useful tool for tracking climate change in the future, due to the nonlinear link between lightning, temperature, upper tropospheric water vapor, and cloud cover.     

On the NOx production by laboratory electrical discharges and lightning

Different approaches are used in estimating the global production of NO_x by lightning flashes, including field measurements carried out during thunderstorm conditions, theoretical studies combining the physics and chemistry of the electrical discharges, and measurements of NO_x yield in laboratory sparks with subsequent extrapolation to lightning. In the latter procedure, laboratory data are extrapolated to lightning using the energy as the scaling quantity. Further, in these studies only the return strokes are considered assuming that contributions from other processes such as leaders, continuing currents, M components, and K processes are negligible. In this paper, we argue that the use of energy as the scaling quantity and omission of all lightning processes other than return strokes are not justified. First, a theory which can be used to evaluate the NO_x production by electrical discharges, if the current flowing in the discharge is known, is presented. The results obtained from theory are compared with the available experimental data and a reasonable agreement is found. Numerical experiments suggest that the NO_x production efficiency of electrical discharges depends not only on the energy dissipated in the discharge, but also on the shape of current waveform. Thus, the current signature, can influence extrapolation of laboratory data to lightning flashes. Second, an estimation of the NO_x yield per lightning flash is made by treating the lightning flash as a composite event consisting of several discharge processes. We show that the NO_x production takes place mainly in slow discharge processes such as leaders, M components, and continuing currents, with return strokes contributing only a small fraction of the total NO_x. The results also show that cloud flashes are as efficient as ground flashes in NO_x generation. In estimating the global NO_x production by lightning flashes the most influencing parameter is the length of the lightning discharge channel inside the cloud. For the total length of channels inside the cloud of a typical ground flash of about 45 km, we estimate that the global annual production of NO_x is about 4 Tg(N).     

北京地区闪电活动与气溶胶浓度的关系研究

基于2015—2017年北京闪电定位网(BLNET)总闪资料与35个自动空气质量监测站PM2.5数据,分析了北京地区(39.5°N—41.0°N,115.0°E—117.5°E)夏季(6—8月)闪电活动与PM_2.5的时空分布特征,同时针对117次雷暴天气,探讨了气溶胶浓度变化对闪电活动的可能影响.结果表明:PM_2.5浓度及总闪密度均呈现自西北向东南升高的空间分布特征.闪电峰值在污染背景下出现的时间(19∶00LT)晚于清洁背景下(15∶00LT)约4h,且总闪百分比(～20%)可达清洁背景下(～9%)的两倍.对雷暴前1～4h的PM_2.5浓度与时间窗(12∶00—22∶00LT)内总闪数目的中位数进行相关分析,发现PM_2.5浓度低于130μg·m^-3时,PM2.5与总闪数存在明显正相关,此时气溶胶可能通过影响云微物理过程进而影响雷暴的对流发展,增强闪电活动;PM_2.5大于150μg·m^-3时,总闪数随PM_2.5浓度...     

Single-station narrowband ranging of active storm cells without lightning-type discrimination

We present a statistical technique for ranging the edges of active storms cell using a very simple narrowband receiver tuned to 1 MHz (the MW band in radio, just below HF frequencies). We show that a principle based on the “30–30 rule” can be used to define practical warning levels. From the measurements carried out in Finland, we show that the narrowband source intensities of cloud-to-ground lightning vary log-normally; this results in a ranging uncertainty of about 20%, which can be reduced if a suitable floating average is used. Based on one storm, we suggest that the differences between intra-cloud and ground-to-cloud signals at 1 MHz are small enough to make an IC–CG discrimination. Eliminating such a discrimination allows all lightning impulses to be used in the range and improves the accuracy, since more flashes are then available as inputs into the distance-estimation algorithm. Although the system is only validated against a single storm, we provide definitions by which this and other narrowband detectors could be independently verified; existing narrowband devices have not been verified in this manner, due in part to a lack of such standardized definitions.     

HF radiation emitted by chaotic leader processes

This paper presents direct measurements of narrowband 10 MHz HF radiation from so-called “chaotic leaders” associated with subsequent return strokes. Although the term is controversial and poorly defined, we find that more than 30% of subsequent strokes in close lightning flashes contain electric field characteristics that are best described as “chaotic”. In earlier studies, return strokes have consistently been observed to be the strongest sources of HF radiation, but the results for leader processes are less consistent. We also observe return strokes to be the main HF emitter, and the leaders before the first return stroke in a flash sequence also emit HF though somewhat less intensely. The leaders preceding subsequent strokes typically emit little or no HF radiation, whether they are dart or dart-stepped leaders.However, it was observed that the presence of a chaotic component increases the leader HF intensity dramatically Defining the HF intensity unequivocally can be problematic for processes like chaotic leaders which have a combination of continuous and impulsive phenomena. Two time-domain methods were used to measure the HF intensity, the peak energy and the RMS energy. In the frequency domain these correspond to the energy spectral density (ESD) and power spectral density (PSD), respectively.It was found that the methods are not necessarily compatible. Thus, it is suggested that to clarify future work, leader processes should be characterized by the PSD rather than the ESD.     

