The TCSP ER-2 Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) dataset consists of electrical field measurements of lightning from seven field mills, air conductivity data from a two channel conductivity probe, and navigation data, for the period of July 2 to July 27, 2005. These data were collected by the Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) flown aboard the NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft during the Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes (TCSP) field campaign in July 2005. The main goal of the campaign was to gain further insight into the structure and lifecycle of tropical weather systems. The TCSP ER-2 LIP data are provided in ASCII text files with PNG browse image files.

The CAMEX-3 Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) dataset contains electrical field measurements of lightning within storms studied during the Convection And Moisture EXperiment 3 (CAMEX-3). The LIP was flown aboard the NASA ER-2 aircraft, enabling vector components of the electric field (i.e, Ex, Ey, Ez) to be readily obtained, thus greatly improving knowledge of the electrical structure within storms overflown. Measurements within this dataset include field mill data, conductivity probe temperatures from two probes, and navigation data. The field mills measure the components of the electric field over a wide dynamic range extending from fair weather electric fields, (i.e., a few to tens of V/m) to larger thunderstorm fields (i.e., tens of kV/m). Total lightning (i.e., cloud-to-ground, intracloud) is identified from the abrupt electric field changes in the data. The conductivity probe measures the air conductivity at the aircraft flight altitude. Storm electric currents can be derived using the electric field and air conductivity measurements.

The GRIP Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) dataset was collected by the Lightning Instrument Package (LIP), which consists of 6 rotating vane type electric field mill sensors along with a central computer to record and monitor the instruments. The field mills measure the components of the electric field over a wide dynamic range extending from fair weather electric fields, (i.e., a few to tens of V/m) to larger thunderstorm fields (i.e., tens of kV/m). During the GRIP campaign the LIP instrument package flew aboard the Global Hawk aircraft. The major goal was to better understand how tropical storms form and develop into major hurricanes. NASA used the DC-8 aircraft, the WB-57 aircraft and the Global Hawk Unmanned Airborne System (UAS), configured with a suite of in situ and remote sensing instruments that were used to observe and characterize the lifecycle of hurricanes.

The GOES-R PLT Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) dataset consists of electrical field measurements of lightning and navigation data collected by the Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) flown aboard a NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft during the GOES-R Post Launch Test (PLT) airborne science field campaign. The GOES-R PLT airborne science field campaign took place between March 21 and May 17, 2017 in support of the post-launch product validation of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) and the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM). These data files are available in ASCII format with browse imagery available in PDF format.

The Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) IMPACTS dataset consists of electrical field measurements of lightning and navigation data collected by the Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) flown onboard the NASA ER-2 aircraft during the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) field campaign. IMPACTS was a three-year sequence of winter season deployments conducted to study snowstorms over the U.S. Atlantic coast (2020-2023). IMPACTS aimed to (1) Provide observations critical to understanding the mechanisms of snowband formation, organization, and evolution; (2) Examine how the microphysical characteristics and likely growth mechanisms of snow particles vary across snowbands; and (3) Improve snowfall remote sensing interpretation and modeling to advance prediction capabilities significantly. The V2 LIP IMPACTS data have been further filtered to remove field mill offsets that were identified in the prior V1 data. These data are available from January 15, 2020, through March 2, 2023, in ASCII format.

The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) Science Data was collected by the LIS instrument on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite used to detect the distribution and variability of total lightning occurring in the Earth’s tropical and subtropical regions. This data can be used for severe storm detection and analysis, as well as for lightning-atmosphere interaction studies. The LIS instrument makes measurements during both day and night with high detection efficiency. These data are available in both HDF-4 and netCDF-4 formats, with corresponding browse images in GIF format.

The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) Science Data was collected by the LIS instrument on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite used to detect the distribution and variability of total lightning occurring in the Earth’s tropical and subtropical regions. This data can be used for severe storm detection and analysis, as well as for lightning-atmosphere interaction studies. The LIS instrument makes measurements during both day and night with high detection efficiency. These data are available in both HDF-4 and netCDF-4 formats, with corresponding browse images in GIF format.

The CAMEX-4 ER-2 Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) dataset was collected by the ER-2 LIP, which allows the vector components of the electric field (i.e, Ex, Ey, Ez ) to be readily obtained, and thus greatly improves our knowledge of the electrical structure of storms overflown. The field mills measure the components of the electric field over a wide dynamic range extending from fair weather electric fields, (i.e., a few to tens of V/m) to larger thunderstorm fields (i.e., tens of kV/m). Total lightning (i.e., cloud-to-ground, intracloud) is identified from the abrupt electric field changes in the data. The conductivity probe measures the air conductivity at the aircraft flight altitude. Storm electric currents can be derived using the electric field and air conductivity measurements.

The CAMEX-4 DC-8 Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) dataset was collected by the ER-2 Lightning Instrument Package (LIP), which allows the vector components of the electric field (i.e, Ex, Ey, Ez) to be readily obtained, and thus, greatly improves our knowledge of the electrical structure of storms overflown during the CAMEX-4 campaign. The field mills measure the components of the electric field over a wide dynamic range extending from fair weather electric fields, (i.e., a few to tens of V/m) to larger thunderstorm fields (i.e., tens of kV/m). Total lightning (i.e., cloud-to-ground, intracloud) is identified from the abrupt electric field changes in the data. The conductivity probe measures the air conductivity at the aircraft flight altitude. Storm electric currents can be derived using the electric field and air conductivity measurements.

The GPM Ground Validation Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) IPHEx dataset consists of electrical field measurements of lightning and navigation data collected by the Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) flown aboard a NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft during the GPM Ground Validation Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx) held in North Carolina. The goal of IPHEx was to evaluate the accuracy of satellite precipitation measurements and use the collected data for hydrology models in the region. These data files are available in ASCII format and browse imagery in PNG format from May 1, 2014 through June 14, 2014.