Antenna structures and cloud-to-ground lightning location: 1995-2015

作者:Kingfield Darrel M*; Calhoun Kristin M; de Beurs Kirsten M
来源:Geophysical Research Letters, 2017, 44(10): 5203-5212.
DOI:10.1002/2017GL073449

摘要

Spatial analyses of cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning occurrence due to a rapid expansion in the number of antenna towers across the United States are explored by gridding 20 years of National Lightning Detection Network data at 500 m spatial resolution. The 99.8% of grid cells with >= 100 CGs were within 1 km of an antenna tower registered with the Federal Communications Commission. Tower height is positively correlated with CG occurrence; towers taller than 400 m above ground level experience a median increase of 150% in CG lightning density compared to a region 2 km to 5 km away. In the northern Great Plains, the cumulative CG lightning density near the tower was around 138% (117%) higher than a region 2 to 5 km away in the September-February (March-August) months. Higher CG frequencies typically also occur in the first full year following new tower construction, creating new lightning hot spots.