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| Titel |
Automated thunderstorm tracking: utilization of three-dimensional lightning and radar data |
| VerfasserIn |
V. K. Meyer, H. Höller, H. D. Betz |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1680-7316
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ; 13, no. 10 ; Nr. 13, no. 10 (2013-05-22), S.5137-5150 |
| Datensatznummer |
250018661
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/acp-13-5137-2013.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| This paper presents a new hybrid method for automated thunderstorm
observation by tracking and monitoring of electrically charged cells
(ec-TRAM). The developed algorithm combines information about intense ground
precipitation derived from low-level radar-reflectivity scans with
three-dimensionally resolved lightning data, which are provided by the
European VLF/LF lightning detection network LINET. Based on the already
existing automated radar tracker rad-TRAM (Kober and Tafferner, 2009), the new method
li-TRAM identifies and tracks electrically active regions in thunderclouds
using lightning data only. The algorithm ec-TRAM uses the output of the two
autonomously operating routines rad-TRAM and li-TRAM in order to assess,
track, and monitor a more comprehensive picture of thunderstorms. The main
motivation of this work is to assess the benefit of three-dimensionally
resolved total lightning (TL) information for thunderstorm tracking and
monitoring. The focus is laid on the temporal development whereby TL is
characterized by an effective in-cloud (IC) and cloud-to-ground (CG)
event discrimination. It is found that the algorithms li-TRAM and ec-TRAM are
both feasible methods for thunderstorm monitoring with potential for
nowcasting. The tracking performance of li-TRAM turns out to be comparable to
that of rad-TRAM, a result that strongly encourages utilization of lightning
data as independent data source for thunderstorm tracking. It is found that
lightning data allow an accurate and close monitoring of storm regions with
intense internal dynamics as soon as convection induces electrical activity.
A case study shows that the current short-term storm dynamics are clearly
reflected in the amount of strokes, change of stroke rates and IC/CG ratio.
The hybrid method ec-TRAM outperforms rad-TRAM and li-TRAM regarding
reliability and continuous assessment of storm tracks especially in more
complexly developing storms, where the use of discharge information
contributes to more detailed information about storm stage and storm
evolution. |
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