Texas Tech University Department of Wind Science and Engineering
TTU Home WiSE WiSE Research Spotlight

WiSE Research Spotlight: Faculty Affiliate Eric Bruning

The West Texas Lightning Mapping Array (WTLMA) will soon begin detecting lightning across West Texas from the New Mexico border to Oklahoma, complementing the coverage of the West Texas Mesonet. Instead of showing just a single ground strike point, the WTLMA will reveal the three-dimensional shape, extent, and development of branched lightening channels inside clouds, and is an essential tool for cutting-edge lightning physics studies and forecast applications.

The WTLMA will allow for detailed studies of thunderstorm electrification and the factors that control flash rate and extent, especially when combined with TTU's Ka-band mobile doppler radars. The system will provide a long-term dataset for graduate theses and publications, and is expected to contribute to regional field programs with readily available lightning data. In cooperation with Steve Cobb of the Lubbock National Weather Service Forecast Office, NOAA's GOES-R program is supporting real-time data processing and delivery. Forecasters will use the lightning data to assess changes in storm intensity and enhance lightning safety.

Fall 2011 Update: Current progress is that the building of the network has started and the team are finalizing their installation procedure using the Reese prototype. (See photo.) Solar panels and poles are complete at 6 of 11 sites, and are ready for the final electronics. Communications are ready at 5 of 11 sites.

Spring 2012 Update: The WTLMA data is now available on a website.The real-time images update every minute, and are a couple of minutes lagged from real time. You will also find a historial archive of images here. Data from the network are being delivered in real-time to the National Weather Service in Lubbock, as well as to national partners including the GOES-R Proving Ground and NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed. The network will also participate in the NSF-sponsored Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry campaign this year.

The West Texas Lightning Mapping Array purchase was funded by the TTU Vice President for Research (VPR), and was developed at New Mexico Tech. Thanks, also, are due to the TTU College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences and the TTU Department of Geosciences for their critical role in funding the project. Geosciences Assistant Professor Eric Bruning, WiSE engineers and technicians Jerry Guynes, Jeff Livingston, and Glenn Allen, and numerous ATMO and WiSE graduate students, have completed site survey work and expect to begin final installation of eleven detecting stations around Lubbock County. When linked with a similar system in Oklahoma, the system will contribute to a regional lightning mapping capability that is internationally unique.

An image of the technical equipment installed at the WiSE research facilies.

(Above) The equipment now installed at Reese includes: (Top) Thin aluminum elements: VHF sensing antenna. (Near top): Communications dish. (Just above solar panel): GPS and preamplifier. (In shade behind solar panel): Tan electronics box. (On shelf below solar panel): Battery boxes.

A coverage map shows the approx 2D coverage of the WTLMA network

(Above) The coverage map shows the approximate 2D coverage of the WTLMA network (circles), as well as the Oklahoma LMA networks. The network near Altus in OK is being installed in parallel with ours by NSSL in Norman. Mapping of lightning channels is 3D is expected between the clusters of stations comprising the networks, and out to 100 km range from any given network center.

Credit for text and photos: Dr. Eric Bruning Assistant Professor, ATMO, TTU.

For previous Research Spotlights: see Dr. Stephen Ekwaro-Osire and WiSE Ph.D. student Amber Emory (formerly Reynolds).