Preliminary comparison of data from the Säntis Tower and the EUCLID lightning location system

Abstract

In this paper, direct lightning current measurements obtained on the Säntis Tower from June 1st, 2010 to May 31st, 2011 are used to evaluate the ability of the EUCLID lightning detection network to detect this type of lightning triggered by a tall tower in terms of detection efficiency, location accuracy and peak current estimates. The Säntis Tower is a 124-meter tall tower sitting on the top of the Säntis Mountain (2500 m) in Switzerland. The tower has been instrumented to measure waveforms of the lightning current and of its time derivative. In the considered period, 57 flashes were recorded at the Säntis Tower out of which 15 were of positive polarity. The data have been correlated to EUCLID data by comparing the time-stamps provided by the GPS time references. The flash detection efficiency for negative flashes is estimated to be 93%. The median value of the location error is 126 m. The EUCLID peak current estimates were on average significantly larger than the measured current. The measurements include four typical positive flashes, which were successfully detected by EUCLID. The location errors for the positive events ranged from 1 to 3 km, with a median of 959 m.