P1.14
The ZEUS lightning network in Brazil
Carlos A. R. Morales, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and F. Sales, F. G. Pinheiro, K. S. Câmara, and E. N. Anagnostou
This paper presents the deployment and new perspectives of the ZEUS VLF long range lightning monitoring network that has been established in Brazil after the support of the Research and Development Program of the “Companhia Energética do Ceará-(COELCE)” and collaboration with the University of Connecticut. The ZEUS network measures radio noise emitted by lightning that propagates through the ionosphere-earth surface wave-guide up to thousands of kilometers. Three new VLF antennas have been installed in Brazil: Fortaleza (Ceará) and Cachoeira Paulista (São Paulo) in the first semester of 2006, and Campo Grande (Mato Grosso do Sul) on August of 2007. These new antennas were integrated with the 4 sensor installed in Africa and one in the Caribbean. Based on this new configuration, ZEUS has improved its detection efficiency of over South and North America, the Atlantic Ocean and Africa. In a preliminary validation analysis using the data from the Brazilian Lightning Detection Network (RINDAT), National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) of EUA, and Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on board the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) were employed to retrieve the location accuracy during the period of August through November of 2006. Based on the 2006 ZEUS configuration, the location accuracy was between 10-50 km over Brazil, 5-25 km in Africa, 70-100 km over the southern EUA, and 5-25 km in the Atlantic Ocean. The measurements from August through November of 2006 show that the main lightning activity is located in the Western Amazon, Western and Central Africa, Central America, Colombia, Florida and Caribbean regions, which agrees with the lightning maps derived with LIS for the same time period. During the conference another evaluation will be presented with the inclusion of the third receiver in Brazil.
Poster Session 1, Lightning Applications, Studies and Technology in the Atmospheric Sciences
Tuesday, 22 January 2008, 9:45 AM-11:00 AM, Exhibit Hall B
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