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Antenna structures and cloud‐to‐ground lightning location: 1995–2015
Author(s) -
Kingfield Darrel M.,
Calhoun Kristin M.,
Beurs Kirsten M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2017gl073449
Subject(s) - lightning (connector) , tower , lightning detection , meteorology , lightning strike , upper atmospheric lightning , antenna (radio) , antenna height considerations , remote sensing , environmental science , geology , geography , telecommunications , engineering , physics , thunderstorm , power (physics) , archaeology , quantum mechanics
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.