Abstract
Global electric circuits could be the key link between space weather and lower atmosphere climate. It has been suggested that the ultrafine erosol layer in the middle to upper stratosphere could greatly contribute to local column resistance and return current density. In previous work by Tinsley, Zhou, and Plemmons (Atmos. Res., 2006, 79 (3–4), 266–295), the artificial ultrafine layer was addressed and caused a significant symmetric effect on column resistance at high latitudes. In this work, we use an updated erosol coupled chemistry-climate model to establish a new global electric circuit model. The results show that the ultrafine aerosol layer exits the middle stratosphere, but due to the Brewer-Dobson circulation, there are significant seasonal variations in the ion loss due to variations in the ultrafine aerosol layer. In the winter hemisphere in the high latitude region, the column resistance will consequently be higher than that in the summer hemisphere. With an ultrafine aerosol layer in the decreasing phase of solar activity, the column resistance would be more sensitive to fluctuations in the low-energy electron precipitation (LEE) and middle-energy electron precipitation (MEE) particle fluxes.
Highlights
The global atmospheric electric circuit could be important as a product of global thunderstorm activity (Bering et al, 1998) and because it may cause climate change and weather itself via electrical effects on cloud microphysics, with external and internal drivers (Tinsley and Yu, 2004; Tinsley, 2008), which depend on the current density Jz flowing downwards from the ionosphere to the surface through clouds
There are several quasi-static numerical models to evaluate the global distribution of column resistance, such as Hays and Roble (1979), Makino and Ogawa (1985— M085), Sapkota and Varshneya (1990— SV90), Tinsley et al (2006— TZ06), Zhou and Tinlsey (2010— ZT09), and there are comprehensive models with the whole atmospheric dynamics and chemical components to calculate the column resistance to provide a full description of the response of the global air conductivity to internal drivers and external drivers, such as Baumgaertner et al (2013— BTNL 2013) and Lucas et al (2015— LBT 2015)
The purpose of this work is to investigate the effect of the stratospheric aerosol layer on the column resistance with the comprehensive global electric circuit model, which is based on SOCOL-AERv2 coupled with the global electric model of TZ06, where ultrafine aerosols due to ion media nucleation are involved to more accurately evaluate the effect of ultrafine aerosols and the temporal variation in this effect
Summary
The global atmospheric electric circuit could be important as a product of global thunderstorm activity (Bering et al, 1998) and because it may cause climate change and weather itself via electrical effects on cloud microphysics, with external and internal drivers (Tinsley and Yu, 2004; Tinsley, 2008), which depend on the current density Jz flowing downwards from the ionosphere to the surface through clouds. This hypothesis has been reviewed in detail by Tinsley (2008). There are several quasi-static numerical models to evaluate the global distribution of column resistance, such as Hays and Roble (1979), Makino and Ogawa (1985— M085), Sapkota and Varshneya (1990— SV90), Tinsley et al (2006— TZ06), Zhou and Tinlsey (2010— ZT09), and there are comprehensive models with the whole atmospheric dynamics and chemical components to calculate the column resistance to provide a full description of the response of the global air conductivity to internal drivers (tropospheric and stratospheric aerosols, radon gas concentrations, clouds) and external drivers (galactic cosmic rays, comet aerosols, clouds), such as Baumgaertner et al (2013— BTNL 2013) and Lucas et al (2015— LBT 2015)
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