Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the International Space Station (ISS): Assessments and Results from First Year Operations
No abstract available
lightning detection↗
Engineering topics
Stewart, M. F.
Publications and source records attributed to Stewart, M. F..
Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the International Space Station (ISS): Launch, Installation, Activation and First Results
Mission: Fly a flight-spare LIS (Lightning Imaging Sensor) on ISS to take advantage of unique capabilities provided by the ISS (e.g., high inclination, real time data); Integrate LIS as a hosted payload on the DoD Space Test Program-Houston 5 (STP-H5) mission and launch on a Space X rocket for a minimum 2 year mission. Measurement: NASA and its partners developed and demonstrated effectiveness and value of using space-based lightning observations as a remote sensing tool; LIS measures lightning (amount, rate, radiant energy) with storm scale resolution, millisecond timing, and high detection efficiency, with no land-ocean bias. Benefit: LIS on ISS will extend TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) time series observations, expand latitudinal coverage, provide real time data to operational users, and enable cross-sensor calibration.
LIS↗
Lightning Observations from the International Space Station (ISS) for Science Research and Operational Applications
There exist several core science applications of LIS lightning observations, that range from weather and climate to atmospheric chemistry and lightning physics due to strong quantitative connections that can be made between lightning and other geophysical processes of interest. The space-base vantage point, such as provided by ISS LIS, still remains an ideal location to obtain total lightning observations on a global basis.
International Space Station↗
Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) for the International Space Station (ISS): Mission Description and Science Goals
In recent years, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and their partners have developed and demonstrated space-based lightning observations as an effective remote sensing tool for Earth science research and applications. The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) continues to acquire global observations of total (i.e., intracloud and cloud-to-ground) lightning after 17 years on-orbit. However, TRMM is now low on fuel, so this mission will soon be completed. As a follow on to this mission, a space-qualified LIS built as the flight spare for TRMM has been selected for flight as a science mission on the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS LIS will be flown as a hosted payload on the Department of Defense Space Test Program (STP) H5 mission, which has a January 2016 baseline launch date aboard a SpaceX launch vehicle for a 2-4 year or longer mission. The LIS measures the amount, rate, and radiant energy of total lightning over the Earth. More specifically, it measures lightning during both day and night, with storm scale resolution (approx. 4 km), millisecond timing, and high, uniform detection efficiency, without any land-ocean bias. Lightning is a direct and most impressive response to intense atmospheric convection. It has been found that lightning measured by LIS can be quantitatively related to thunderstorm and other geophysical processes. Therefore, the ISS LIS lightning observations will continue to provide important gap-filling inputs to pressing Earth system science issues across a broad range of disciplines, including weather, climate, atmospheric chemistry, and lightning physics. A unique contribution from the ISS platform will be the availability of real-time lightning data, especially valuable for operational applications over data sparse regions such as the oceans. The ISS platform will also uniquely enable LIS to provide simultaneous and complementary observations with other ISS payloads such as the European Space Agency's Atmosphere-Space Interaction Monitor (ASIM) that will be exploring the connection between thunderstorms and lightning with terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Global LIghtning and Sprites MeasurementS (GLIMS) with its focus on global lightning and sprite connections. Another important function of the ISS LIS will be to provide cross-sensor calibration/validation with a number of other payloads, including the TRMM LIS and the next generation geostationary lightning mappers such as the GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) and Meteosat Third Generation Lightning Imager (MTG LI), as well as with ground-based lightning detection systems. These inter-calibrations will improve the long term climate monitoring record provided by all these systems. Finally, the ISS LIS will extend the time-series climate record of LIS lightning observations and expand the latitudinal coverage of LIS lightning to the climate significant upper middle-latitudes.
Blakeslee, R. J.↗
Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) for the International Space Station (ISS): Mission Description and Science Goals
In recent years, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and their partners have developed and demonstrated space-based lightning observations as an effective remote sensing tool for Earth science research and applications. The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) continues to provide global observations of total lightning after 17 years on-orbit. In April 2013, a space-qualified LIS built as the flight spare for TRMM, was selected for flight as a science mission on the International Space Station. The ISS LIS (or I-LIS as Hugh Christian prefers) will be flown as a hosted payload on the Department of Defense Space Test Program (STP) H5 mission, which has a January 2016 baseline launch date aboard a SpaceX launch vehicle for a 2-4 year or longer mission. The LIS measures the amount, rate, and radiant energy of global lightning. More specifically, it measures lightning during both day and night, with storm scale resolution, millisecond timing, and high, uniform detection efficiency, without any land-ocean bias. Lightning is a direct and most impressive response to intense atmospheric convection. It has been found that the characteristics of lightning that LIS measures can be quantitatively coupled to both thunderstorm and other geophysical processes. Therefore, the ISS LIS lightning observations will provide important gap-filling inputs to pressing Earth system science issues across a broad range of disciplines, including weather, climate, atmospheric chemistry, and lightning physics. A unique contribution from the ISS platform will be the availability of real-time lightning, especially valuable for operational applications over data sparse regions such as the oceans. The ISS platform will also uniquely enable LIS to provide simultaneous and complementary observations with other payloads such as the European Space Agency's Atmosphere-Space Interaction Monitor (ASIM) that will be exploring the connection between thunderstorms and lightning with terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs). Another important function of the ISS LIS will be to provide cross-sensor calibration/validation with a number of other payloads, including the TRMM LIS and the next generation geostationary lightning mappers (e.g., GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper and Meteosat Third Generation Lightning Imager). This inter-calibration will improve the long term climate monitoring provided by all these systems. Finally, the ISS LIS will extend the time-series climate record of LIS lightning observations and expand the latitudinal coverage of LIS lightning to the climate significant upper middle-latitudes.
