Data · dataset · 2026
Production of lightning NOx and its vertical distribution calculated from three-dimensional cloud-scale chemical transport model simulations
Listed in National Center for Atmospheric Research
A three-dimensional (3-D) cloud-scale chemical transport model that includes a parameterized source of lightning NOâ on the basis of observed flash rates has been used to simulate six midlatitude and subtropical thunderstorms observed during four field projects.
Description
Production per intracloud (PIC) and cloud-to-ground (PCG) flash is estimated by assuming various values of PIC and PCG for each storm and determining which production scenario yields NOâ mixing ratios that compare most favorably with in-cloud aircraft observations.
We obtain a mean PCG value of 500 moles NO (7 kg N) per flash. The results of this analysis also suggest that on average, PIC may be nearly equal to PCG, which is contrary to the common assumption that intracloud flashes are significantly less productive of NO than are cloud-to-ground flashes. This study also presents vertical profiles of the mass of lightning NOâ after convection based on 3-D cloud-scale model simulations.
Read the rest (2 more)
The results suggest that following convection, a large percentage of lightning NOâ remains in the middle and upper troposphere where it originated, while only a small percentage is found near the surface. The results of this work differ from profiles calculated from 2-D cloud-scale model simulations with a simpler lightning parameterization that were peaked near the surface and in the upper troposphere (referred to as a "C-shaped" profile).
The new model results (a backward C-shaped profile) suggest that chemical transport models that assume a C-shaped vertical profile of lightning NOâ mass may place too much mass near the surface and too little in the middle troposphere.
Links
Get the data
- Publisher page n2t.org/ark:/85065/d77p8ztk ↗
documentation · download · from data ucar edu
Where it is published
- data.ucar.edu /dataset/production-of-lightning-nox-and-its-vertical-distribut… ↗
National Center for Atmospheric Research dataset page
landing page · from data ucar edu
Catalogue records · 1
- CKAN API data.ucar.edu/api/3/action/package_show?id=3fa44f85-79d8-491b-b652-85307a28e… ↗
metadata API · from data ucar edu
Topics
- From keywords
- Earth & Environmental Science · Ocean & Atmospheric Science
Provenance · 1 source records, 7 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Center for Atmospheric Research | 3fa44f85-79d8-491b-b652-85307a28ef1f | 10 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:ocean-atmospheric | mapping · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| created_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| description | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | /notes |
| publication_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | /title |
| updated_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 |