Historical (1960–2014) lightning and LNOx trends and their controlling factors in a chemistry–climate model

Abstract

Abstract. Lightning can cause natural hazards that result in human and animal injuries and fatalities, infrastructure destruction, and wildfire ignition. Lightning-produced NOx (LNOx), a major NOx (NOx=NO+NO2) source, plays a vital role in atmospheric chemistry and global climate. The Earth has experienced marked global warming and changes in aerosol and aerosol precursor emissions (AeroPEs) since the 1960s. Investigating long-term historical (1960–2014) lightning and LNOx trends can provide important indicators for all lightning-related phenomena and for LNOx effects on atmospheric chemistry and global climate. Understanding how global warming and changes in AeroPEs influence historical lightning and LNOx trends can be helpful in providing a scientific basis for assessing future lightning and LNOx trends. Moreover, global lightning activities' responses to large volcanic eruptions such as the 1991 Pinatubo eruption are not well elucidated and are worth exploring. This study employed the widely used cloud top height lightning scheme (CTH scheme) and the newly developed ice-based ECMWF-McCAUL lightning scheme to investigate historical (1960–2014) lightning and LNOx trends and variations as well as their influencing factors (global warming, increases in AeroPEs, and the Pinatubo eruption) in the framework of the CHASER (MIROC) chemistry–climate model. The results of the sensitivity experiments indicate that both lightning schemes simulated almost flat global mean lightning flash rate anomaly trends during 1960–2014 in CHASER (the Mann–Kendall trend test (significance inferred as 5 %) shows no trend for the ECMWF-McCAUL scheme, but a 0.03 % yr−1 significant increasing trend is detected for the CTH scheme). Moreover, both lightning schemes suggest that past global warming enhances historical trends for global mean lightning density and global LNOx emissions in a positive direction (around 0.03 % yr−1 or 3 % K−1). However, past increases in AeroPEs exert an opposite effect on the lightning and LNOx trends (−0.07 % to −0.04 % yr−1 for lightning and −0.08 % to −0.03 % yr−1 for LNOx) when one considers only the aerosol radiative effects in the cumulus convection scheme. Additionally, effects of past global warming and increases in AeroPEs in lightning trends were found to be heterogeneous across different regions when analyzing lightning trends on the global map. Lastly, this paper is the first of study results suggesting that global lightning activities were markedly suppressed during the first year after the Pinatubo eruption as shown in both lightning schemes (global lightning activities decreased by as much as 18.10 % as simulated by the ECMWF-McCAUL scheme). Based on the simulated suppressed lightning activities after the Pinatubo eruption, the findings also indicate that global LNOx emissions decreased after the 2- to 3-year Pinatubo eruption (1.99 %–8.47 % for the annual percentage reduction). Model intercomparisons of lightning flash rate trends and variations between our study (CHASER) and other Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models indicate great uncertainties in historical (1960–2014) global lightning trend simulations. Such uncertainties must be investigated further.