LIGHTNING DETECTION FROM SATELLITES.

Abstract

In 1965, the first optical lightning detector was included by Vorpahl on the Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO) satellite and was limited to midnight observations. More recent studies in the 1970's using the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) detectors have extended the lightning observations to dusk and dawn periods in addition to midnight recordings. Studies using the data by B. N. Turman, B. C. Edgar, Vonnegut, and R. E. Orville have produced global lightning flashing rates which range from approximately 50 to 150 flashes per sec and land-ocean flash ratios which vary from 2 to 20, depending upon the time of day and whether coastal storms are considered to be over land or ocean. The ratio of global lightning flash frequency during northern summer to that in southern summer is 1. 4 for both dusk and midnight satellite data. Most recent DMSP analyses involve the detailed mapping of 25,000 lightning flashes for 365 consecutive days near local midnight. The lightning positions are plotted with an estimated accuracy of 100 km.