Abstract:Measurement of the temporal variation of the global electrical circuit is becoming of increasing interest to the scientific community. Holzworth (1983) suggests that a tethered balloon at about 500 m over Wallops Island may have recorded variations of the global electrical circuit. This note discussed the general problem of how meteorological processes in the lower atmosphere control the variation of atmospheric potential and thus mask the global signal. It is shown that the reported tethered balloon potentia… Show more
“…The maximum potential measured by Willett and Rust (1981) was 195kV, at a height of 5.3km above mean sea level, and 170kV at a height of 0.55km by Holzworth et al (1981). Concerns about the validity of the measurements by Holzworth et al (1981) were expressed by Markson (1984), who pointed out that the potential measurements were unusually large compared to previous aircraft measurements at the same height. Although the tethered balloon technique of measuring V I generally permits higher time resolution measurements than aircraft or free balloon platform, several problems are commonly encountered, including engineering difficulties associated with a 1km long tethered cable, the error incurred by extrapolation to ≈ 65km of the potential measurement from low altitudes, and the influence of local meteorological conditions on the atmospheric electrical parameters, in particular convection currents and aerosol concentration.…”
Measurements of the electrical characteristics of the atmosphere above the surface have been made for over 200 years, from a variety of different platforms, including kites, balloons, rockets and aircraft. From these measurements, a great deal of information about the electrical characteristics of the atmosphere has been gained, assisting our understanding of the global atmospheric electric circuit, thunderstorm electrification and lightning generation mechanisms, discovery of transient luminous events above thunderstorms, and many other electrical phenomena. This paper surveys the history of atmospheric electrical measurements aloft, from the earliest manned balloon ascents to current day observations with free balloons and aircraft. Measurements of atmospheric electrical parameters in a range of meteorological conditions are described, including clear air conditions, polluted conditions, non-thunderstorm clouds, and thunderstorm clouds, spanning a range of atmospheric conditions, from fair weather, to the most electrically active.2
“…The maximum potential measured by Willett and Rust (1981) was 195kV, at a height of 5.3km above mean sea level, and 170kV at a height of 0.55km by Holzworth et al (1981). Concerns about the validity of the measurements by Holzworth et al (1981) were expressed by Markson (1984), who pointed out that the potential measurements were unusually large compared to previous aircraft measurements at the same height. Although the tethered balloon technique of measuring V I generally permits higher time resolution measurements than aircraft or free balloon platform, several problems are commonly encountered, including engineering difficulties associated with a 1km long tethered cable, the error incurred by extrapolation to ≈ 65km of the potential measurement from low altitudes, and the influence of local meteorological conditions on the atmospheric electrical parameters, in particular convection currents and aerosol concentration.…”
Measurements of the electrical characteristics of the atmosphere above the surface have been made for over 200 years, from a variety of different platforms, including kites, balloons, rockets and aircraft. From these measurements, a great deal of information about the electrical characteristics of the atmosphere has been gained, assisting our understanding of the global atmospheric electric circuit, thunderstorm electrification and lightning generation mechanisms, discovery of transient luminous events above thunderstorms, and many other electrical phenomena. This paper surveys the history of atmospheric electrical measurements aloft, from the earliest manned balloon ascents to current day observations with free balloons and aircraft. Measurements of atmospheric electrical parameters in a range of meteorological conditions are described, including clear air conditions, polluted conditions, non-thunderstorm clouds, and thunderstorm clouds, spanning a range of atmospheric conditions, from fair weather, to the most electrically active.2
This report will update an investigation of the global circuit conducted over the last 14 years through aircraft measurements of the variation of ionospheric potential and associated parameters. The data base included electric field, conductivity, and air‐earth current density profiles from the tropics (25°N) to the Arctic (79°N). Almost all of the data have been obtained over the ocean to reduce noise associated with local generators, aerosols, and convection. Recently, two aircraft have been utilized to obtain, for the first time, quasi‐periodic sets of simultaneous ionospheric potential (VI) soundings at remoted locations and extending over time spans sufficiently long so that the universal time diurnal variation (Carnegie curve) could be observed. In addition, these measurements provided the first detection of the modulation of electric fields in the troposphere caused by the double vortex ionospheric convection pattern. Beside summarizing these measurements and comparing them to similar data obtained by other groups, this report will discuss meteorological sources of error and criteria for determining if the global circuit is being measured rather than variations caused by local meteorological processes.
Lower‐atmospheric potential measurements obtained in 1983 through 1985 using the Hy‐wire technique are summarized in this paper. Observed values of the potential were in the range of 50–100 kV in Fairbanks, Alaska, compared with 100–200 kV at Wallops Island, Virginia. While differences are seen in absolute potential for different sites, the daily variations are similar in character. When 1‐hour averages are formed from the entire data set the result is a unitary variation very reminiscent of both the Carnegie curve and more recent stratospheric electric field data. A comparison with an aircraft potential measurement in the same vicinity during April 1983 demonstrates that the two techniques yield roughly similar results, except that the Hy‐wire measurements were 20–30% lower in absolute value. For the Alaska data, no clear effect on the potential was seen during a 400‐nT auroral magnetic perturbation.
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