WWLL Global Lightning Detection System Regional Validation Study in Brazil

The World Wide Lightning Location network (WWLL) is an experimental lightning detection network, which will eventually provide real time global coverage with 10 km location accuracy and at least 50% detection efficiency. This paper provides an analysis of the WWLL in a region of Brazil where the VLF lightning receivers are very distant (>7000 km) to estimate the worst case scenario of location accuracy. The detection accuracy in Brazil is analyzed by comparison to a local Brazilian lightning detection network with respect to time, location, and peak current of the lightning strokes. We find that in Brazil, WWLL detection has a high threshold on the peak return stroke current, resulting in detection of only about 0.8% of the total lightning strokes. However, the detected strokes have a location accuracy of 20 +/- 13 km and a temporal accuracy of 0.0641 +/- 0.1935 ms, providing a good overview of regions of local lightning activity in real time.