Blakeslee, R. J.↗
Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) for the International Space Station (ISS): Mission Description and Science Goals
In recent years, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and their partners have developed and demonstrated space-based lightning observations as an effective remote sensing tool for Earth science research and applications. The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) continues to provide global observations of total lightning after 17 years on-orbit. In April 2013, a space-qualified LIS built as the flight spare for TRMM, was selected for flight as a science mission on the International Space Station. The ISS LIS (or I-LIS as Hugh Christian prefers) will be flown as a hosted payload on the Department of Defense Space Test Program (STP) H5 mission, which has a January 2016 baseline launch date aboard a SpaceX launch vehicle for a 2-4 year or longer mission. The LIS measures the amount, rate, and radiant energy of global lightning. More specifically, it measures lightning during both day and night, with storm scale resolution, millisecond timing, and high, uniform detection efficiency, without any land-ocean bias. Lightning is a direct and most impressive response to intense atmospheric convection. It has been found that the characteristics of lightning that LIS measures can be quantitatively coupled to both thunderstorm and other geophysical processes. Therefore, the ISS LIS lightning observations will provide important gap-filling inputs to pressing Earth system science issues across a broad range of disciplines, including weather, climate, atmospheric chemistry, and lightning physics. A unique contribution from the ISS platform will be the availability of real-time lightning, especially valuable for operational applications over data sparse regions such as the oceans. The ISS platform will also uniquely enable LIS to provide simultaneous and complementary observations with other payloads such as the European Space Agency's Atmosphere-Space Interaction Monitor (ASIM) that will be exploring the connection between thunderstorms and lightning with terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs). Another important function of the ISS LIS will be to provide cross-sensor calibration/validation with a number of other payloads, including the TRMM LIS and the next generation geostationary lightning mappers (e.g., GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper and Meteosat Third Generation Lightning Imager). This inter-calibration will improve the long term climate monitoring provided by all these systems. Finally, the ISS LIS will extend the time-series climate record of LIS lightning observations and expand the latitudinal coverage of LIS lightning to the climate significant upper middle-latitudes.
Blakeslee, R. J.↗
Retrieving Storm Electric Fields from Aircrfaft Field Mill Data: Part II: Applications
The Lagrange multiplier theory developed in Part I of this study is applied to complete a relative calibration of a Citation aircraft that is instrumented with six field mill sensors. When side constraints related to average fields are used, the Lagrange multiplier method performs well in computer simulations. For mill measurement errors of 1 V m(sup -1) and a 5 V m(sup -1) error in the mean fair-weather field function, the 3D storm electric field is retrieved to within an error of about 12%. A side constraint that involves estimating the detailed structure of the fair-weather field was also tested using computer simulations. For mill measurement errors of 1 V m(sup -l), the method retrieves the 3D storm field to within an error of about 8% if the fair-weather field estimate is typically within 1 V m(sup -1) of the true fair-weather field. Using this type of side constraint and data from fair-weather field maneuvers taken on 29 June 2001, the Citation aircraft was calibrated. Absolute calibration was completed using the pitch down method developed in Part I, and conventional analyses. The resulting calibration matrices were then used to retrieve storm electric fields during a Citation flight on 2 June 2001. The storm field results are encouraging and agree favorably in many respects with results derived from earlier (iterative) techniques of calibration.
Koshak, William↗
A Low Noise, Microprocessor-Controlled, Internally Digitizing Rotating-Vane Electric Field Mill for Airborne Platforms
This paper reports on a new generation of aircraft-based rotating-vane style electric field mills designed and built at NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Center. The mills have individual microprocessors that digitize the electric field signal at the mill and respond to commands from the data system computer. The mills are very sensitive (1 V/m per bit), have a wide dynamic range (115 dB), and are very low noise (+/-1 LSB). Mounted on an aircraft, these mills can measure fields from +/-1 V/m to +/-500 kV/m. Once-per-second commanding from the data collection computer to each mill allows for precise timing and synchronization. The mills can also be commanded to execute a self-calibration in flight, which is done periodically to monitor the status and health of each mill.
