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Lightning Characteristics Associated With Storm Modes Observed During RELAMPAGO

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023jd039520· OSTI ID:2308792
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  2. Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States); National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, CO (United States)
  3. Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)
  4. Univ. of Sao Paulo (Brazil)
  5. Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Global satellite studies show a maximum in deep convection and lightning downstream of the Andes in subtropical South America. The Remote sensing of Electrification, Lightning, And Mesoscale/microscale Processes with Adaptive Ground Observations (RELAMPAGO) field campaign was designed to investigate the physical processes that contribute to the rapid development of deep convection and mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) in Argentina. A lightning mapping array (LMA) was deployed to Argentina as part of RELAMPAGO to collect lightning observations from extreme storms in the region. This study combines lightning data from the LMA and the Geostationary Lightning Mapper onboard GOES-16 with 1-km gridded radar data to examine the electrical characteristics of a variety of convective storms throughout their life cycle observed during RELAMPAGO. Results from the full campaign show 48% of flashes are associated with deep convection that occurs along the eastern edge of the Sierras de Córdoba (SDC) overnight. These flashes are 65 km2 smaller on average compared to stratiform flashes, which occur most frequently 50–100 km east of the SDC in the early morning hours, consistent with the upscale growth of MCSs off the terrain. Analysis of the 13–14 December MCS shows that sharp increases in flash rates correspond to deep and wide convective cores that have high graupel and hail mass, 35-dBZ volume, and ice water path. This work validates previous satellite studies of lightning in the region, but also provides higher spatial and temporal resolution information across the convective life cycle that has not been available in previous studies.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0022056
OSTI ID:
2308792
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2310255
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 129; ISSN 2169-897X
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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