Land-ocean contrast in lightning activity over the Indian region

摘要

Numerous observations substantiate a pronounced contrast in lightning activity between land and ocean. The common explanation for the land dominance is based on the contrast in thermal properties over land and sea a more recent research work based on the contrast between aerosol concentration between land and sea. The present study dealt with contrast in lightning activity over land and ocean and its possible explanation for the contrast. LIS satellite observations provide a uniform data set for two oceanic region (Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal) and Indian land mass region. Minimum to intermediate activity over the two oceanic region may subject to the difference in the aerosol concentration, complexity of the region, land sea breeze interaction and the thermal structure of the region. The maximum activity over the Indian land mass region is associated with the orography, land mass area and large scale circulations.