A Study of Multiple Environmental Influences on the Lightning of a Continental Cumulonimbus Cloud Simulated by a Numerical Model

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。控制雷暴上升气流速度的环境因素，包括云底的不稳定性和高度，可能会决定全球闪电发生的大部分模式。然而，来自气溶胶的额外影响是可能的。 这个为期3年的项目的目标是评估对流不稳定性，云底高度，风的垂直切变，和气溶胶的影响，在一个单一的大陆积雨云产生的闪电观察到的强雷暴电气化和降水研究（STEPS）。 一个已经开发的三维云解析模型将被扩展，以包括用于模拟这场风暴的电气化组件。 来自STEPS的观测数据将验证该模型对模拟云的云特性和闪电的预测。 将通过在不同的环境条件下多次模拟这一单一云来分析风暴带电对这些环境因素变化的反应，提高对对流风暴物理学的理解将有助于科学界更好地模拟和预报风暴。在未来，闪电的远程监测将成为推断对流强度、降水、冰雹和气候变化的更有用的信息来源。将向天气、研究和预报模式的用户社区和其他机构的研究人员提供所制定的代码。广泛传播成果将使更广泛的教育界受益。对夏威夷社区学院和公共机构（如图书馆）的外联活动将包括公开讲座。 研究的重点将在网页上概述，并包括在夏威夷大学PI的讲座中，使学生受益。该项目将为一名博士后科学家提供云物理学方面的培训，并促进其进入科学职业。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Environmental factors controlling thunderstorm updraft speed, including instability and height of cloud-base, may prevail in determining much of the pattern in global occurrence of lightning. Nevertheless, additional influences from aerosol are likely. The goal of this 3-year project is to evaluate the influence of convective instability, height of cloud-base, vertical shear of the wind, and aerosols, on the lightning produced by a single continental cumulonimbus cloud observed in the Severe Thunderstorm Electrification and Precipitation Study (STEPS). An already-developed 3D cloud-resolving model will be extended to include an electrification component for use in simulating this storm. Observational data from STEPS will validate the model's predictions of cloud properties and lightning for the simulated cloud. Responses of storm electrification to variation in these environmental factors will be analyzed by simulating this single cloud multiple times with varying environmental conditions.Improved understanding of the physics of convective storms will help the scientific community to better model and forecast storms. In the future, remote monitoring of lightning will be an ever more useful source of information for inferring convective intensity, precipitation, hail, and climate change. Codes developed will be made available to the community of users of the Weather, Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and to researchers at other institutions. Broad dissemination of results will benefit the wider educational community. Outreach to community colleges and public institutions (e.g. libraries) in Hawaii will include public talks. Highlights from the research will be outlined on a web-page, and included in lectures by the PI at the University of Hawaii, benefitting students. This project will provide training in cloud physics for a post-doctoral scientist and facilitate entry into a scientific career.