Statistical Relationships between Negative Intracloud Flash Fraction and Environmental Parameters Controlling Cloud Electrification

Separation of charge via noninductive ice-ice collisions in clouds is widely accepted as the primary mechanism behind cloud electrification. However, not all clouds end up with the same charge distributions, as observed in various field campaigns and laboratory experiments over the last several decades. The distribution of charge in a given thunderstorm controls the polarity, frequency, and other characteristics of lightning produced by that storm, but charge distribution is very difficult to measure directly, especially at statistically significant scales. Of particular interest to the lightning community is the relationship between thunderstorm environments and lightning characteristics, where the charge distribution of storms bridges the gap between the two. This study will use intracloud (IC) lightning data from the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN) to investigate the statistical relationships between the proportion of negative IC flash frequency to environmental parameters such as charge reversal temperature altitudes, cloud base height, cloud depth, and warm vs cold cloud depth fraction derived from global reanalysis data for multiple regions around the world