Abstract
In the current work, 4 years of atmospheric electric field observations at a rural site near Xanthi, Greece, are presented for 2011–2014. The site is situated in an area with very high radon fluxes and high thunderstorm activity. The annual variation is consistent with that at other Northern Hemisphere continental stations, with maxima (minima) occurring during the cold (warm) months. The diurnal variation of the atmospheric electric field both for fair weather (FW) and all weather is found to exhibit a double-peak structure corresponding to local effects and global thunderstorm activity. Comparison with the Carnegie curve shows that nighttime hours and winter months are preferable for observing the Global Electric Circuit at the Xanthi site. Finally, it is shown that atmospheric CO2 measurements can be effectively utilized as a stratification proxy, indicating conditions of potential radon trapping, whereas CO2 was found to anticorrelate with the atmospheric electric field during such conditions.
Highlights
The relationship of global atmospheric electric circuit (GEC) with solar–terrestrial interactions (Rycroft et al 2012) and climatic change monitoring (Rycroft et al 2000) highlights the significance of conducting atmospheric electricity observations
The seasonal fair weather (FW)–potential gradient (PG) variation is typical for a continental Northern Hemisphere station, with maxima during cold months
It is susceptible to local effects because at the same time, the transition from the maximization of convective conditions to nocturnal stratification could provoke an increase in aerosol concentration acting positively on FW–PG
Summary
The relationship of global atmospheric electric circuit (GEC) with solar–terrestrial interactions (Rycroft et al 2012) and climatic change monitoring (Rycroft et al 2000) highlights the significance of conducting atmospheric electricity observations. A deficit is generally present in qualitative and continuous measurements of atmospheric electricity properties (Israelsson and Tammet 2001), which likely has led to an incomplete knowledge of GEC and its relationship with interacting factors (Dolezalek 1972; Israelsson and Tammet 2001; Reddell et al 2004). The most suitable parameters for monitoring GEC are the ionospheric potential, vertical air–earth conduction current, and atmospheric electric field measured at the surface (Rycroft et al 2008). The latter is known as potential gradient (PG).
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