ISS Lightning Imaging Sensor Data for Storm Detection

Lightning observations from the Quality Controlled Lightning Imaging Sensor mounted on the International Space Station. This dataset captures the distribution and variability of total lightning in Earth's tropical and subtropical regions for severe storm analysis and lightning-atmosphere interaction studies. Data is provided by the GHRC DAAC in HDF-4 and netCDF-4 formats.

Use Cases

• Severe storm detection and analysis using geospatial lightning event data.
• Studying lightning-atmosphere interactions through time-series measurements.
• Analyzing the distribution and variability of total lightning in tropical regions.
• Conducting diurnal cycle studies with day and night observation capability.

Strengths

• Data is quality-controlled science data, indicating a processed standard.
• The LIS instrument provides high detection efficiency for measurements.
• Observations are made during both day and night, enabling full diurnal cycle analysis.
• Dataset is available on multiple platforms (NASA Earthdata and Data.gov), signaling recognized importance.

Limitations

• Specific row count, dataset size, and column names are not provided by any source.
• Conflicting license information: one source lists 'other-license-specified', another lists 'None'.
• Conflicting last updated dates: 2026-03-12 and 2023-11 16 create uncertainty about freshness.

Provenance

Source

GHRC_DAAC (Global Hydrology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center)

Collection Method

Collected by the Lightning Imaging Sensor instrument mounted on the International Space Station.

Time Range

null

Freshness

2026 -03-12 22:36:41.336076

Geography

Earth's tropical and subtropical regions.