An Overview of Lightning Locating Systems: History, Techniques, and Data Uses, With an In-Depth Look at the U.S. NLDN

Cummins, K. L.; Murphy, Martin J.

doi:10.1109/temc.2009.2023450

Cited by 574 publications

(534 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…The second is the NALMA, which is currently used to devise proxy datasets for the arrival of the new GLM instrument. For a complete discussion of various lightning detection methods and intercomparision of detection systems, please review Cummins and Murphy (2009), Nag et al (2015) and Bitzer and Burchfield (2016).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The NLDN has been used operationally for lightning safety applications for several decades (e.g., Cummins and Murphy 2009). The NLDN operates in the low frequency range between 1 and 350 kHz and consists of 113 sensors across the United States (Buck et al 2014).…”

Section: A the National Lightning Detection Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The NLDN operates in the low frequency range between 1 and 350 kHz and consists of 113 sensors across the United States (Buck et al 2014). The NLDN has a reported detection efficiency of CG flashes between 90 and 95%, with spatial errors in CG location that are typically <500 m (Cummins and Murphy 2009, Buck et al 2014, Koshak and Solakiewicz 2015, Nag et al 2015. Only CG information from the NLDN is used in this study because the IC flash detections the NLDN now incorporate into their data are not present for the entire period of analysis.…”

Section: A the National Lightning Detection Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The NALMA currently consists of 11 stations across North Alabama, and uses time of arrival techniques to detect the electrical breakdown associated with lightning (e.g., Rison et al 1999, Koshak et al 2004, Cummins and Murphy 2009. This system has been operational since March of 2002 and provides nearly 14 years of continuous data for use to assess how GLM measurements might impact lightning decision support services.…”

Section: B the North Alabama Lightning Mapping Arraymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most lightning safety initiatives over the last several decades have utilized the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN; Orville, 2008, Cummins and Murphy 2009, Nag et al 2015 for lightning safety applications. These are point data sources, which provide the end user an idea of the exact location of a ground flash, the polarity of that ground flash, and its magnitude.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Lightning Decision Support Using VHF Total Lightning Mapping and NLDN Cloud-to-Ground Data in North Alabama

Schultz¹,

Stano²,

Meyer³

et al. 2017

J. Operational Meteor.

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show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A the National Lightning Detection Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A the National Lightning Detection Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: B the North Alabama Lightning Mapping Arraymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Lightning Decision Support Using VHF Total Lightning Mapping and NLDN Cloud-to-Ground Data in North Alabama

Schultz¹,

Stano²,

Meyer³

et al. 2017

J. Operational Meteor.

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show abstract

Refining the relationship between lightning and convective rainfall over the ocean

Stolz

Terpstra

2014

JGR Atmospheres

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The lightning stroke density observed by Vaisala's Global Lightning Dataset (GLD360) was compared to maximum reflectivity in the upper and lower troposphere observed by NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Precipitation Radar over remote oceanic regions. We found that GLD360 stroke density is strongly correlated with maximum reflectivity above 0°C and the height of the 30 dBZ isopleth in two ocean basins (best represented by a logarithmic least squares regression). The maximum reflectivity above 0°C increases~8-10 dBZ and the maximum height of the 30 dBZ isopleth increases~2.8-3.8 km across the domain of stroke density. Stroke density and the maximum near-surface reflectivity are also correlated, but the range of the resulting logarithmic relationship is less than that found for maximum reflectivity above 0°C. There is high confidence in the logarithmic regressions as R 2 values are generally above 0.9 during the study. A bootstrap resampling approach confirms that the lightning versus rainfall relationship is statistically significant. Vertical profiles of radar reflectivity show that progressively larger values of stroke density are associated with higher reflectivity at most altitudes (most pronounced near 6.5 km mean sea level) and less rapid decreases in reflectivity with increasing height above 0°C. The logarithmic relationships between lightning and rainfall defined in this study have significant utility in creating proxy data sets, such as pseudoreflectivity, for weather analysis and assimilation in numerical weather prediction.

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On the percentage of lightning flashes that begin with initial breakdown pulses

Marshall¹,

Stolzenburg²,

Karunarathne³

et al. 2014

JGR Atmospheres

110

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The initial breakdown (IB) stage of lightning flashes typically occurs in the first 20 ms of a flash and includes a series of IB pulses often detected with electric field change sensors. There is disagreement about the percentage of negative cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes that begin with IB pulses. This study includes new data on IB pulses in 198 CG flashes in Austria (latitude~48˚N), Florida, USA (~29˚N) and South Dakota, USA (~44˚N) with, respectively, 100%, 100%, and 95% of the flashes having IB pulses. The data indicate that the amplitude of the largest IB pulse, range normalized to 100 km, is often weak, < 0.5 V m À1 , with the lower latitude having a greater percentage (36%) of these weak maximum IB pulses than the higher latitude (11%). Since sensor noise levels are often larger than this value, detection of smaller amplitude IB pulses may be difficult. A similar result is seen in the amplitude ratio of the largest IB pulse to the first return stroke: at the lower latitude, 50% of flashes had a ratio < 0.1 versus 8% of flashes at the higher latitude. However, comparisons of the amplitude ratios from Austria (~48˚) and South Dakota (~44˚) do not support a simple latitude dependence. The data also show that 5-10% of IB pulses occur more than 100 ms before the first return stroke. These findings may explain why some previous studies found percentages <100%. Overall, the results indicate that all negative CG flashes probably begin with IB pulses.

show abstract

An Overview of Lightning Locating Systems: History, Techniques, and Data Uses, With an In-Depth Look at the U.S. NLDN

Cited by 574 publications

References 78 publications

Lightning Decision Support Using VHF Total Lightning Mapping and NLDN Cloud-to-Ground Data in North Alabama

Lightning Decision Support Using VHF Total Lightning Mapping and NLDN Cloud-to-Ground Data in North Alabama

Refining the relationship between lightning and convective rainfall over the ocean

On the percentage of lightning flashes that begin with initial breakdown pulses

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