Timothy J. Lang
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View article: Analysis of South Atlantic Anomaly Influence on Low‐Earth Orbit Lightning Observations
Analysis of South Atlantic Anomaly Influence on Low‐Earth Orbit Lightning Observations Open
The low‐Earth orbit Optical Transient Detector (OTD) and Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) instruments, spanning 1995–2023, have spatiotemporal patterns within their metadata that are consistent with the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). While th…
View article: Spectral Analysis of Flickering Gamma‐Ray Flashes Observed During the ALOFT 2023 Campaign
Spectral Analysis of Flickering Gamma‐Ray Flashes Observed During the ALOFT 2023 Campaign Open
We examine a newly discovered category of high‐energy radiation events called flickering gamma‐ray flashes (FGF) detected during the airborne lightning observatory for FEGS and TGFs campaign in July 2023. These FGFs are characterized by hi…
View article: Observed impacts of aerosol concentration on maritime tropical convection within constrained environments using airborne radiometer, radar, lidar, and dropsondes
Observed impacts of aerosol concentration on maritime tropical convection within constrained environments using airborne radiometer, radar, lidar, and dropsondes Open
Aerosol modulation of atmospheric convection remains an important topic in ongoing research. A key challenge in evaluating aerosol impacts on cumulus convection is isolating their effects from environmental influences. This work investigat…
View article: Reduction in Global Lightning Activity During the COVID Pandemic
Reduction in Global Lightning Activity During the COVID Pandemic Open
The effect of anthropogenic aerosols on lightning is one of the least understood aspects of human‐induced climate change. Global aerosol clearly diminished during the COVID pandemic by 7.6%. A pronounced decrease in global lightning activi…
View article: Supercooled Liquid Water at the Top of a Snow‐Producing Nimbostratus Cloud and Its Association With Gravity Wave Breaking and Turbulence: An IMPACTS Case Study
Supercooled Liquid Water at the Top of a Snow‐Producing Nimbostratus Cloud and Its Association With Gravity Wave Breaking and Turbulence: An IMPACTS Case Study Open
Supercooled liquid water (SLW) at the top of a snow‐producing nimbostratus cloud was thoroughly characterized with remote‐sensing and in situ measurements during the NASA Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast‐T…
View article: Evidence of gamma-ray glows observed in the relativistic feedback regime during the ALOFT 2023 flight campaign
Evidence of gamma-ray glows observed in the relativistic feedback regime during the ALOFT 2023 flight campaign Open
In July 2023, the ALOFT flight campaign deployed an ER-2 research aircraft that flew at 20 km altitude above thunderstorms, carrying an extensive suite of instruments. The campaign observed numerous gamma-ray glows exhibiting complex and h…
View article: New Class of Gamma-Ray Flashes Indicate Gamma Glow Reset through Fast Streamer Discharge.
New Class of Gamma-Ray Flashes Indicate Gamma Glow Reset through Fast Streamer Discharge. Open
Recent aircraft campaign over the Caribbean region in July 2023, called ALOFT, resulted in several discoveries that significantly improved our understanding of atmospheric gamma-ray phenomena. It was demonstrated that strong convective sys…
View article: Testing the hypothesis of lightning initiation by runaway air breakdown with ALOFT data
Testing the hypothesis of lightning initiation by runaway air breakdown with ALOFT data Open
Lightning initiation is one of the top unsolved problems in atmospheric electricity. Runaway electron breakdown of air has been suggested to play a key role in lightning initiation, by locally enhancing the ambient electric field above the…
View article: Investigating the termination mechanisms of gamma-ray glows observed during the ALOFT aircraft campaign
Investigating the termination mechanisms of gamma-ray glows observed during the ALOFT aircraft campaign Open
During the Airborne Lightning Observatory for FEGS and TGFs (ALOFT) campaign conducted in the summer of 2023, hundreds of gamma-ray glows were observed. Numerous glow regions, each consisting of several individual glows, were observed as t…
View article: Evidence of a New Population of Weak Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flashes Observed From Aircraft Altitude
Evidence of a New Population of Weak Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flashes Observed From Aircraft Altitude Open
Terrestrial Gamma‐ray Flashes (TGFs) are ten‐to‐hundreds of microsecond bursts of gamma‐rays produced when electrons in strong electric fields in thunderclouds are accelerated to relativistic energies. Space instruments have observed TGFs …