Bateman, M. G.↗
Retrieving Storm Electric Fields From Aircraft Field Mill Data: Applications - Part 2
The Lagrange multiplier theory and "pitch down method" developed in Part I of this study are applied to complete the calibration of a Citation aircraft that is instrumented with six field mill sensors. When side constraints related to average fields are used, the method performs well in computer simulations. For mill measurement errors of 1 V/m and a 5 V/m error in the mean fair weather field function, the 3-D storm electric field is retrieved to within an error of about 12%. A side constraint that involves estimating the detailed structure of the fair weather field was also tested using computer simulations. For mill measurement errors of 1 V/m, the method retrieves the 3-D storm field to within an error of about 8% if the fair weather field estimate is typically within 1 V/m of the true fair weather field. Using this side constraint and data from fair weather field maneuvers taken on 29 June 2001, the Citation aircraft was calibrated. The resulting calibration matrix was then used to retrieve storm electric fields during a Citation flight on 2 June 2001. The storm field results are encouraging and agree favorably with the results obtained from earlier calibration analyses that were based on iterative techniques.
Koshak, W. J.↗
High-Altitude Aircraft-Based Electric-Field Measurements Above Thunderstorms
We have developed a new set of eight electric field mills that were flown on a NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft. During the Third Convection And Moisture EXperiment (CAMEX-3; Fall, 1998), measurements of electric field, storm dynamics, and ice microphysics were made over several hurricanes. Concurrently, the TExas-FLorida UNderflights (TEFLUN) program was being conducted to make the same measurements over Gulf Coast thunderstorms. Sample measurements are shown: typical flight altitude is 20km. Our new mills have an internal 16-bit A/D, with a resolution of 0.25V/m per bit at high gain, with a noise level less than the least significant bit. A second, lower gain channel gives us the ability to measure fields as high as 150 kV/m.
Bateman, M. G.↗
High-Altitude Aircraft-Based Electric-Field Measurements above Thunderstorms
We have developed a new set of eight electric field mills that were flown on a NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft. During the Third Convection And Moisture EXperiment (CAMEX- 3; Fall, 1998), measurements of electric field, storm dynamics, and ice microphysics were made over several hurricanes. Concurrently, the TExas-FLorida UNderflights (TEFLUN) program was being conducted to make the same measurements over Gulf Coast thunderstorms. Sample measurements will be shown. Our new mills have an internal 16-bit A/D, with a resolution of 0.25 V/m per bit at high gain, with a noise level less than the least significant bit. A second, lower gain channel gives us the ability to measure fields as high as 150 kV/m.
Bateman, M. G.↗
Electric field measurements within a severe thunderstorm anvil
This paper presents the results of electric field measurements made within a severe thunderstorm in central Oklahoma on June 13, 1983. The observations show the electrical structure of a severe storm anvil to be more complex than the simple structure of a positive interior and thin, negative screening layers. Evidence is found of extensive regions of both positive and negative charge in the interior of the anvil, and the thicknesses of screening layers are found to be about an order of magnitude greater than calculated in previous models. A conceptual model for the development of the electrical structure of thunderstorm anvils is proposed in which anvil dynamics plays an important role.
Byrne, G. J.↗
In situ measurements and radar observations of a severe storm - Electricity, kinematics, and precipitation
Electric field measurements made inside a multicell severe storm in Oklahoma in 1983 with a balloon-borne instrument are presented. The properties of the electric charge regions, such as altitude, thickness, and charge concentrations, are studied. These measurements are analzyed with meteorological measurements of temperature and humidity, and balloon tracking and radar observations. The relation between the electric charge structure and the precipitation and kinematic features of the storm is examined. The data reveal that the cell exhibits a bipolar charge structure with negative charge below positive charge. The average charge concentrations of the two regions are estimated as -1.2 and 0.15 nC/cu m, respectively; the upper positive charge is about 6 km in vertical extent, and the lower negative charge is less than 1 km in vertical extent.
Byrne, G. J.↗
A thundercloud electric field sounding - Charge distribution and lightning
An instrumented free balloon measured electric fields and field changes as it rose through a thundercloud above Langmuir Laboratory, New Mexico. The variation of the electric field with altitude implied that the cloud contained negative space charge of density -0.6 to -4 nC/cu m between 5.5 and 8.0 km MSL. The environmental temperature at these levels ranged from -5 to -20 C. The measurements imply that the areal extent of this negative charge center was significantly greater than that of the cloud's intense precipitation shafts. At altitudes greater than 8 km, the instrument ascended past net positive charge. In addition, positive space charge adjacent to the earth's surface (concentration 0.6 nC/cu m and in the lowest portion of the cloud (1.0 nC/cu m) is inferred from the measurements. Electric field changes from intracloud lightning were interpreted by using a simple model for the developing streamer of the initial phase. Thunder source reconstructions provided estimates for the orientation of lightning channels. Seven 'streamers' so analyzed propagated on the average, at 50,000 m/s and carried a current of 390 A. The mean charge dissipated during a flash was 30 C.
Weber, M. E.↗