Global Lightning Flash Rate Density (WMS)

  • Released Thursday, April 14, 2005
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Lightning is a brief but intense electrical discharge between positive and negative regions of a thunderstorm.The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was designed to study the distribution and variability of total lightning on a global basis. The Optical Transient Detector (OTD) was an earlier lightning detector flying aboard the Microlab-1 spacecraft. The data shown here are compiled from LIS (1998-2002) and OTD (1995-1999) observations. Because each satellite saw only a part of the Earth at any one time, these data use complex algorithms to estimate total flash rate density (number of flashes per square kilometer per year) based on the flashes observed and the amount of time the satellite views each area.

This image shows the global lightning flash rate density for the entire observing period. The data pixels are 0.5deg on a side (720x360 pixels globally). This single image is equivalent to the final frame of animation #3143, but at a spatial resolution that is 5 times better.This product is available through our Web Map Service.

This image shows the global lightning flash rate density for the entire observing period. The data pixels are 0.5deg on a side (720x360 pixels globally). This single image is equivalent to the final frame of animation #3143, but at a spatial resolution that is 5 times better.

This product is available through our Web Map Service.

This color scale for the lighting flash rate density image ranges from deep blue (less than 10 flashes per square kilometer per year) through deep red (more than 100 flashes per square kilometer per year).

This color scale for the lighting flash rate density image ranges from deep blue (less than 10 flashes per square kilometer per year) through deep red (more than 100 flashes per square kilometer per year).

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

This page was originally published on Thursday, April 14, 2005.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:56 PM EDT.

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