lightning

[Doug Millison]

Web resources on a subject that TRP writes often (prominently in GR, VL,
and M&D), from the Scout Report:

 Lightning
1. Scientists Study Lightning Patterns -- ENN
http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/1999/06/062299/lightning_3891.asp
2. Human Voltage -- NASA Science News
http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/essd18jun99_1.htm
3. Lightning Safety -- NPS
http://www.nps.gov/gumo/gumo/Lightn.html
4. Satellite Helps Scientists Dissect Lightning -- ENN
http://www.enn.com/enn-news-archive/1998/12/121498/forte.asp
5. Lightning & Atmospheric Electricity Research at the GHCC
http://thunder.msfc.nasa.gov/
6. Lightning Imaging Sensor Data
http://thunder.msfc.nasa.gov/data/lisbrowse.html
7. International Conference on Atmospheric Electricity (ICAE '99)
http://icae.atmos.uah.edu/sessions.html
8. Space Shuttle Observations of Lightning: Mesoscale Lightning Experiment
[MPEG]
http://wwwghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/skeets.html
9. Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission -- NASA
http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Marking the arrival of the summer solstice and, with it, the official
beginning of the Northern Hemisphere's lightning storm season, this week's
In The News focuses on lightning. At this month's international conference
on lightning (7), researchers presented findings on global lightning
patterns, suggesting that lightning is more common in storms over land
(than sea), during the afternoons, and that it moves as the seasons
progress. Some of the researchers' findings were based on data gathered by
instruments above the cloud tops. Currently, further analyses are hinting
at the possibility that lightning patterns are influenced by El Nino and La
Nina weather patterns. If that is the case, global lightning patterns might
be one way to "take the pulse" of the planet's weather trends. The nine
resources listed above highlight ongoing research and provide background
resources related to lightning.

The first news release, from Environmental News Network (ENN), describes
recent scientific findings on global lightning patterns (1). The second
resource, from NASA's Space Science News (2), discusses lightning strikes
from the perspective of human health, citing numerous statistics and
providing links to other lightning sites. For those concerned with safety,
the National Park Service provides this page (3) on lightning avoidance
tips. Also from ENN, this article (4) briefly describes how satellite
technology is being used to study lightning from space. The Lightening &
Atmospheric Electricity Research site at NASA's Global Hydrology and
Climate Center (GHCC) is an exceptional resource (5), providing everything
from the basic characteristics of lightning, to a historical essay on
lightning (Greek myths through Ben Franklin), to information on space-based
lightning detection instruments. Users can access datasets and a wide range
of research and news publications on-site. Also from GHCC, the Lightning
Imaging Sensor (LIS) site (6) offers users direct access to satellite data,
featuring images "showing a graphical representation of the LIS orbit data
for each day." For more results presented at the International Conference
on Atmospheric Electricity (7), see these abstracts (located under
Conference Schedule, organized by Session). The GHCC's Mesoscale Lightning
Experiment page (8) provides Space Shuttle observations of lightning, with
links to simple descriptions and movies (MPEG format). The last resource,
NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) homepage (9), places
satellite lightning imagery into context with the (tropical) storms that
cause lightning. At this site, "spaceborne rain radar and microwave
radiometric data . . . [detect] the vertical distribution of precipitation
over the tropics," enhancing our understanding of how ocean, air, and
landmasses interact to produce changes in global rainfall and climate. The
site offers images, educational resources, several NASA documents, and a
collection of links. [LXP]

(P.S. anybody else see something in the news in the last week or so -- I
forget where -- that suggested Franklin's kite-and-key experiment is
apocryphal?)