P.: Air mass factor calculations for GOME measurements of lightning-produced NO2

The quantification of lightning-produced nitrogen oxide is difficult as the NO,-measurement must be concurrent with the thunderstorm. Also the interpretation of the measurements is complicated by the inhomogeneity of the clouds. Currently, the global NO,-production by lightning is estimated to be 2-20 TgN/a. This study analyses the possibility of the detection of N02-production by thunderstorms via satellite. Lightning can be detected by NASA/NASDA-satellite project Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS). The European satellite spectrometer Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) can be used for the coincident N02-measurements. For a quantitative analysis of NO2 measurements, the air mass factor (AMF) is needed. AMF are calculated using the radiative transfer model SCIATRAN and indicate the sensitivity of GOME for NO* produced by flashes. The results of the AMF calculations show, that the sensitivity of GOME is largest at the top of a thundercloud, where most of the flash produced NO, is released. The measurement is insensitive to NO, under the thundercloud. For a quantitative analysis, the height of the cloud is needed, but the dependencies of the sensitivity to the height of the NOI outside the cloud and the cloud particles density are negligible