Integration of a Ground-Based Lightning Warning System into a Mining Operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22331758 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alistair D Clulow (University of KwaZulu-Natal), Alistair Clulow (0000-0001-8803-8780, University of KwaZulu-Natal), Sheldon Strydom (0000-0002-5006-2029, University of KwaZulu-Natal), Bryan Grant (University of KwaZulu-Natal), Michael J Savage (0000-0001-6108-0874, University of KwaZulu-Natal), Colin S Everson (0000-0002-9571-5249, University of KwaZulu-Natal) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 899-912 |
| Publication date | 2018-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Weather, Climate, and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1948-8327 • E-ISSN: 1948-8335 |
| Publisher | American Meteorological Society (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1175/wcas-d-18-0004.1 |
| OpenAlex | W2895733604 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 22 |
Central Africa is a global lightning hot spot, with the tropical areas including the top 10 highest lightning-flash-rate densities in the world. There are no lightning-locating-system networks available across most of Africa, however, and it becomes necessary to make use of real-time, ground-based lightning early warning systems. Such a system was established in the southern Congo basin at the Kinsevere copper mine and has been operational since early 2015. The early warning system includes an electrical-field meter and a lightning-flash sensor, which produce two states of warning. Two years of data (July 2015–June 2016 and July 2016–July 2017) indicated a clear annual and daily peak in lightning activity, with an average lightning warning duration of 1.18 h and a maximum storm duration of 8.60 h. The seasonal flash occurrence was reasonably constant over the two years but was variable at a monthly level during the lightning season. Analysis of alarm state showed that the majority of events start with an escalation to an alarm state of 2 but that, over two years, 69.3% escalated further to an alarm state of 3. Alarm-duration analysis indicated that more time was spent in alarm state 3 (warning) than alarm state 2 (caution). It was concluded that a single warning state would be suitable at this location and would simplify the warning system but that appropriate alarm-activation thresholds in electric field and flash distance need further assessment
ALARM · Electrical engineering · False alarm · Geography · Lightning detection · Meteorology · Physics · Telecommunications · Thunderstorm · Warning system · Computer Science · Electrical Fault Detection and Protection · Engineering · Environmental Science · Fire effects on ecosystems · Lightning and Electromagnetic Phenomena · Artificial Intelligence
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2021 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |