Contribution to Lightning Parameters Study Based on Some American Tropical Regions Observations

First data of the Colombia lightning mapping array — COLMA

“…Although lightning observations from satellites are restricted to a short time measurements and ground-based sensors only cover small areas of land, the popularization of LLS has allowed to provide more information about lightning parameters associated with regional and temporal characteristics. In fact, as has been reported by several authors [2][5] [6], one region with the highest lightning activity in the world is located in the tropical zone "Catatumbo" composed by the upper area of the Magdalena river valley in Colombia and the Maracaibo region in Venezuela, with a GFD up to 53 flashes/km 2 -year such as shown in Fig. 2 (Ground Flash Density map).…”

La investigación del rayo en Colombia: Parámetros del rayo, sistemas de protección, evaluación de riesgos y sistemas de alerta

“…The results in terms of peak current, GFD and TD diverge significantly from the typical values adopted internationally by CIGRE [6] and IEC [26], among others. The average peak current value adopted by CIGRE [6] and IEC [26] is 30 kA, against the 42 kA reported for Colombia [24]. Based on the equations proposed for Colombia, a maximum deviation of 41 % in the GFD calculation was reported, compared with ISSN: 0122-3461 (impreso) 2145-9371 (on line) 1568 % obtained with the classical CIGRE equations.…”

“…Based on the lightning data recorded from January 2012 to December 2013, GFD GFD values (until 60 flashes/km 2 year) were observed in the Catatumbo region located between Colombia and Venezuela [23]. On the other hand, analyzing the data recorded in some American tropical regions [24], it was observed that the highest lightning activity zones in South America are located between latitudes of 8° and 10° north, it means between Colombia and Venezuela, which fits with what has been reported by NASA.…”

“…In order to estimate the TD in Colombia, in [24] the authors assumed that a TD is a day when at least one CG or IC flash is detected, which is not the standard definition of TD. However, this data was used to study the changes in the relation between TD and GFD for the different terrain conditions in Colombia.…”

“…Based on direct measurements, [24] reports that the average probabilistic lightning peak current value adopted by CIGRE [6] and IEC [26] is 30 kA, whereas the average probability value based on direct and indirect measurements in Brazil, Colombia and Rhodesia is about 42 kA [30].…”