Global relationships between lightning and ice water path characteristics from WWLLN and AMSU-B/MHS

Global frozen hydrometeor distributions can be measured by microwave radiometers on polar-orbiting satellites. The polar-orbiting platform limits the spatial and temporal resolution so that continuous monitoring of the frozen hydrometeor distribution cannot be attained. Therefore it is helpful to find other ways to 'fill in the gaps' in order to deduce global distribution of frozen hydrometeors. Lightning discharge is the neutralization phenomenon of cloud charge produced by collisions between graupel and small ice crystals. The World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) provides real-time global maps of lightning locations by measuring the very low frequency (VLF) radiation emitted from lightning discharges. WWLLN's detection efficiency is improved as WWLLN stations grew in number. Since the WWLLN network provides global information on the distribution of lightning and can be useful to 'fill in the gaps' of the polar-orbiting restrictions, we seek to find a relationship between lightning and satellite derived IWP. NOAA Microwave Surface and Precipitation Products System (MSPPS) provided us with the IWP product from microwave radiometers (AMSU-B or MHS) aboard NOAA and METOP satellites. This study presents the comparison between the IWP values and stroke rate in grid boxes of 0.5 by 0.5 degrees during one year (2009). The trend of these monthly relationships is stationary. Our results indicate that lightning data can be used to estimate IWP outside the satellite observations.