Cross-Referencing GLM and ISS-LIS with Ground-Based Lightning Networks

With the addition of the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) on GOES-17 during spring 2018, there are for the first time three active satellite-borne lightning sensors, including GLM on GOES-16 and the Lightning Imaging Sensor aboard the International Space Station (ISS-LIS). These sensors provide an unprecedented opportunity to compare space-based total lightning observations: GLM observes the full thunderstorm life-cycle over the Americas and surrounding oceans, while ISS-LIS samples the global tropics and mid-latitudes. In this study, observations from both GLM sensors and ISS-LIS are cross-referenced with each other and with lightning detected by the ground-based Earth Networks Global Lightning Network (ENGLN) and the Vaisala Global Lightning Dataset 360 (GLD360) throughout and beyond the GLM fields-of-view. In addition to calibration/validation of the new satellite sensors, this study provides a statistical comparison of the characteristics of lightning observed by the satellite and ground-based instruments, with an emphasis on the lightning flashes uniquely identified by the satellites.