Abstract
The measurement of the atmospheric electric field is of great significance for the study of thunderstorm cloud charge models. Traditional electric field meters can only measure the vertical component of the atmospheric electric field, and thus it is difficult to invert the structure of the thunderstorm cloud. A three-dimensional atmospheric electric field meter was developed to simultaneously measure the horizontal and vertical components of the atmospheric electric field in this paper. The effective measurement linearly relates the measured electric field to the induced voltage, and the nonlinear equations of the three-dimensional atmospheric electric field and the thunderstorm cloud-charging model parameters were derived. The particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) and the three-dimensional atmospheric electric field were used to invert the thunderstorm clouds. Experimental observations of the three-dimensional electric field in a cloud during a thunderstorm were analyzed. Combined with the typical charged structure model, parameters such as the charge and relative distance of the thunderstorm cloud were determined. The results showed that the value of the inversion fitness function reached 0.7288, and the charge structure was even. The measurement of the three-dimensional atmospheric electric field provides a new means of observation for the study of atmospheric electricity.
Highlights
The charging model of thunderstorm clouds refers to the use of parameters to describe the characteristics of the charge distribution inside a cloud
More than one year of observation experiments were carried out using our three-dimensional atmospheric electric field meter [20]
The charge carried by the thunderstorm cloud entered the detection range of the three-dimensional atmospheric electric field meter, but was far away
Summary
The charging model of thunderstorm clouds refers to the use of parameters to describe the characteristics of the charge distribution inside a cloud. Atmospheric electric field is an important parameter of atmospheric physics. The average intensity of the atmospheric electric field near the ground is about 130 V/m on fine days. The atmospheric electric field will increase significantly during the formation of thunderstorm clouds. The inversion of the thundercloud charge model from ground electric field measurement data has important theoretical value for monitoring lightning and early warning research. The most direct way to study the charge structure of thunderstorm clouds is to use sounding balloons to detect the thunderstorm clouds and obtain the electric field distribution characteristics of the detection equipment on the flight path. Marshall, and others proposed the model of the tripole charge structure of a thunderstorm cloud by using sounding balloon observations [1]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
