Comparing lightning observations of the ground-based European lightning location system EUCLID and the space-based Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the International Space Station (ISS)

Abstract

The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the International Space Station (ISS), hereafter referred to as ISS-LIS, detects lightning from space by capturing the optical scattered light emitted from the top of the clouds. The ground-based European Cooperation for Lightning Detection (EUCLID) makes use of the low-frequency electromagnetic signals generated by lightning discharges to locate them accordingly. The objective of this work is to quantify the similarities and contrasts between these two distinct lightning detection technologies by comparing the EUCLID cloud-to-ground strokes and intracloud pulses to the ISS-LIS groups in addition to the correlation at the flash level. The analysis is based on the observations made between 1 March 2017 and 31 March 2019 within the EUCLID network and limited to 54