Total lightning and precipitation over Brazil: An overview from 12-years of TRMM satellite

How many times lightning hits the Earth has been the object of interest and research for many years. Since launching in late 1997, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has collected detailed measurements of convective cloud systems over tropical and its electrification, making it possible to measurements lightning and rainfall in remote areas such as the oceans and the tropics. The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) aboard TRMM measures total lightning (intracloud and cloud-to-ground) using an optical staring imager. This sensor identifies lightning activity by detecting changes in the brightness of clouds as they are illuminated by lightning electrical discharges. Nowadays, TRMM has collected lightning measurements for over 12 years, giving a more complete view of the convection and its associated lightning in the tropics. In this scope, we present a 12-year climatology of total lightning and precipitation using TRMM over Brazil. We focus our analyses on well known distinct climatological regions along the country, assessing the mainly physical processes of rainfall and lightning for each region. In addition, we address total lightning trends observed from these 12-years of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission.