Characterization of Thunderstorm Cells Producing Observable Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes
- 1National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space), Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
- 2University of Bergen, Birkeland Centre for Space Science, Bergen, Norway
- 3Danish Meteorological Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark
- 4University of Copenhagen, Niels Bohr Institute, København K, Denmark
- 5University of Valencia, Image Processing Laboratory, Valencia, Spain
We present the largest catalogue compiled to date of TGFs and associated lightning activity, geostationary satellite cloud images and ERA5 reanalysis data. The TGFs are observed from AGILE, ASIM, FERMI and RHESSI, and the lightning activity by the WWLLN and GLD360 networks. The 1582 TGF events identified are analysed and contextualized relative to lightning flashes. In our analysis, we consider the proportion of TGFs and lightning coming from overshooting tops, and the dependencies on Cloud Top Temperature (CTT) and the Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE). We find that TGFs come from primarily higher cloud tops than lightning flashes, consistent with previous studies. We also find that CAPE is similar for TGF and lightning-producing cells, and that the proportion of TGF and lightning-producing cells in the overshooting phase are similar. We analyse the regional and seasonal differences between TGFs and lightning and see that regional meteorological effects dominate.
How to cite: Husbjerg, L., Neubert, T., Chanrion, O., Marisaldi, M., Stendel, M., Kaas, E., Østgaard, N., and Reglero, V.: Characterization of Thunderstorm Cells Producing Observable Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-9459, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-9459, 2023.
