Satellite Multi-Sensor Perspective on Electrified Convection: EarthCARE and MTG-LI Synergy

Lightning channels often originate or terminate in the mixed-phase updraft cores of convective storms. In these regions, aerosol loading can alter droplet numbers, shift freezing levels, and ultimately modulate charge-separation efficiency and the frequency of lightning itself. Although direct observations of these microphysical-electrical interactions are still limited, the recent launches of the Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) in May 2024 and Meteosat Third-Generation Imager-1 (MTG-I1) in December 2022 can provide better capability to view the cloud column and lightning activity simultaneously from space. EarthCARE’s 94 GHz Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) and high-spectral-resolution UV lidar (ATLID), complemented by contextual imagery from the passive multi-spectral imager (MSI), resolve the vertical distribution of hydrometeors and aerosols, whereas the MTG Lightning Imager (LI) continuously detects optical lightning events across Europe, Africa, parts of South America and Atlantic Ocean.

Leveraging this synergy, we have developed a catalogue that tracks storms encountered by the EarthCARE satellite. The storms are identified by clustering LI measurements in three-dimensional space-time (latitude, longitude, and time) applying the DBSCAN density-based algorithm. For each storm we provide a set of descriptors, including flash rate evolution within ± 30 min around EarthCARE overpass, centroid trajectory, and orientation relative to the CPR track. Apart from catalogue-generation workflow, our presentation focuses on what the catalogue enables by pairing EarthCARE vertical profiles with MTG-LI lightning data. We present matched EarthCARE–LI cases that reveal storm intensification, evidenced by CPR reflectivity, Doppler velocity, and lightning rate. We further highlight the catalogue’s potential for aerosol-cloud-lightning studies by linking ATLID aerosol layers and CPR-derived microphysical indicators with concurrent lightning activity, opening a path to quantify how particle loading may modulate storm electrification. The presented case studies thus illustrate the value of the multi-sensor perspective while also highlighting EarthCARE’s strengths and current limitations in deep-convection analysis.