Mutual relationship between surface atmospheric pollutants and CG lightning in Tehran area
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Mutual relationship between surface atmospheric pollutants and CG lightning in Tehran area &
Maryam Gharaylou & Alireza Mahmoudian AbbasAli A. Bidokhti & Pegah Sadr Dadras
Received: 22 August 2020 / Accepted: 10 November 2020 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract The mutual relationship between surface atmospheric pollutants and Cloud-to-Ground (CG) lightning is studied in the Tehran area for the first time. The impact of surface pollutant concentration of PM10 on CG lightning initiation, as well as the production of NO2 and surface ozone derived by lightning occurrence is investigated. To proceed, the reports of thunderstorm occurrence, including CG lightning in the Tehran area have been collected for years of study from the Iran Highlights • The first study of mutual relation between atmospheric pollutants and lightning event is presented in Tehran area. • The number of CG lightning in Tehran area using WWLLN is compared with surface pollutant concentrations taken from AQCC for several stations within five years of study. • A good correlation is observed between the surface pollutant concentrations and the number of flashes in the area of study. • The increase of surface ozone and decrease of NO2 during the lightning activity is observed that shows an agreement with the chemical reactions derived by CG flashes. M. Gharaylou : A. Mahmoudian (*) : A. A. Bidokhti P. S. Dadras Institute of Geophysics, University of Tehran, Post Box 14155-6466, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran e-mail: [email protected]
M. Gharaylou e-mail: [email protected]
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meteorological organization (IRIMO). The surface pollution data are obtained from the Air Quality Control Center (AQCC) for several stations in the area of interest. The number of lightning (NoL) associated with the selected dates is obtained using the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN). The correlation coefficients associated with the CG lightning and the concentrations of PM10, NO2, and surface ozone are calculated. The hourly variations of accumulated NoL and NO2 and surface ozone are also compared for 24 hours before and after the lightning activity for four days of study during the years of 2009-2013. The results show that there is a positive correlation between PM10 concentration and lightning flash number, obtained from observational data of WWLLN. Moreover, the comparison of NoL and surface pollutant concentration indicates a clear positive contribution from CG lightning in NO2 and ozone production. In days with a considerable number of lightning occurrences, the comparison of the hourly average of NO2 and O3 concentrations with the lightning flash number reveals that NO2 decreases, and O3 increases due to the significant increases of lightning strikes. Keywords CG Lightning . Surface atmospheric pollutants . PM10 . NO2 . Surface ozone . Tehran
A. A. Bidokhti e-mail: [email protected]
Introduction
P. S. Dadras e-mail: [email protected]
Atmospheric pollutants affect the development and formation of local weather systems. The variation
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