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Role of Lightning NOx in Ozone Formation: A Review

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Abstract

This paper provides an overview on the spatiotemporal distribution and evolution mechanism of lightning. The predominant mechanism of ozone formation in the upper troposphere is lightning-induced precursors such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrocarbons (HC). Lightning-induced NOx (LNOx) is one of the major ordinary sources of NOx in the upper atmosphere, particularly in the tropical region, but it is still highly uncertain as to the exact quantity. Various ground measurements, satellite observations and modelling studies on the lightning and global NOx source rate have been extensively studied and compared to find the variability in estimated global lightning-induced NOx. Lightning can influence the climate via the production of nitrogen oxides (NO + NO2 = NOx) followed by the production of ozone, another efficient greenhouse gas. The global annual lightning NOx of 5 ± 3 Tg year−1 has been estimated by modelling studies with an ozone creation efficiency of 6.5 ± 4.7 times that of surface NOx sources. Understanding and quantifying the processes and production of lightning and LNOx is important for assessment of ozone concentrations and its associated impacts on the global climate.

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Fig. 1

(Source: https://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/overview_dir/background.html)

Fig. 2

(Source: Cooray 2015)

Fig. 3

(Source: MacGorman and Rust 1998)

Fig. 4

(Source: Rakov and Uman 2005)

Fig. 5

(Source: Rakov and Uman 2005)

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully thank the Earth Observatory System and Earth System Science Program for providing the TRMM data. The second author would like to thank Mr. Amit Singh, Ms. Priyanshu Gupta and Ms. Janhavi Singh for the support and extending help during the study. The corresponding author would also like to thank funding support under MoES (MoES/16/18/2017-RDEAS) project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Sunita Verma, Pramod Kumar Yadava & Harshbardhan Kumar

  2. DST-Mahamana Centre of Excellence in Climate Change Research, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, 221005, India

    Sunita Verma & R. K. Mall

  3. Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, India

    D. M. Lal

  4. Department of Physics, Birla Institute of Technology Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

    Swagata Payra

  5. Department of Physics, Birla Institute of Technology Mesra, Jaipur Campus, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

    Swagata Payra

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Verma, S., Yadava, P.K., Lal, D.M. et al. Role of Lightning NOx in Ozone Formation: A Review. Pure Appl. Geophys. 178, 1425–1443 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-021-02710-5

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