CAREER: Wideband, Integrated Instrumentation to Investigate the Electrical Properties of Lightning

随着探测闪电的仪器设备的改进，有机会更深入地了解放电的基本物理和可能的应用。这项研究将开发一种新型的集成传感器，能够远程感知闪电过程的电场变化和雷暴附近的环境电场环境。特别是，这项工作将使闪电中和电荷的测量现代化，并为大气电学和气象学领域提供重要的实验贡献，以更好地模拟这一过程，了解理论发展。新的仪器将能够对闪电先导物理及其与风暴环境和其他可用的闪电属性的关系进行基础研究。此外，目前关于风暴演变和闪电活动的研究依赖于对闪电能量的间接测量。这项工作将直接测量这个量，并提供实验数据，以提高对风暴演变与闪电关系的理论理解。研究将根据NSF大想法倡议进行，在该倡议中，通过对复杂数据的建模和分析来实现数据驱动的发现和决策。智力优势：许多关于闪电及其相关属性的基础科学和应用的研究依赖于对放电能量的间接测量。这项工作将提供被闪电中和的电荷的直接测量，从而使人们能够更好地了解如何在各种应用中使用闪电。这项工作侧重于两个科学应用：(1)闪电先导传播环境的模拟，以及(2)与雷暴发展有关的闪电中和电荷的变化。将使用各种电气环境模型来调查存在哪些条件会导致较高的引线速度和较大的峰值电流回程。此外，还将分析失败领导者(不会立即导致回击的领导者)的属性。为了进一步调查与恶劣天气发展和闪电活动有关的现有有希望的结果，这项工作将使用闪电能量的直接测量。这将为从理论上理解加强的风暴和闪电活动之间的联系提供更有力的实验输入。广泛的影响：闪电是最常见的大气现象之一，但充分认识高质量闪电数据的社会影响的研究仍在继续发展。通过仪器开发创建这些数据的能力将有助于确保具有竞争力的STEM劳动力；为这项研究开发传感器将有助于为下一代科学家提供重要培训。闪电和恶劣天气的相关性已经产生了利用闪电数据来辅助强风暴警告的诱人可能性。该项目的研究将用于实时显示电气环境，而不仅仅是当前的闪电活动，从而增加人员到达安全地带的准备时间。此外，更好地了解持续的风暴和闪电活动，特别是可能变得严重的风暴和闪电活动，将有能力进一步显示高质量闪电仪器的好处。这一点特别有用，因为地球同步闪电测绘仪(GLM)计划于2016年11月发射。该仪器将提供整个西半球大片地区的闪电数据和闪电能量测量。此外，这项工作还将推动两项教育举措。数字化系统的基本设计将纳入目前正在开发的关于大气和地球科学家通常使用的数据的课程。此外，还将创建适合高中科学课的闪电模块。这将包括开发一种可被当前研究吸收的工具，提供独特的STEM教育体验。

As instrumentation to detect lightning improves, opportunities to pursue more in depth understanding of the underlying physics of the discharge and possible applications are enabled. This research will develop a new, integrated sensor capable of remotely sensing both the electric field change for lightning processes and the ambient electric field environment near a thunderstorm. In particular, this work will modernize measurements of the charge neutralized by a lightning discharge and provide important experimental contributions to the field of atmospheric electricity and meteorology to better model the process and understand theoretical development. The new instrumentation will enable basic research into lightning leader physics, and its relationship to the storm environment and other available lightning attributes. Further, current investigations relating storm evolution and lightning activity rely on indirect measurements of the energetics of lightning. This work will directly measure this quantity and provide experimental data to improve theoretical understanding of the relationship between storm evolution and lightning. Research will be pursuant to the NSF Big Ideas Initiative, in which data-driven discovery and decision-making are enabled through modeling and analysis of complex data.Intellectual Merit:Many investigations in the basic science and applications of lightning and its associated attributes rely on indirect measurements of the energetics of the discharge. This work will provide direct measurements of the charge neutralized by lightning, thereby enabling an improved understanding of how to use lightning in a variety of applications. This work focuses on two scientific applications: (1) the modeling of the environment in which a lightning leader propagates, and (2) the variation of charge neutralized by lightning in relation to thunderstorm development. Various models of the electrical environment will be used to investigate what conditions exists that lead to higher leader speeds and large peak current return strokes. In addition, the attributes of failed leaders (leaders that do not immediately lead to return strokes) will be analyzed. To further investigate existing promising results relating severe weather development and lightning activity, this work will use direct measurements of the energetics of lightning. This will provide a more robust experimental input to the theoretical understanding of the connection between a strengthening storm and lightning activity.Broader Impacts:Lightning is one of the most familiar atmospheric phenomena, yet research to fully realize the societal impacts of high quality lightning data continues to evolve. The ability to create this data via instrument development will help ensure a competitive STEM workforce; the development of sensors for this research will help provide important training in the next generation of scientists. The correlation of lightning and severe weather has yielded tantalizing possibilities in the use of lightning data to aid severe storm warnings. Research from this project will be used for real-time displays of the electrical environment and not just current lightning activity, increasing lead time to get personnel to safety. In addition, the improved understanding of ongoing storms and lightning activity, particularly ones that may become severe, will have the capability to further show the benefit of quality lightning instrumentation. This is particularly useful, as the launch of the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) is scheduled in November 2016. This instrument will provide total lightning data and measurement of lightning energetics across a large section of the Western Hemisphere. In addition, two education initiatives will be enabled by this work. The basic design of a digitizing system will be incorporated into a currently in-development course on data typically used by atmospheric and earth scientists. In addition, a lightning module suitable for high school science classes will be created. This will include development of an instrument that can be assimilated into current research, providing a unique STEM educational experience.