US Composite Lightning 15 Minute Total From National Lightning Network

Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Spatial_Reference_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: NASA/MSFC/GHRC, NLDN

Publication_Date: Unknown

Title: US Composite Lightning 15 Minute Total From National Lightning Network

Edition:

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form:

Series_Information:

Series_Name:

Issue_Identification:

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place:

Publisher:

Other_Citation_Details:

Online_Linkage: http://ghrc.nsstc.nasa.gov/uso/ds_catalog/goodlitn.html

Description:

Abstract:

The U.S. National Lightning Detection Network is a commercial lightning detection network operated by GAI since 1991. A network of about 105 antennae are connected to a central processor that records the time, polarity, signal strength, and number of strokes of each cloud-to-ground lightning flash detected over the United States. A combination of time of arrival and direction finding technology is used to locate the flash. Depending on the location within the network, GAI claims a location accuracy of a few km, with a detection probability greater than 60%. The flash time is accurate to better than 2 milliseconds. The 15 minute lightning product is made by binning the number of flashes that occur over a 15 min period to a pixel. A pixel is 0.0718954 degrees (latitude) by 0.0765027 degrees (longitude) (approximately 8 km by 8 km). The grid consists of 459 pixels in the North-South direction and 915 pixels in the East-West direction. Lightning flash values can range from 0-254. A value of 255 denotes 255 or more flashes occurred in the the pixel during the 15 minute period. (Note, the maximum pixel value we have observed is about 100). A daily product is also produced over the same area with the number of flashes occurring in each pixel during a 24 hr period (00 UTC to 00 UTC). The binned values are scaled by 5 such that a value of 1 corresponds to 1-5 flashes, 2 from 6-10, etc. A value of 255 indicates more than 1270 flashes occurred in the pixel over the 24 hr period. Both the 15 minute and daily products are generated in realtime and the annotation (in the hdf file) identifies files run in realtime. Missing data occurs in the realtime data, so the raw data file is checked for completeness and data gaps are filled. The products (daily and 15 min) are then reprocessed and the annotation changed to denote that the files have been quality assured.

Purpose:

Not Available

Supplemental_Information:

REFERENCE: Cummins, K.L., R.O. Burnett, W.L. Hiscox, and A.E. Pifer, 1993: Line reliability and fault analysis using the National lightning detection network. Preprints, Precise Measurements in Power Conference, Arlington, VA, Oct. 27-29, 1993. (Available from GeoMet Data Services, Inc., 2705 East Medina Road, Suite 111, Tucson, AZ 85706-7155.) Cummins, K.L., W.L. Hiscox, A.E. Pifer, and M.W. Maier, 1991: Performance Analysis of the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network. Proceedings, 9th International Conference on Atmospheric Electricity. St. Petersburg, Russia. A.I. Voeilkov Main Geophysical Observatory, Karbysheva 7, 194018, St. Petersburg, Russia. (Available from GDS, see previous reference). Orville, R.E., 1994: Cloud-to-ground lightning flash characteristics in the contiguous United States: 1989-1991. Journal of Geophys. Res., vol. 5., 10833-10841. Reap, R.M., D.R. MacGorman, 1989: Cloud-to-ground lightning: Climatological Characteristics and relationships to model fields, radar observations, and severe local storms. Monthly Wea. Review, 117, 518-535. U.S. Composite Lightning from National Lightning Detection Network Data Set Document, MSFC/GHRC Guide Document ftp://ghrc.nsstc.nasa.gov/pub/doc/nldn/lightning_dataset.html

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 19880101

Ending_Date: Unknown

Currentness_Reference:Unknown

Status:

Progress: In Work

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed

Spatial_Domain:

Description_of_Geographic_Extent:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -130.0

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -60.0

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 53.0

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 20.0

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD SCIENCE PARAMETERS

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD PLATFORM

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD INSTRUMENT

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: PROJECT

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ANCILLARY KEYWORDS

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO TOPIC CATEGORY

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: DATA SET LANGUAGE

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY > LIGHTNING

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA > LIGHTNING

Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > ATMOSPHERE > ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA > STORMS

Theme_Keyword: GROUND STATIONS

Theme_Keyword: RF ANTENNA

Theme_Keyword: EOSDIS > EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM DATA INFORMATION SYSTEM

Theme_Keyword: ESIP > EARTH SCIENCE INFORMATION PARTNERS PROGRAM

Theme_Keyword: CWIC > CEOS WGISS INTEGRATED CATALOG

Theme_Keyword: Cloud-to-ground

Theme_Keyword: Discharge

Theme_Keyword: Electricity

Theme_Keyword: Eosdis

Theme_Keyword: Flash Density

Theme_Keyword: Gai

Theme_Keyword: Hdf

Theme_Keyword: Idn_node Gsfc/ghrc

Theme_Keyword: Lightning

Theme_Keyword: CLIMATOLOGY/METEOROLOGY/ATMOSPHERE

Theme_Keyword: ENGLISH

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD

Place_Keyword: CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Place_Keyword: CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA

Access_Constraints: Distribution of these data are restricted to MSFC LIS Science Team collaborators and to Earth Observing System (EOS) and TRMM affiliated Investigators.

Use_Constraints:

When NLDN data obtained from the GHRC is used in publication, the following acknowledgement shall be used: NLDN data provided by the NASA Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) instrument team and the LIS data center via the Global Hydrology Resource Center (GHRC) located at the Global Hydrology and Climate Center (GHCC), Huntsville, Alabama through a license agreement with Global Atmospherics, Inc (GAI). The data available from the GHRC are restricted to LIS science team collaborators and to NASA EOS and TRMM investigators.

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: DENNIS BUECHLER

Contact_Position: TECHNICAL CONTACT

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: Global Hydrology and Climate Center

Address: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

Address: 320 Sparkman Drive

City: Huntsville

State_or_Province: AL

Postal_Code: 35805

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (256) 961-7827

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: dennis.e.buechler@nasa.gov

Data_Quality_Information:

Attribute_Accuracy:

Attribute_Accuracy_Report:

Not Available

Logical_Consistency_Report:

Not Available

Completeness_Report:

Not Available

Lineage:

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Not Available

Process_Date: Unknown

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: NASA/MSFC/GHRC > Global Hydrology Resource Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA

Contact_Person: GHRC USER SERVICES OFFICE

Contact_Position: DATA CENTER CONTACT

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: GHRC User Services Office

Address: Global Hydrology Resource Center (GHRC)

Address: 320 Sparkman Drive

City: Huntsville

State_or_Province: AL

Postal_Code: 35805

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 256-961-7932

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 256-961-7859

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: ghrcdaac@itsc.uah.edu

Resource_Description: goodlightn

Distribution_Liability:

Not Available

Standard_Order_Process:

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Format_Name: HDF

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://ghrc.nsstc.nasa.gov/

Access_Instructions:

DATA CENTER URL

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://reverb.echo.nasa.gov/reverb/#utf8=%E2%9C%93...

Access_Instructions:

Refine your granule search with ECHO's next generation Earth Science discovery tool (Reverb) using information from this record.

Fees: None

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date:

Metadata_Review_Date: 20110323

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: SHERRY HARRISON

Contact_Position: DIF AUTHOR

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address

Address: 320 Sparkman Dr.

City: Huntsville

State_or_Province: AL

Postal_Code: 35805

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 256-961-7973

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: ghrcdaac@itsc.uah.edu

Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

Metadata_Time_Convention: local time