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Updated: Jun 29, 2025
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Method for Recording Broadband High Resolution Emission Spectra of Laboratory Lightning Arcs
Published on: August 27, 2019
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Employing optical lightning data to identify lightning flashes associated to terrestrial gamma-ray flashes
Christoph Köhn1, Matthias Heumesser1, Olivier Chanrion1
1National Space Institute (DTU Space), Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
Bulletin of Atmospheric Science and Technology
|April 8, 2024
Summary
Scientists developed an algorithm to efficiently identify Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) from thunderstorms using space-based lightning data. This method significantly reduces the number of lightning events needing analysis, aiding TGF detection.
Area of Science:
- Atmospheric Physics and Space Science
- Electromagnetism and Radiation Physics
Background:
- Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) are high-energy emissions from thunderstorms, posing a significant research interest.
- Simultaneous measurements of TGFs by the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) and lightning by the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the International Space Station (ISS) present a data volume challenge due to the vast number of lightning events compared to TGFs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate an algorithm for significantly reducing the number of lightning flashes requiring analysis for potential TGF association.
- To improve the efficiency of searching for TGFs within large datasets of space-based lightning observations.
Main Methods:
- An algorithm was created utilizing the temporal evolution and spatial patterns of lightning flashes detected by ISS LIS.
- The algorithm was benchmarked using ASIM measurements to confirm TGF association and assess the preservation rate of TGFs.
- Analysis included comparing radiance, footprint size, and global distribution of reduced lightning flash sets against the full dataset.
Main Results:
- The algorithm reduces potential TGF-associated space-detected flashes by approximately 60% and associated LIS groups by 95%.
- ASIM validation confirmed the algorithm's ability to identify TGF-associated flashes at ~400 km altitude, preserving 70-80% of concurrent TGFs.
- No significant differences were observed in radiance, footprint size, or global distribution between the reduced and full lightning flash datasets.
Conclusions:
- The developed algorithm effectively filters large lightning datasets, significantly enhancing the efficiency of identifying TGF events.
- This method facilitates future searches for TGFs in reduced lightning flash datasets from space-based observations.
- The algorithm's parameters can be optimized to balance reduction efficiency with the preservation of TGF-associated events.
