Spatial and temporal distributions of lightning activities in Northeast China from satellite observation and analysis for lightning fire

摘要

It is very important to study on lightning activities in Northeast China since it is the area of lightning fire with the highest frequency. Spatial and temporal distributions of lightning activities were analyzed based on Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS)/ Optical Transient Detector (OTD) data provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Also the reasons of lightning fire were investigated through its spatial and temporal distributions, lightning activities, Digital Elevation Models (DEM), vegetative cover types, and meteorological factors. Results showed that there are more lightning activities in Hulunbeier and Heihe than other places, especially in July. But lightning fire occurred mainly in the area of Daxinganling, Hulunbeier and Heihe, and the most frequencies of lightning fire happened in June. The reason why there were few lightning activities but a lot of lightning fire in Daxinganling could be explained by the widely-distributed combustible vegetative cover types and the mountainous areas where easily produce thunderstorm which is affected by atmospheric circulation. Results also suggested that the peak of lightning fire in these areas is in June but the peak of lightning activities in July. This phenomenon could be accounted for by the more precipitation in July but the more droughts in June. Overall, these researches will shed light on the understanding of lightning fire in order to prevent, control, or even utilize it.