The Illumination of Thunderclouds by Lightning: 3. Retrieving Optical Source Altitude.

ABSTRACT: Optical space-based lightning sensors such as the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) detect and geolocate lightning by recording rapid changes in cloud top illumination. While lightning locations can be determined to within a pixel on the GLM imaging array, these instruments are not individually able to natively report lightning altitude. It has previously been shown that thunderclouds are illuminated differently based on the altitude of the optical source. In this study, we examine how altitude information can be extracted from the spatial distributions of GLM energy recorded from each optical pulse. We match GLM "groups" with Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) source data that accurately report the 3-D positions of coincident Radio-Frequency (RF) emitters. We then use machine learning metho

SUBMITTER: Peterson M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9285908 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature