Observations of optical lightning emissions from above thunderstorms using U-2 aircraft.

Abstract

In order to determine how to achieve orders of magnitude improvement in spatial and temporal resolution and in sensitivity of satellite lightning sensors, better quantitative measurements of the characteristics of the optical emissions from lightning as observed from above tops of thunderclouds are required. A number of sensors have been developed and integrated into an instrument package and flown aboard a NASA U-2 aircraft. The instrumentation and observations of the program are reviewed and their significance for future research is discussed.-from Authors