Lightning Annual Climatology from TRMM Satellite 1998-2013

LIS 0.1 Degree Very High Resolution Gridded Lightning Annual Climatology (VHRAC) provides gridded annual climatologies of total lightning flash rates observed by the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) satellite. The dataset covers a 16-year period from 1998 through 2013, focusing on the Earth's tropical and subtropical regions with a 0.1-degree spatial resolution. It is produced and distributed by the GHRC DAAC, a NASA data center.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the mean annual cycle of lightning flash rates at daily, monthly, or seasonal resolution.
• Studying the mean diurnal cycle of lightning activity with 24-hour temporal resolution.
• Mapping the spatial distribution and long-term variability of total lightning in tropical and subtropical zones.
• Investigating relationships between lightning activity and other atmospheric phenomena for climate studies.
• Providing a high-resolution baseline for validating lightning detection from newer satellite instruments.

Strengths

• Provides a 16-year continuous record (1998-2013) of lightning observations from a dedicated spaceborne sensor.
• Offers high 0.1-degree spatial resolution for detailed geographical analysis of lightning patterns.
• Includes multiple temporal aggregations: annual mean, diurnal cycle, and annual cycle with daily to seasonal resolution.
• Applies 49-day and 1-degree boxcar moving averages to reduce noise and highlight climatic signals in the annual cycle data.

Limitations

• Conflicting last update dates exist between platforms: one states 2013-12-31 (end of data period), another states 2026-03-13 (likely a metadata update).
• Specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided in any source description.
• Coverage is limited to the tropical and subtropical regions observed by the TRMM satellite's orbit.

Provenance

Source

Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) satellite, processed by GHRC DAAC.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing detection of total lightning flashes, gridded into annual climatologies.

Time Range

1998-01-01 to 2013-12 31

Freshness

2026-03-13 01:09:20.875440

Geography

Tropical and subtropical regions of Earth.