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| Using our network
of sferic sensors we are producing regular maps of lightning activity
across the entire Earth, as shown below (coloured dots
are lightning activity, red stars with white circles are active lightning sensor locations). The terminator,
which the boundary between the day and night portions of the Earth, is shown on the plot, along with the daylit section of
the globe in light gray. |
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Contrast the lightning activity with experimental maps
of the Global
Convective Diagnostic (GCD) for the entire Earth which are made available from the Aviation
Weather Center of the U. S. NOAA National
Weather Service. This is a new approach is to combining satellite images
in the visible and IR spectra to try and detect the weather processes associated
with thunderstorms (thunderstorms lift moisture and cloud particles to
the top of the troposphere and so the infrared and water vapour channels
will have the same temperature). If you want to compare the lightning with
satellite obtained meteorological maps, look at the global geostationary weather
satellite composite images,
Global Infrared Mosaic or
Global Water Vapor Mosaic. The composite images are produced by NASA's Global Hydrology Resource Center,
who also present weather satellite imagery
from an assortment of important satellites.
More information on the TOGA lightning location network
is available from:
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Webpage produced by Craig J. Rodger
(University of Otago)
Last updated:
12 February 2003
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