Liu et al. (2025) First Observation of Thunderstorm Occurrences in the Lower Atmosphere by All‐Sky Meteor Radars

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-12-02
• Authors: Jianfei Liu, Wenjie Sun, Guozhu Li, Lianhuan Hu, Yi Li, Haiyong Xie, Xiukuan Zhao, Guofeng Dai, Baiqi Ning
• DOI: 10.1029/2025jd044232

Research Groups

Not explicitly stated in the abstract, but likely associated with the institution operating the bi-static all-sky radar system on Hainan Island, China.

Short Summary

This study pioneers the use of all-sky meteor radars, typically for mesospheric/ionospheric observations, to detect and track lower-atmospheric thunderstorms, demonstrating their capability to accurately capture thunderstorm development.

Objective

• To observe and investigate the occurrence of thunderstorms in the lower atmosphere for the first time using an all-sky meteor radar system.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Southern coast of Hainan Island, China; altitudes ranging from approximately 5 km to 20 km.
• Temporal Scale: 5 June 2024, with observed thunderstorm activities lasting for approximately 2 hours.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not applicable; the study primarily uses an observational technique.
• Data sources:
  • Bi-static all-sky radar system (installed on Hainan Island, China) utilizing radar interferometry technique.
  • Multiple other kinds of lower-atmospheric observations (used for confirmation).

Main Results

• Thunderstorm echoes were successfully captured and tracked by the all-sky meteor radar system.
• The echoes occurred at altitudes between approximately 5 km and 20 km along the southern coast of Hainan Island.
• The observed thunderstorm activities lasted for approximately 2 hours.
• The thunderstorm echoes migrated northeastward at a speed of approximately 15 meters per second.
• The occurrence time, spatial locations (both horizontal and vertical), and evolution of the radar echoes corresponded well with thunderstorm development confirmed by other lower-atmospheric observations.

Contributions

• First-time demonstration of the capability of all-sky meteor radars, primarily used for mesospheric/ionospheric studies, to observe and investigate lower-atmospheric thunderstorm activities.
• Highlights the extended utility of all-sky radars beyond their traditional applications.
• Provides a novel observational tool that may facilitate future investigations into tropospheric-ionospheric coupling processes during extreme convective events.

Funding

Not mentioned in the abstract.

Citation

@article{Liu2025First,
  author = {Liu, Jianfei and Sun, Wenjie and Li, Guozhu and Hu, Lianhuan and Li, Yi and Xie, Haiyong and Zhao, Xiukuan and Dai, Guofeng and Ning, Baiqi},
  title = {First Observation of Thunderstorm Occurrences in the Lower Atmosphere by All‐Sky Meteor Radars},
  journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1029/2025jd044232},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025jd044232}
}