View article: Observed impacts of aerosol concentration on maritime tropical convection within constrained environments using airborne radiometer, radar, lidar, and dropsondes
Observed impacts of aerosol concentration on maritime tropical convection within constrained environments using airborne radiometer, radar, lidar, and dropsondes Open
Aerosol modulation of atmospheric convection remains an important topic in ongoing research. A key challenge in evaluating aerosol impacts on cumulus convection is isolating their effects from environmental influences. This work investigat…
View article: Effective Visualization of Radar Data for Users Impacted by Color Vision Deficiency
Effective Visualization of Radar Data for Users Impacted by Color Vision Deficiency Open
Color vision deficiency (CVD) is a decreased ability to discern between particular colors. Eight percent of genetic males and half a percent of genetic females have some form of CVD, with many in the radar community falling into this group…
View article: 3D Geolocation of Simulated Lightning Sources from Low-Earth Orbit
3D Geolocation of Simulated Lightning Sources from Low-Earth Orbit Open
The recent removal of the Lightning Imaging Sensor from the International Space Station has left an observational gap in lightning detection from low-Earth orbit (LEO). However, new studies have demonstrated the potential for 3D geolocatio…
View article: TGFs observed by the ALOFT 2023 flight campaign during an ISS overpass
TGFs observed by the ALOFT 2023 flight campaign during an ISS overpass Open
During the Airborne Lightning Observatory for FEGS and TGFs (ALOFT) campaign in July 2023, the International Space Station (ISS), at an altitude of approximately 410 km, passed over the same region as covered by ALOFT within a short time p…
View article: Influence of the South Atlantic Anomaly on Low-Earth Orbit Lightning Observations
Influence of the South Atlantic Anomaly on Low-Earth Orbit Lightning Observations Open
We present spatiotemporal patterns of interference in low-Earth orbit (LEO) lightning observations within the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and compare them to the patterns obtained from modeled and in situ observations of particle energies…
View article: TGF and gamma-ray glow highlights from the ALOFT 2023 flight campaign
TGF and gamma-ray glow highlights from the ALOFT 2023 flight campaign Open
During the summer of 2023 the  Airborne Lighting Observatory for FEGS and TGFs (ALOFT) field campaign was performed. With a NASA ER-2 research aircraft, flying at 20 km altitude, ALOFT was searching for Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes (…
View article: A novel view of gamma-ray glows from the ALOFT 2023 flight campaign
A novel view of gamma-ray glows from the ALOFT 2023 flight campaign Open
The Airborne Lightning Observatory for FEGS and TGFs (ALOFT) was a field campaign targeted at Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) and gamma-ray glows from thunderclouds. The campaign was successfully carried out during July 2023, for a to…
View article: Spectral Analysis of High-Energy Radiation Events Observed during the ALOFT 2023 Campaign
Spectral Analysis of High-Energy Radiation Events Observed during the ALOFT 2023 Campaign Open
The Airborne Lighting Observatory for FEGS and TGFs (ALOFT) is equipped with a comprehensive set of instruments on-board a NASA ER-2 research aircraft for observing Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) and gamma-ray glows from thundercloud…
View article: CubeSpark: Space-based 3-D Lightning Mapping using a Constellation of Radio Frequency Sensors
CubeSpark: Space-based 3-D Lightning Mapping using a Constellation of Radio Frequency Sensors Open
CubeSpark is a new concept for a constellation of CubeSats that combines bi-spectral optical lightning imaging with radio frequency (RF) sensing to provide a 3-D lightning detection capability with global coverage from low-Earth Orbit. The…
View article: Glow-terminating terrestrial gamma-ray flashes observed during the ALOFT Campaign
Glow-terminating terrestrial gamma-ray flashes observed during the ALOFT Campaign Open
The ALOFT campaign targeted aircraft measurements of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) through NASA ER-2 overflights of strong thunderstorms.  We report here the analysis of glow-terminating TGFs (GT-TGFs) that occur at the end of …
View article: An Airborne Multifrequency Microwave Analysis of Precipitation within Two Winter Cyclones
An Airborne Multifrequency Microwave Analysis of Precipitation within Two Winter Cyclones Open
NASA’s Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) field campaign gathered data using “satellite-simulating” (albeit with higher-resolution data than satellites currently provide) and…