Monthly Diurnal Global Atmospheric Circuit Estimates Derived from Vostok Electric Field Measurements Adjusted for Local Meteorological and Solar Wind Influences

Burns, G. B.; Tinsley, Brian A.; Frank-Kamenetsky, A. V.; Трошичев, О. А.; French, John; Klekociuk, Andrew

doi:10.1175/jas-d-11-0212.1

Cited by 35 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The major differences from the Vostok EFM used in the 1998-2001 era (Burns et al 2005) are optical signal coupling from the rotating dipole, which improves the stability of the instrument, and a larger height of ;3 m above the snow. A similar instrument was deployed at the French-Italian station Concordia between January 2009 and December 2011.…”

Section: Instrumentation Data and The Weimer Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is thus possible to determine how the near-ground-level, vertical electric field responds diurnally and seasonally to solar-wind-imposed, horizontal variations in the local ionospheric potential difference in the polar regions and adjust the measurements to remove the solar wind influence (Corney et al 2003;Burns et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As meteorological electrical activity is the dominant driver of the atmospheric circuit and as the solar wind modulates the GCR flux which influences atmospheric conductivity, the current flow is responsive to both solar variability and meteorological electrical activity. It has been hypothesized that the atmospheric circuit may provide means via which solar variability could influence weather and climate (e.g., Markson 1978;Tinsley , 2012. Electric field measurements have been used to link a solar wind influence on the surface pressure in polar and nearby latitudes to the atmospheric circuit (Mansurov et al 1974;Burns et al 2008;Lam et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are no diurnalseasonal biological influences on aerosols. Average diurnal variations of meteorological parameters are significantly reduced across the portion of the year when the sun remains below the horizon; and average temperature, wind speed, and pressure influences on electric field measurements at Vostok have been determined using a multivariate analysis of responses to the solar wind-imposed potential difference (Burns et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Monthly diurnal estimates of the global atmospheric circuit derived from the Vostok 2006-11 dataset are corrected for the average meteorological influences determined by Burns et al (2012) and show intervals of rapid month-to-month change and intervals of relative month-to-month stability across the year.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Atmospheric Global Circuit Variations from Vostok and Concordia Electric Field Measurements

Burns

Frank-Kamenetsky

Tinsley

et al. 2017

Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Atmospheric electric field measurements from the Concordia station on the Antarctic Plateau are compared with those from Vostok (560 km away) for the period of overlap and to Carnegie (1915-29) and extended Vostok (2006-11) measurements. The Antarctic data are sorted according to several sets of criteria for rejecting local variability to examine a local summer-noon influence on the measurements and to improve estimates of the global signal. The contribution of the solar wind influence is evaluated and removed from the Vostok and Concordia measurements. Simultaneous measurements yield days when the covariability of the electric field measurements at Concordia and Vostok exceeds 90%, as well as intervals when significant local variability is apparent. Days of simultaneous changes in shape and mean level of the diurnal variation, as illustrated in a 5-day sequence, can be interpreted as due to changes in the relative upward current output of the electrified cloud generators predominating at low latitudes. Smaller average local meteorological influences are removed from the larger Vostok dataset, revealing changes in the shape of monthly average diurnal variations, which are similarly attributed to changes in predominantly low-latitude convection from month to month.

show abstract

Section: Instrumentation Data and The Weimer Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Atmospheric Global Circuit Variations from Vostok and Concordia Electric Field Measurements

Burns

Frank-Kamenetsky

Tinsley

et al. 2017

Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Diurnal variation of the global electric circuit from clustered thunderstorms

Hutchins

Holzworth

Brundell³

2014

JGR Space Physics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The diurnal variation of the global electric circuit is investigated using the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN), which has been shown to identify nearly all thunderstorms (using WWLLN data from 2005). To create an estimate of global electric circuit activity, a clustering algorithm is applied to the WWLLN data set to identify global thunderstorms from 2010 to 2013. Annual, seasonal, and regional thunderstorm activity is investigated in this new WWLLN thunderstorm data set in order to estimate the source behavior of the global electric circuit. Through the clustering algorithm, the total number of active thunderstorms are counted every 30 min creating a measure of the global electric circuit source function. The thunderstorm clusters are compared to precipitation radar data from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission satellite and with case studies of thunderstorm evolution. The clustering algorithm reveals an average of 660±70 thunderstorms active at any given time with a peak‐to‐peak variation of 36%. The highest number of thunderstorms occurs in November (720±90), and the lowest number occurs in January (610±80). Thunderstorm cluster and electrified storm cloud activity are combined with thunderstorm overflight current measurements to estimate the global electric circuit thunderstorm contribution current to be 1090±70 A with a variation of 24%. By utilizing the global coverage and high time resolution of WWLLN, the total active thunderstorm count and current is shown to be less than previous estimates based on compiled climatologies.

show abstract

A global electric circuit model within a community climate model

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To determine the complex dependencies of currents and electric fields within the Global Electric Circuit (GEC) on the underlying physics of the atmosphere, a new modeling framework of the GEC has been developed for use within global circulation models. Specifically, the Community Earth System Modeling framework has been utilized. A formulation of atmospheric conductivity based on ion production and loss mechanisms (including galactic cosmic rays, radon, clouds, and aerosols), conduction current sources, and ionospheric potential changes due to the influence of external current systems are included. This paper presents a full description of the calculation of the electric fields and currents within the model, which now includes several advancements to GEC modeling as it incorporates many processes calculated individually in previous articles into a consistent modeling framework. This framework uniquely incorporates effects from the troposphere up to the ionosphere within a single GEC model. The incorporation of a magnetospheric potential, which is generated by a separate magnetospheric current system, acts to modulate or enhance the surface level electric fields at high‐latitude locations. This produces a distinct phasing signature with the GEC potential that is shown to depend on the observation location around the globe. Lastly, the model output for Vostok and Concordia, two high‐latitude locations, is shown to agree with the observational data obtained at these sites over the same time period.

show abstract

Monthly Diurnal Global Atmospheric Circuit Estimates Derived from Vostok Electric Field Measurements Adjusted for Local Meteorological and Solar Wind Influences

Cited by 35 publications

References 45 publications

Atmospheric Global Circuit Variations from Vostok and Concordia Electric Field Measurements

Atmospheric Global Circuit Variations from Vostok and Concordia Electric Field Measurements

Diurnal variation of the global electric circuit from clustered thunderstorms

A global electric circuit model within a community climate model

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About