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1. In-flight measurements of lightning locations using an aircraft-mounted lightning mapper

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2025.110038  

   Milani, Zachary; Nichman, Leonid; Matida, Edgar; Fleury, Liam; Wolde, Mengistu; Bruning, Eric; McFarquhar, Greg M; Kollias, Pavlos (May 2025, Aerospace Science and Technology)
2. EduHPC Lightning Talk Summary

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3624062.3625542  

   Alexander, Michael; Bhowmick, Sanjukta; Bogale, Befikir; Diaz, Gilberto; Elster, Anne C; Ellsworth, Danielle A; Hernandez, Carlos_Jaime Barrios; Jaffe, Evan; Marquez, Jack; Melton, Alison; et al (November 2023, ACM)
3. Lightning Distance Estimation Using LF Lightning Radio Signals via Analytical and Machine-Learned Models

   https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2020.2972153  

   Antunes de Sa, Andre L.; Marshall, Robert A. (August 2020, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing)

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4. The RELAMPAGO Lightning Mapping Array: Overview and Initial Comparison with the Geostationary Lightning Mapper

   https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-20-0005.1  

   Lang, Timothy J.; Ávila, Eldo E.; Blakeslee, Richard J.; Burchfield, Jeff; Wingo, Matthew; Bitzer, Phillip M.; Carey, Lawrence D.; Deierling, Wiebke; Goodman, Steven J.; Medina, Bruno Lisboa; et al (August 2020, Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology)

   Abstract During November 2018–April 2019, an 11-station very high frequency (VHF) Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) was deployed to Córdoba Province, Argentina. The purpose of the LMA was validation of the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), but the deployment was coordinated with two field campaigns. The LMA observed 2.9 million flashes (≥ five sources) during 163 days, and level-1 (VHF locations), level-2 (flashes classified), and level-3 (gridded products) datasets have been made public. The network’s performance allows scientifically useful analysis within 100 km when at least seven stations were active. Careful analysis beyond 100 km is also possible. The LMA dataset includes many examples of intense storms with extremely high flash rates (>1 s−1), electrical discharges in overshooting tops (OTs), as well as anomalously charged thunderstorms with low-altitude lightning. The modal flash altitude was 10 km, but many flashes occurred at very high altitude (15–20 km). There were also anomalous and stratiform flashes near 5–7 km in altitude. Most flashes were small (<50 km2 area). Comparisons with GLM on 14 and 20 December 2018 indicated that GLM most successfully detected larger flashes (i.e., more than 100 VHF sources), with detection efficiency (DE) up to 90%. However, GLM DE was reduced for flashes that were smaller or that occurred lower in the cloud (e.g., near 6-km altitude). GLM DE also was reduced during a period of OT electrical discharges. Overall, GLM DE was a strong function of thunderstorm evolution and the dominant characteristics of the lightning it produced. 

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5. Coarse sea spray inhibits lightning

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31714-5  

   Pan, Zengxin; Mao, Feiyue; Rosenfeld, Daniel; Zhu, Yannian; Zang, Lin; Lu, Xin; Thornton, Joel A; Holzworth, Robert H; Yin, Jianhua; Efraim, Avichay; et al (December 2022, Nature Communications)

   Abstract The known effects of thermodynamics and aerosols can well explain the thunderstorm activity over land, but fail over oceans. Here, tracking the full lifecycle of tropical deep convective cloud clusters shows that adding fine aerosols significantly increases the lightning density for a given rainfall amount over both ocean and land. In contrast, adding coarse sea salt (dry radius > 1 μm), known as sea spray, weakens the cloud vigor and lightning by producing fewer but larger cloud drops, which accelerate warm rain at the expense of mixed-phase precipitation. Adding coarse sea spray can reduce the lightning by 90% regardless of fine aerosol loading. These findings reconcile long outstanding questions about the differences between continental and marine thunderstorms, and help to understand lightning and underlying aerosol-cloud-precipitation interaction mechanisms and their climatic effects. 

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