Ten-year study of cloud-to-ground lightning activity in the Iberian Peninsula

The characteristics (annual and diurnal cycle, polarity, multiplicity and first stroke peak current) of ∼4.3×10⁶ cloud-to-ground flashes recorded in the Iberian Peninsula during the first decade of measurements of the lightning detection network installed in Spain are analyzed. The mean monthly variation shows maximum lightning activity between May and September, while minimum values are observed in January and February. The mean diurnal cycle shows maximum values at 1700 LT and minimum values at around 1000 LT. The average maximum flash density (not corrected for detection efficiency) is 2.1 flashes km⁻² year⁻¹. Maximum lightning activity is associated with mountainous areas. The effect of the Mediterranean Sea is also seen. The percentage of positive flashes is 9%, although this changes over the year from 6.5% in June to 22.6% in January. The average multiplicity is found to be 2.0 for the negative flashes and 1.1 for the positive flashes, and the percentages of single-stroke flashes are 53.6% and 89%, respectively. The monthly distribution of multiplicity for negative flashes peaks in the summer and minimum values are found in the winter. The multiplicity of the positive flashes does not seem to be function of the month. The median (mean) first stroke peak currents are found to be 23.5 kA (27.3 kA) for the negative flashes and 35.3 kA (47.1 kA) for the positive flashes. For both polarities, the peak current is higher in the summer than in the winter. The percentage of positive flashes and the mean peak currents for negative flashes are higher over the sea areas than over land.     

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.     

The Physics of Lightning

An overview of the physics of cloud-to-ground lightning is given, including its initiation, propagation, and attachment to ground. Discharges artificially initiated (triggered) from natural thunderclouds using the rocket-and-wire technique are discussed with a view toward studying properties of natural lightning. Both conventional and runaway breakdown mechanisms of lightning initiation in thunderclouds are reviewed, as is the role of the lower positive charge region in facilitating different types of lightning. New observations of negative-leader stepping and its attachment to ground are compared to similar processes in long laboratory sparks. The mechanism and parameters of compact intracloud lightning discharges that are thought to be the most intense natural producers of HF-VHF (3–300 MHz) radiation on Earth are reviewed. The M-component mode of charge transfer to ground and its difference from the leader/return-stroke mode are discussed. Lightning interaction with the ionosphere and the production of energetic radiation (X-rays and gamma radiation) by cloud-to-ground leaders are considered.     

Estimate of NOX production in the lightning channel based on three-dimensional lightning locating system

Based on the VHF lightning locating system,a three-dimensional-space cell-gridded approach is used to extract the lighting channel and calculate the length of the channel.Through clustering of the located radiation sources and then extracting the lightning channel,it can accurately obtain the length of the channel.To validate the feasibility of the approach,a simulation experiment is designed,and it shows the length error is no more than 10%.The relationship between the NO production of per unit arc length and atmospheric pressure obtained in laboratory is applied to the NOX production of per unit flash length at different altitudes in this paper.The channel length and the NOX production of 11 negative cloud-to-ground flashes and 59 intracloud flashes in an isolated thunderstorm in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are calculated.The results show that the average channel lengths of per cloud-to-ground and intracloud flash are 28.9 and 22.3 km respectively;the average NOX productions of per cloud-to-ground and intracloud flash are 1.89×1025 and 0.42×1025 molecules,respectively.     

Charge analysis on lightning discharges to the ground in Chinese inland plateau (close to Tibet)

Since the summer of 1996, scientists from China and Japan have conducted a joint observation of natural cloud-to-ground lightning discharges in the Zhongchuan area that is located close to Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau, China. It has been found that the long-duration of intracloud discharge processes, just before the first return stroke, lasted more than 120 ms for 85% of cloud-to-ground flashes in this area, with a mean duration of 189.7 ms and a maximum of 300 ms. We present the results of charge sources neutralized by four ground flashes and two intracloud discharge processes, just before the first return stroke, by using the data from a 5-site slow antenna network synchronized by GPS with 1 s time resolution. The result shows that the altitudes of the neutralized negative charge for three negative ground flashes were between 2.7 to 5.4 km above the ground, while that of neutralized positive charges for one positive ground flash and one continuing current process were at about 2.0 km above the ground. The comparison with radar echo showed that the negative discharges initiated in the region greater than 20 dBZ or near the edge of the region with intense echoes greater than 40 dBZ, while positive discharge initiated in the weak echo region.     

用宽带干涉仪观测云内闪电通道双向传输的特征

利用闪电宽带干涉仪系统对闪电的观测表明，地闪和云闪的云内闪电通道都存在双向发展的特征. 闪电在云中负电荷区域初始激发以后，在通道两端发生向不同方向同时发展的击穿过程. 这两种击穿过程均产生较强的辐射，且辐射频谱特征十分相似，表明云内闪电通道两端发生的击穿过程可能均为负击穿过程. 相应电场变化表明闪电通道双向发展期间伴随着负电荷的向上转移. 这一观测事实与Kasemir早期提出的闪电通道双向发展的概念有一定的差异.