CACTILMA

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center proposes to place a lightning mapping array (LMA) sensor at the DOE-ARM CACTI site near Cordoba, Argentina during August 2018 through February 2019. This sensor consists of a Very High Frequency (VHF) antenna, a receiver, and a data processing unit all powered by solar panels. It passively detects VHF noise produced by lightning. As one part of a local network of these sensors (which will be placed elsewhere in the region), this LMA station will help map out 3-D lightning channels using time-of-arrival information from detected VHF sources. The LMA network will capture the initiation of intense convection and follow it through its upscale development into nascent mesoscale systems. This LMA will provide crucial 3D, high resolution, in-cloud observations that can help us understand what processes the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) observes when lightning occurs in intense Argentinian convection, especially resolving the frequent small flashes (i.e., smaller than the GLM footprint) that occur in intense convection, as well as large, long-lasting stratiform lightning. This sensor will directly support the DOE-ARM CACTI field campaign, as the LMA network will document the presence of deep convective clouds that are electrified and producing lightning. This supports the ARM mission by providing indirect observations of important cloud processes, such as the presence of significant updrafts, riming, etc. The sensor also will support the ARM decadal vision, in particular the topic of "Direct the Use of the ARM Mobile Facilities to DOE High-Priority Science," as this sensor will support CACTI goals and CACTI directly supports this particular ARM topic.

Timeline

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