Profiles of polar conductivities and of radon-222 concentration in the atmosphere by stable and labile stratification of surface layer

Abstract

This work presents results of the development and generalization of earlier research in the field of the electric structure of the electrode layer of the atmosphere, published, in particular, in the Proceedings of the X and XI International conferences in Atmospheric Electricity. It uses the vast data store gathered over a decade of atmospheric-electrical, meteorological and radiological complex measurements during expeditions in the Rostov region, in the south of the European part of Russia, steppe zone. Study of time–spatial variations of atmosphere electrical characteristics in the surface layer displays their significant dependence on meteorological processes near the ground. Years of experience brought us to the realization of the need for separate descriptions of the electrode layer structure for different stabilities of the surface layer, especially if the soil at the point of measurement emanates significantly. Considerable radon exhalation and its storage in the near-ground layer under stable atmospheric stratification noticeably influence the vertical distribution of conductivity in the electrode layer, increasing the ionization in the surface layer. This, in turn, influences the processes of space charge formation and thus the electric field and the charge exchange between ground and atmosphere. This work presents experimental profiles of radon-222 concentrations and the lower 3-meter layer polar conductivity of the atmosphere, averaged separately for stable and unstable stratification of the atmosphere.