Utilizing Lightning Locations to Optimize and Quality-Control Seismic Data

The USArray's Array Network Facility (ANF) has teamed with the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN), the world's largest lightning detection network, to acquire lightning detection data feeds in near real-time. Combining these solutions with approximately 500 stations from the USArray's Transportable Array network (which transmits seismic and barometric pressure data at 40 samples-per-second) provides researchers with an enhanced perspective of signals recorded by the array. This directly translates to higher efficiency in automated processing, analyst reviewing, and verification of solutions of seismic and acoustic events. Having identifiable events spread across multiple stations and traveling through multiple mediums (ground and atmosphere) also improves the quality of the network by allowing a better evaluation of the signals and correlation with ground-truth events. The lightning source locations from ENTLN make it possible to identify signals within the seismic and barometric pressure data that might otherwise be impossible to categorize. With this multidisciplinary integration of data sources it is possible to complement current severe weather detection systems utilizing real-time data.