Abstract
The analytical, steady state, nonprecipitating convective cloud model of Gutman (1963, 1967) has been applied to the study of cloud convective electrification. A numerical model has been developed for simulating charge transport by convection, conduction, and turbulent diffusion. The formulation includes a description of the dependence of cloud electrical conductivity on liquid water content through micro-physical ion capture processes. The results of numerical experiments make it appear unlikely that organized convection alone can cause strong electrification. These results, subject to certain assumptions concerning the mechanisms involved (discussed at the end of the paper), indicate purely convective electrification generally should cause clouds with usual base elevations to have negatively charged cores and relatively weak upper surface layers of positive charge. There is only a slight dependence of the electrical state on cloud thickness, apparently because greater cloud height results in exposure to higher conductivities, which tends to compensate for greater convective activity and larger conductivity gradients. For clouds with bases only a few tens of meters above ground there is a likelihood of weak charging of polarity opposite to that described above.
Published Version
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