While lightning measurements form Low Earth Orbit (LEO) have a rich heritage going back decades, lightning sensors have only recently been realized by platforms in geosynchronous / geostationary (GEO) orbits. The advantage of these higher orbits is that they permit continuous lightning monitoring over the same portion of the Earth (and usually over large, hemispheric-scale domains) that make it possible to track and analyze lightning activity over the full life cycle of each thunderstorm. Moreover, this staring coverage means that even exceptionally-rare lightning phenomena (such as 500+ km megaflashes) can be routinely identified whenever and wherever they occur – which is not possible with the snapshot view of thunderstorms provided by instruments in LEO.

Now that the first lightning sensors at GEO – particularly, NOAA’s Geostationary Lightning Mappers (GLMs) – have collected robust data records spanning multiple years, and to welcome the recent launch of new lightning platforms at GEO, this session invites papers that highlight novel applications of GEO lightning data for research and operations. Studies that examine first results from the new instruments at GEO, or that present new and innovative uses of lightning data that make full use of the staring nature of GEO platforms are highly encouraged.