Comparing lightning observations of the ground-based European lightning location system EUCLID and the space-based Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the International Space Station (ISS)
Abstract. The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the International Space
Station (ISS), hereafter referred to as ISS-LIS, detects lightning from space by capturing the optical
scattered light emitted from the top of the clouds. The
ground-based European Cooperation for Lightning Detection (EUCLID) makes use
of the low-frequency electromagnetic signals generated by lightning
discharges to locate them accordingly. The objective of this work is to
quantify the similarities and contrasts between these two distinct
lightning detection technologies by comparing the EUCLID cloud-to-ground
strokes and intracloud pulses to the ISS-LIS groups in addition to the
correlation at the flash level. The analysis is based on the observations
made between 1 March 2017 and 31 March 2019 within the EUCLID network and
limited to 54 ∘ north. A Bayesian approach is adopted to determine
the relative and absolute detection efficiencies (DEs) of each system. It is
found that the EUCLID relative and absolute flash DE improves by
approximately 10 % towards the center of the EUCLID network up to a value
of 56.3 % and 69.0 %, respectively, compared to the averaged value
over the full domain, inherent to the network geometry and sensor
technology. In contrast, the relative and absolute ISS-LIS flash DE
over the full domain is 48.4 % and 71.3 %, respectively, and is
somewhat higher than the values obtained in the center of the EUCLID
network. The behavior of the relative DE of each system in terms of the
flash characteristics of the other reveals that the greater the value, the
more likely the other system will detect the flash. For instance, when the
ISS-LIS flash duration is smaller than or equal to 200 ms, the EUCLID relative
flash DE drops below 50 %, whereas it increases up to 80 % for ISS-LIS
flashes with a duration longer than 750 ms. Finally, the distribution of the diurnal DE indicates a higher DE for the ISS-LIS and a lower DE for EUCLID at night.