Blakeslee, Richard J.

Koshak, William J.

Virts, Katrina S.

NASA Technical Reports Server

Cross-Referencing GLM and
ISS-LIS with Ground-Based 
Lightning Networks
Katrina S. Virts, Richard J. Blakeslee, and William J. Koshak
NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center
2019 AMS Annual Meeting
8 January 2019
Image courtesy Sun Sentinel
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20190000045 2019-08-30T04:59:34+00:00Z
Geostationary Lightning Mapper
on GOES-16 and GOES-17
Lightning Imaging Sensor on the
International Space Station (ISS-LIS)
• Launched: 19 February 2017
• Low earth orbit (425 km)
• Field of view: approx. 600 km x 600 km
• Detects lightning to
54° latitude
• Provisional (P0.2) data
now available
• L2 cluster filtering →
events, groups, flashes
Reference Networks
• Earth Networks Global Lightning Network (ENGLN)
• LF-HF lightning detection network
• Total lightning
• Nominally includes WWLLN strokes
• Vaisala Global Lightning Dataset (GLD360)
• VLF lightning detection network
• Primarily ground flash location/time
• Match GLM and LIS data to reference networks using spatial/temporal windows:
• Flash: 200 ms, 50 km
• Group: 4 ms, 25 km (LIS) or 50 km (GLM)
LIS Timing Accuracy
LIS Location Accuracy (this time last year)
LIS Location Accuracy (this time last year)
• ISS pointing variations throughout its orbit
• Extensive tuning against GLM-16 and ground-based networks
LIS Location Accuracy (now)
Full ISS-LIS dataset reprocessed as of June 2018 (P0.2)
LIS Flash Detection Efficiency
IS
S 
di
re
ct
io
n 
of
 fl
ig
ht
55% 56% 64%
GLM-16 Flash Detection Efficiency w.r.t. ISS-LIS
87%
GLM-16 Time/Location Accuracy w.r.t. Ground Networks
Lower Ellipsoid Improves Location Accuracy
Implemented 15 October 2018 (GLM-16) and
3 December 2018 (GLM-17)
Systematic Inward Shift Near Limb
Optimal Lightning Emission Height (February 2018)
Optimal Lightning Emission Height
Further Improves Location Accuracy
Conclusions
• LIS
• Tuning has significantly improved location accuracy; now ~2-2.5 km (sub-pixel) with
respect to GLM
• Sub-ms timing accuracy
• Flash DE ~65% with respect to GLMs, ~55% with respect to ground networks
• Provisional data available at https://ghrc.nsstc.nasa.gov/pub/lis/iss/data/science/nqc/
• GLM-16
• Peak distance offsets ~3-4 km (sub-pixel)
• Sub-ms timing accuracy
• Flash DE >85% with respect to ISS-LIS
• Lower lightning ellipsoid improves location accuracy, particularly near the limb
• Application of optimal lightning emission height further improves location accuracy
(implementation in ground system TBD)


Cross-Referencing GLM and ISS-LIS with Ground-Based Lightning Networks

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