LIS/OTD Lightning Flash Rate Climatology on a 0.5-Degree Grid

This dataset provides a merged 0.5-degree gridded climatology of total lightning flash rates from two satellite sensors: the Optical Transient Detector (OTD) and the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on TRMM. The long LIS record provides detailed data for the tropics and subtropics, while OTD covers higher latitudes. It is produced by the GHRC DAAC and includes monthly and seasonal climatologies in HDF and netCDF-4 formats.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spatial patterns of lightning flash density using the 0.5-degree gridded monthly climatology.
• Studying seasonal variability in global lightning activity with the flash rate seasonal climatology data.
• Comparing tropical/subtropical lightning trends (from LIS) with high-latitude trends (from OTD) across the merged record.
• Validating lightning parameterizations in climate and weather models against long-term satellite observations.

Strengths

• Combines data from two complementary satellite sensors (LIS and OTD) for broader spatial coverage.
• Provides a long observational record, with the LIS data offering detailed coverage equatorward of 38 degrees.
• Offers high-resolution climatologies on a consistent 0.5-degree geographic grid.

Limitations

• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist across sources (2014-12-31 and 2026-03-13), creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and detailed column names are not provided by any source.
• License information is inconsistent, listed as 'other-license-specified' on some platforms and 'None' on others.

Provenance

Source

GHRC DAAC (Global Hydrology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center)

Collection Method

Gridded climatologies derived from spaceborne Optical Transient Detector (OTD) and Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) satellite observations.

Freshness

2026-03-13 01:09:09.900779

Geography

Global, with LIS coverage focused on tropics/subtropics (equatorward of ~38 degrees) and OTD covering higher latitudes.