Three-Dimensional (3D) Modeling and Observational Studies of Lightning-Produced Nitric Oxides

South Dakota School Of Mines And Technology, Rapid City SD

Investigators

Abstract

This project continues and extends upon past studies investigating NOx (reactive nitrogen oxides: the sum of nitric oxide, NO, and nitrogen dioxide, NO2) formation in thunderstorms, using a combination of in situ observations and numerical storm simulations to gain a better estimate of nitrogen oxides production by lightning and subsequent transport throughout the thundercloud. The work will result in a better understanding of how reactive oxidized nitrogen is distributed within thunderstorms as it is generated by lightning and affected by subsequent chemical reactions. The project involves modeling and field measurements, explicit cloud-scale modeling to account for several critical processes of the in-cloud lightning discharge constrained by aircraft measurements of meteorological parameters and NO within the electrically active convective cloud cell. Broader impacts of this research include model developments that will improve performance in terms of robustness and representativeness for cloud-scale models used to simulate and quantify the effect of large electrically-active convective storms on the production and redistribution of photochemically active oxidants, with particular emphasis on further constraining the highly uncertain global NOx budget - an important consideration with regard to global climate. The project includes graduate student research training and results from the study will be used in teaching.