SGER: A Portable Three-Dimensional (3-D) Mapping System for Lightning Studies and Possible New Applications

这是一笔用于探索性研究的小额赠款，以帮助开发新墨西哥理工大学闪电测绘阵列(LMA)的便携式、轻量级版本。LMA是一个由12个甚高频接收器组成的网络，使用GPS计时来高精度地测量闪电信号的到达时间。三角测量能够以极高的空间和时间分辨率对网络附近的闪光进行三维映射--这是以其他方式无法获得的信息。过去几年，LMA资料，特别是结合雷达风暴模式和机载仪器对电场的现场测量，极大地促进了对雷暴带电的理解。这笔赠款支持开发更小版本的LMA，该版本将易于携带，并可快速部署用于风暴研究。由于各个接收站的不断改进和小型化，便携式版本是可行的。它将足够小，能够在因后勤或其他考虑而不可能进行的地点和情况下进行闪电测量。该系统潜在用途的例子包括：在暴风雨之前或从移动的车辆或飞机上进行移动部署，使用电池供电的阵列和无线通信在体育赛事或其他雷电危险令人担忧的情况下实时观测闪电，或对意外机会做出反应，如研究与火山喷发相关的闪电。VHF信号的精确三角测量是LMA的工作原理，它为闪电测绘以外的创新和探索性应用打开了大门。这些措施包括通过输电线路产生的放电来定位故障，定位携带小型脉冲发生器的人员，跟踪携带脉冲发生器的气球或飞机，以及定位和表征建筑物发出的射频噪音。

This is a Small Grant for Exploratory Research to assist in the development of a portable, lightweight version of the New Mexico Tech Lightning Mapping Array (LMA). The LMA is a network of twelve VHF receivers employing GPS timing to measure the time of arrival of signals from lightning flashes with high precision. Triangulation enables the 3-D mapping of the flashes in the vicinity of the network with extremely high resolution in space and time - information not otherwise available. LMA data, especially in combination with radar storm patterns and in-situ measurements of the electric field with airborne instruments, have greatly advanced the understanding of thunderstorm electrification in the past few years. This grant supports the development of a smaller version of the LMA that will be easily portable and quickly deployable for storm studies. The portable version is feasible because of continued improvements and miniaturization of the individual receiving stations. It will be small enough to enable lightning measurements in locations and situations that would not be possible otherwise because of logistics or other considerations. Examples of the potential uses of the system are mobile deployment ahead of storms or from moving vehicles or aircraft, using battery-operated arrays with wireless communications for real-time lightning observations at sporting events or other situations where lightning hazards are a concern, or responding to unexpected opportunities, such as studying the lightning associated with volcanic eruptions. Accurate triangulation of VHF signals, which is the operating principle of the LMA, opens the door to innovative and exploratory applications apart from lightning mapping. These include locating faults on power transmission lines by the electrical discharges they produce, locating personnel carrying small "pulser" units, tracking balloons or airplanes carrying pulsers, and locating and characterizing radio frequency noise emissions from buildings.