ALTUS II
ALTUS II

The Dual Optical Pulse Sensor (DOPS) is an airborne optical sensor used to study lightning in the atmosphere. It is an updated version of the Optical Pulse Sensor (OPS). DOPS collects measurements of lightning's duration, intensity, and waveform characteristics. It operates across two channels centered at 500 and 777.4 nm and has a sample duration of 0.328 seconds. It has a wide field of view (60 degrees) and can detect lightning during daytime conditions.

The Fluxgate Magnetometer (FGM) is a type of instrument that takes measurements of the magnetic field. There are multiple types of FGMs. FGMs operated on airborne platforms can be used to measure changes in the ambient magnetic field during flights.

The Electric Field Change Meter is an instrument that detects changes in the electric field that occur after lightning flashes. It has been used as both a field instrument and an airborne instrument. It has a high temporal resolution, making it useful for taking measurements before, during, and after lightning flashes.

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The Gerdien Conductivity Probe was designed to measure the atmospheric electrical conductivity. In order to determine the conductivity, a sample of air is exposed to a capacitor and the time taken to discharge is measured. The Gerdien Probe can detect both the positive and negative ion conductivity. The conductivity of ions is determined by supplying a voltage between two electrodes over a period of one minute and measuring the resulting current. The rate of change of the current with respect to voltage provides a measure of conductivity. Additionally, special considerations were taken in construction to reduce the influence of electromagnetic interference and current leakage.

The magnetic search coil measures dB/dt, or temporal changes in magnetic flux density, which couples to the instrument in two distinct ways. The intended mechanism is transformer coupling, whereby alternating current (AC) field lines from a distant source couple to the windings of the sensor. The secondary mechanism is generator coupling, whereby the sensor is physically displaced within a direct current (DC) magnetic field.

This data will be added in future versions

An Electric Field Mill (EFM) is an in situ airborne and ground-based electric sensor designed and built at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). It measures the full vector components of the atmospheric electric field and provides details about the electrical structure within and around a storm. EFMs can detect both intracloud and cloud-to-ground lightning and can operate during large thunderstorm fields (thousands of volts/meter). An EFM has a typical time response of about 10 Hz.

This data will be added in future versions