The Correlations between the Lightning Density Distribution of Sichuan Province and the Seismic Area
- 1 Lightning Protection Center, Sichuan Meteorological Administration, Chengdu, China
- 2 Guizhou Meteorological Administration, Guiyang, China
- 3 CMA Meteorological Observation Center, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing, China; Sichuan Meteorological Administration, Chengdu, China
- 4 Lightning Protection Center, Sichuan Meteorological Administration, Chengdu, China
- 5 Lightning Protection Center, Sichuan Meteorological Administration, Chengdu, China
Abstract
We here report our observations of the intense lightning events during ~15:00, 23 September to ~12:00, 24 September 2008 along the fault of Wenchuan-Beichuan counties in Sichuan Province, China where a 8.0 magnitude earthquake strike on May 12 th , 2008. This intense lightning period had the highest density in all available the lightning monitoring data of Sichuan. The altered lightning pattern is unlikely to be a coincidence. We also found that the spatial-temporal characteristic of lightning in Sichuan has changed after the earthquake. We studied the correlations and analyze the data between lightning and earthquake in order to understand the seemingly unrelated events.
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