Characteristics of the Blitzortung.org Lightning Location Catalog in Japan

We evaluated the detection efficiency and location accuracy of lightning discharges in Japan using Blitzortung.org, a volunteer-based network for locating lightning discharges from sferics measured by very low frequency (VLF) electromagnetic receivers that have been deployed worldwide in recent year...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAtmosphere Vol. 14; no. 10; p. 1507
Main Authors Kamogawa, Masashi, Suzuki, Tomoyuki, Fujiwara, Hironobu, Narita, Tomomi, Wanke, Egon, Murata, Kotaro, Nagao, Toshiyasu, Kodama, Tetsuya, Izutsu, Jun, Matsuki, Atsushi, Tang, Ning, Minamoto, Yasuhiro
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2023
Subjects
Accuracy
Antennas
Blitzortung.org
Detection
detection efficiency
Discharge
Efficiency
Electric fields
Environmental aspects
Environmental monitoring
flash rate
Ground stations
Lightning
Lightning activity
Lightning discharges
Lightning location
Locating
location accuracy
Magnetic fields
Physicists
Receivers & amplifiers
Satellites
Sferics
Very Low Frequencies
VLF/LF
Japan
North America
Europe
Oceania
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Summary:We evaluated the detection efficiency and location accuracy of lightning discharges in Japan using Blitzortung.org, a volunteer-based network for locating lightning discharges from sferics measured by very low frequency (VLF) electromagnetic receivers that have been deployed worldwide in recent years. A comparison of the flash rate (the detected lightning rate per area and period) from Blitzortung.org with that from the satellite-based OTD/LIS and the ground-based World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) observations showed that Blitzortung.org clearly observed intense lightning activity in and around the Kanto area, including Tokyo, in summer, which is typical of Japanese lightning activity. However, it did not clearly observe lightning activity in and around the Nansei Islands, including Okinawa. Conversely, Blitzortung.org observed winter lightning activity in the Hokuriku area and off the Kanto. In addition, event studies have compared the detection efficiency and location accuracy of Blitzortung.org with those of the Japanese Lightning Location Network (JLDN) to infer their absolute values. The latest detection efficiency of Blitzortung.org in the Kanto area was estimated at roughly 90%. The mean location accuracy was estimated at up to 5.6 km.
ISSN:2073-4433
2073-4433
DOI:10.3390/atmos14101507