Aircraft measurements of the atmospheric electrical global circuit during the period 1971–1984

Abstract

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.