Fair-weather atmospheric electric potential gradient and space charge over central Illinois, summer 1960

Moore, Charles B.; Vonnegut, B.; Semonin, Richard G.; Bullock, J. W.; Bradley, Wayne E.

doi:10.1029/jz067i003p01061

Cited by 27 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…I-Ie also discussed the space charges in fo.g. tto.wever, his observations of evaporation of electrical charges are questionable, especially after lsra•'l and Knopp [ 1961] have shown thai such a process would be too small for the consequences quoted by Miihleisen. Deviations in the amount of exhalation of radon from the ground [as discussed by Israel et al, 1957, and by Dolezalek, 1960b] yield variations in conductivity, and Moore, Vonnegut, Semonin, Bullock, and Bradley [1962] take this as ' For the definitio.n of the signs of field and current, the indicatio.ns of a correctly connected ammeter measuring the current are used. If the current brings positive charges to the ground it is called positive, a•d the field related to it by Ohm's law is given the same sign.…”

Section: The Behavior O] Field Current and Conductivity In Prevailimentioning

confidence: 99%

The atmospheric electric fog effect

Dolezalek¹

1963

Reviews of Geophysics

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Atmospheric electric parameters show significant variations in a period of hours before the formation of fog becomes visible. The same is true for the dissipation of fog. Apparently the recording of the electric parameters yields a sensitive measure for condensation and evaporation processes in nature. In addition, the electric variations indicate the existence of processes in the transition time between clear weather and fog that are not yet understood. Thus an investigation of this atmospheric electric fog effect promises to increase our knowledge of the formation and dissipation of natural fogs. Of course, it also indicates a method for short‐range forecasting of these events. This review describes the discovery of the effect and the present experimental knowledge. Some attempted explanations are discussed, and are found to be insufficient. The fundamental possibilities for the explanation are treated in some detail, and material for further investigations is provided.

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Section: The Behavior O] Field Current and Conductivity In Prevailimentioning

confidence: 99%

The atmospheric electric fog effect

Dolezalek¹

1963

Reviews of Geophysics

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“…Points 1, 2, and 3 suggest that the positive charge layer was probably an electrode layer. The presence of a distinct, positive electrode layer on a typical fair-weather day shows that the situation at KSC is different from the one in Illinois described by Moore et al [1962], since they never observed a positive electrode layer. This difference suggests that the radioactivity at KSC was lower than in Illinois.…”

Section: Enhancementsmentioning

confidence: 58%

A study of enhanced fair‐weather electric fields occurring soon after sunrise

Marshall¹,

Rust²,

Stolzenburg³

et al. 1999

J. Geophys. Res.

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Abstract. In this paper we describe several series of electric field soundings made in the lowest few hundred meters above the ground on 6 days at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. These soundings are used to determine the charge density and thickness of the charged electrode layer just above the surface of the Earth both before and after sunrise during fair weather. On most of the days considered, there was an anomalous enhancement in the ground-level electric field that was probably associated with the "sunrise effect" previously described by others. At our tether site we found that the electrode-layer charge density began increasing at about the same time as the local enhancement in the electric field magnitude at the ground. Shortly before the peak in the local E enhancement, the electrode-layer charge density decreased while the charge thickness increased; these changes were coincident with a decrease in relative humidity, a shift in the average wind direction, and increases in the fluctuations in relative humidity, wind speed, and wind direction.The typical decrease in charge density was from 0.2 to 0.05 nC m -3, while the charge layer thickness increased from less than 20 m to almost 200 m. Our measurements suggest that enhanced positive electrode layers accumulate before sunrise very close to the surface because there is relatively little radioactivity in the soil or air. Local, upward mixing of the denser, low-lying, electrode-layer charge may account for the observed sunrise enhancement in electric field. The larger enhancements observed at some sites may indicate that upward convection is supplemented by advection of denser charge from above water surfaces a few tens of meters (or less) from the measurement sites.

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“…Radiative cooling through the night can produce very stable temperature profiles immediately before sunrise (Moore et al, 1962). During this period, the electrode layer would be generally below the sensing height of 2 m. This may explain the short dip in the PG values as seen later in Fig.…”

Section: Comparison With Global Trendsmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…A few hours after sunrise, the solar heating of the surface leads to convective instability which causes mixing that washes out the electrode-layer and allows the PG to return to its typical fair-weather values (Moore et al, 1962). Marshall et al (1999) explained that if the measurement site is close to water bodies viz oceans or rivers then the sunrise effect could be dominant.…”

Section: Comparison With Global Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface fair-weather potential gradient measurements from a small tropical island station Suva, Fiji

et al. 2009

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Systematic analysis of the surface fair-weather potential gradient (PG) measured for 13 months (July 2005-July 2006) at 10 s resolution over a small tropical island station Suva (18.08• S, 178.45• E), Fiji is presented. Based on the solar radiation (>800 W m −2 ) and surface wind speed (<4.5 m s −1 ) conditions, 63 fair-weather days were selected. After sorting the data into a range of 0-1000 V m −1 , the average PG was ∼139 V m −1 . The measured fair-weather PG had a semi-diurnal structure, with a more pronounced peak at 0730 LT (1930 UT) and a reduced peak at 2200 LT (1000 UT). The time of occurrence of the morning peak and the noontime minima agreed well with the Carnegie curve. However, the variation about the global mean in the measured PG was 150% whereas for the Carnegie curve it was only 35%. The effects of the local meteorological parameters on the PG measurements were found to be small. On average, the PG during the dry season (May-October) was always greater than in the wet season (November-April). In contrast, analysis of regional (0-60• S and 100• E-160• W) lightning activity on fair-weather days showed a peak at ∼2000 LT and higher lightning activity during the wet season. These results indicate that the regional thunderstorm activity has no direct connection with the local fair-weather PG at the site.

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Fair-weather atmospheric electric potential gradient and space charge over central Illinois, summer 1960

Cited by 27 publications

References 7 publications

The atmospheric electric fog effect

The atmospheric electric fog effect

A study of enhanced fair‐weather electric fields occurring soon after sunrise

Surface fair-weather potential gradient measurements from a small tropical island station Suva, Fiji

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