The Illumination of Thunderclouds by Lightning: Part 4: Volumetric
Thunderstorm Imagery
Abstract
Optical instruments such as the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM)
detect lightning based on transient changes in cloud illumination. The
horizontal location of lightning is determined from the coordinates of
the pixels on the imaging array illuminated during the flash. However,
the vertical position of the lightning pulses (approximated by GLM
“groups”) below the cloud-top cannot be routinely determined from a
single space-based instrument. In our prior work, we have developed a
machine learning algorithm that can infer optical source altitude for a
given pulse based on how the optical energy is distributed across the
group footprint. In this fourth part of our thundercloud illumination
study, we leverage these source altitudes to generate volumetric GLM
imagery of a Colombia thunderstorm. We find that 3D versions of the
current GLM meteorological imagery products (that describe thunderstorm
kinematics) and thundercloud imagery products (that depict how the flash
appears from space) provide additional insights into lightning activity
in the thunderstorm are lost in the vertical integration used to
generate the current 2D GLM gridded products. This new volumetric
imaging capability provides a more comprehensive picture of where
lightning occurs in the storm, how its physical characteristics vary
across three-dimensional space, and how its optical emissions interact
with surrounding the cloud medium.