In July 2023, NASAs ER-2 aircraft flew near thunderclouds to study the relationship in between lightning and atmospheric energy fields. The airplane, part of the ALOFT job, runs at a special altitude, permitting researchers to collect detailed information on high-energy radiation emissions from thunderstorms. Credit: NASA
NASAs ER-2 aircraft, as part of the ALOFT task, investigated lightning and associated energy fields in the atmosphere in July 2023. This research intends to deepen our understanding of gamma-ray flashes in thunderclouds and will influence future space-based lightning mapping technologies.
Throughout July 2023, NASAs ER-2 airplane flew near thunderclouds to investigate lightning and its connection to the huge energy fields in our atmosphere. As the highest-flying airplane of NASAs Airborne Science Program, the ER-2 is providing researchers a brand-new angle on storm clouds.
Historically, lightning has actually just been looked into by low-flying airplane or ground observers too far from thunderclouds to examine their in-depth qualities. Satellites like NASAs TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission) and NOAAs GOES (Geostationary Environmental Satellite), along with the Lightning Imaging Sensor on the International Space Station, have determined lightning and related energy discharges from hundreds to countless miles above. NASAs ER-2 aircraft, however, can fly at about 60,000 feet (20,000 meters), an ideal elevation and distance to thunderclouds.
NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California worked together with the University of Bergen, Norway to create the ALOFT task, Airborne Lightning Observatory for Flys eye simulator and Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. The team included researchers and detectives from the University of Bergen, Norway, and pilots, engineers, and specialists from NASA who investigated lightning glows and terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. Flying simply above the height of thunderclouds over the Floridian and Caribbean shorelines, NASAs ER-2 aircraft gather more accurate data that can advance the study of high-energy radiation emissions from thunderstorms. Credit: NASAs Armstrong Flight Research
The ALOFT Project: A Deeper Dive into Lightning Research
Researchers getting involved in the ALOFT job– Airborne Lightning Observatory for Flys Eye Simulator and Terrestrial Gamma Rays– have actually been using the ER-2 to fly above Central America, the Caribbean, and the coast of Florida, which are hotspots for thunderstorm activity at this time of year. From simply above the height of a thundercloud, the team anticipates to collect detailed information that can advance the study of high-energy radiation emissions from thunderstorms. The field campaign consists of instruments and researchers from the University of Birkeland in Norway, NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center and Goddard Space Flight Center, Sandia National Labs, and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.
” This is an objective to enter into the microphysics of what is going on in the enormous electric field above our heads,” stated primary detective Nikolai Ostgaard from the University of Birkeland. “Our goal is to comprehend how and under what conditions TGFs, or terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, are produced. We likewise aim to understand the behavior of gamma-ray shines in thunderclouds.”
NASA operates two Lockheed ER-2 Earth Resources airplane as flying laboratories in the Airborne Science Program under the Agencys Science Mission Directorate. The airplane are based at NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California, and gather information about the Earths resources, celestial observations, atmospheric chemistry and characteristics, and oceanic procedures. The airplane are likewise utilized for electronic sensing unit research and advancement, satellite calibration, and satellite information validation. Credit: NASA
Understanding the Science of Gamma Rays and Thunderclouds
The science underpinning these flashes and radiances can be likened to a battery: a thundercloud is charged by the electrical friction in between damp air and cold air crystals, which energy is discharged by lightning. Those discharges lower the radiance of incredibly energetic photons– gamma rays– inside the thundercloud. Storm clouds can also produce gamma-ray flashes, which happen as short bursts of light that last from 10s to hundreds of a microsecond and are much more intense than gamma-ray glows.
” If you pass a thundercloud that is radiant in gamma rays, that suggests the electric field inside the cloud is huge,” stated Ostgaard. The ALOFT science team is observing the gamma-ray activity of thunderclouds by examining this radiance.
NASA pilots are flying the ER-2 as near to thunderclouds as securely possible to collect data with Instruments installed on the aircraft. They determine the brightness of gamma rays (in photons per microsecond) by utilizing scintillators– or crystals– that produce a light pulse when struck by a gamma ray. A photomultiplier transforms these light pulses into electric pulses that show electrical charge. The ALOFT group on the ground receives this data in real-time, and if they detect that the aircraft is flying near an electrically glowing thundercloud, they advise the pilot to circle and fly over that cell as long as possible.
The ER-2 is a flexible airplane appropriate to carry out multiple objective tasks. It operates at altitudes from 20,000 feet to 70,000 feet, which is above 99 percent of the Earths atmosphere. The airplane has four big, pressurized experiment compartments and a high-capacity AC/DC electrical system, permitting it to bring a variety of payloads on a single mission. The modular style of the airplane allows fast installation or removal of payloads to fulfill changing mission requirements. Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas
Supplementary Instruments and Future Insights
In addition to the lightning instrumentation, NASA is offering additional measurements from precipitation and cloud radars and microwave radiometers. These extra instruments provide the ability to determine the structures and microphysical homes of storms, which can supply more insight into the mechanisms behind the electrical fields.
“Our instruments are created with an extremely due time resolution, so we can see a photon of a lightning flash every split second, or millionth of a millisecond,” Ostgaard stated.
Ostgaard is excited about what brand-new insights this data will reveal about lightning and the electrical field above us. “It will open doors to comprehending lightning due to the fact that we do not actually understand how these gamma-ray flashes and radiances relate to thunderclouds and lightning,” he said. The details collected will also assist engineers and researchers assess new style principles for the next generation of space-based lightning mappers.
In July 2023, NASAs ER-2 aircraft flew near thunderclouds to study the relationship between lightning and atmospheric energy fields. Satellites like NASAs TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission) and NOAAs GOES (Geostationary Environmental Satellite), as well as the Lightning Imaging Sensor on the International Space Station, have determined lightning and associated energy discharges from hundreds to thousands of miles above. NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California worked together with the University of Bergen, Norway to produce the ALOFT task, Airborne Lightning Observatory for Flys eye simulator and Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. The group included scientists and investigators from the University of Bergen, Norway, and pilots, engineers, and technicians from NASA who examined lightning radiances and terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. NASA pilots are flying the ER-2 as close to thunderclouds as safely possible to gather data with Instruments installed on the airplane.
