Spatiotemporal variability of lightning activity in Europe and the relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation teleconnection pattern
Comprehensive lightning statistics are presented for a large, contiguous domain covering several European countries such as France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Spatiotemporal variability of convective activity is investigated based on a 14-year time series (2001–2014) of lightning data. Based...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:820ce4532069403abd5debd344756ac1 2023-05-15T17:31:08+02:00 Spatiotemporal variability of lightning activity in Europe and the relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation teleconnection pattern D. Piper M. Kunz 2017-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-1319-2017 https://doaj.org/article/820ce4532069403abd5debd344756ac1 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/17/1319/2017/nhess-17-1319-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1561-8633 https://doaj.org/toc/1684-9981 doi:10.5194/nhess-17-1319-2017 1561-8633 1684-9981 https://doaj.org/article/820ce4532069403abd5debd344756ac1 Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, Vol 17, Pp 1319-1336 (2017) Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-1319-2017 2022-12-30T21:03:55Z Comprehensive lightning statistics are presented for a large, contiguous domain covering several European countries such as France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Spatiotemporal variability of convective activity is investigated based on a 14-year time series (2001–2014) of lightning data. Based on the binary variable thunderstorm day, the mean spatial patterns of lightning activity and regional peculiarities regarding seasonality are discussed. Diurnal cycles are compared among several regions and evaluated with respect to major seasonal changes. Further analyses are performed regarding interannual variability and the impact of teleconnection patterns on convection. Mean convective activity across central Europe is characterized by a strong northwest-to-southeast gradient with pronounced secondary features superimposed. The zone of maximum values of thunderstorm days propagates southwestward along the southern Alpine range from April to July. Diurnal cycles vary substantially between both different months and regions, particularly regarding the incidence of nighttime lightning. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is shown to have a significant impact on convective activity in several regions, which is primarily caused by variations of the large-scale lifting pattern in both NAO phases. This dynamical effect is partly compensated for by thermodynamical modifications of the pre-convective environment. The results point to a crucial role of large-scale flow in steering the spatiotemporal patterns of convective activity. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 17 8 1319 1336 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 D. Piper M. Kunz Spatiotemporal variability of lightning activity in Europe and the relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation teleconnection pattern |
topic_facet |
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Comprehensive lightning statistics are presented for a large, contiguous domain covering several European countries such as France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Spatiotemporal variability of convective activity is investigated based on a 14-year time series (2001–2014) of lightning data. Based on the binary variable thunderstorm day, the mean spatial patterns of lightning activity and regional peculiarities regarding seasonality are discussed. Diurnal cycles are compared among several regions and evaluated with respect to major seasonal changes. Further analyses are performed regarding interannual variability and the impact of teleconnection patterns on convection. Mean convective activity across central Europe is characterized by a strong northwest-to-southeast gradient with pronounced secondary features superimposed. The zone of maximum values of thunderstorm days propagates southwestward along the southern Alpine range from April to July. Diurnal cycles vary substantially between both different months and regions, particularly regarding the incidence of nighttime lightning. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is shown to have a significant impact on convective activity in several regions, which is primarily caused by variations of the large-scale lifting pattern in both NAO phases. This dynamical effect is partly compensated for by thermodynamical modifications of the pre-convective environment. The results point to a crucial role of large-scale flow in steering the spatiotemporal patterns of convective activity. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
D. Piper M. Kunz |
author_facet |
D. Piper M. Kunz |
author_sort |
D. Piper |
title |
Spatiotemporal variability of lightning activity in Europe and the relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation teleconnection pattern |
title_short |
Spatiotemporal variability of lightning activity in Europe and the relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation teleconnection pattern |
title_full |
Spatiotemporal variability of lightning activity in Europe and the relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation teleconnection pattern |
title_fullStr |
Spatiotemporal variability of lightning activity in Europe and the relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation teleconnection pattern |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatiotemporal variability of lightning activity in Europe and the relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation teleconnection pattern |
title_sort |
spatiotemporal variability of lightning activity in europe and the relation to the north atlantic oscillation teleconnection pattern |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-1319-2017 https://doaj.org/article/820ce4532069403abd5debd344756ac1 |
genre |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
op_source |
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, Vol 17, Pp 1319-1336 (2017) |
op_relation |
https://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/17/1319/2017/nhess-17-1319-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1561-8633 https://doaj.org/toc/1684-9981 doi:10.5194/nhess-17-1319-2017 1561-8633 1684-9981 https://doaj.org/article/820ce4532069403abd5debd344756ac1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-1319-2017 |
container_title |
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
1319 |
op_container_end_page |
1336 |
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1766128459538497536 |