Global Electric Circuit Research Articles

An Array of Low-Cost, High-Speed, Autonomous Electric Field Mills for Thunderstorm Research.

The atmospheric electric field is an important research parameter in understanding storm electrification and energy exchange between lightning and the atmosphere across the globe. The near‐surface electric field can range from a few V/m (order of 10–100 V/m), mainly produced by the currents in the global electric circuit and local charge perturbations, to tens of kV/m in the presence of electrified clouds. The electric field mill (EFM), a variable capacitance electrometer, has been the instrument of choice in the atmospheric electricity community studying phenomena associated with the atmospheric electric field. The EFM is particularly useful in following storm movement and evolution, monitoring the fair‐weather electric field at distant locations, and measuring the vertical electric field inside clouds with EFM deployments on balloons. In this paper, we describe a new electric field mill ground‐based design, which focuses on lowering the manufacturing and operational costs of doing research with an array of EFM instruments while maintaining the scientific capabilities offered by past designs and commercially available devices. The theory of operation, data processing, and calibration of the instrument are also described. Example data from the first generation of these new field mills, deployed in the RELAMPAGO campaign in Argentina, are presented here. The RELAMPAGO deployment and data set illustrate important strengths of this design, for example, cost, autonomy, longevity, and measurement quality.

Ground-based Instrument for the Study of Cosmic Ray Variation in Nur-Sultan

Cosmic rays are the main factor in atmospheric ionization; they affect the formation of clouds and determine the properties of the global electrical circuit. The mechanisms of atmospheric processes involving cosmic rays are very complex and are far from understanding. Their research requires experimental installations distributed around the world. In this context a cosmophysical complex consisting of the CARPET installation, a neutron detector, and an EFM-100 electric field monitor was created in 2015 at Eurasian National University in collaboration with the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This paper presents a brief summary of the characteristics of the CARPET facility and experimental data obtained in the period 2016–2019. Some results of the analysis of the characteristics of cosmic-ray flux variations recorded by this complex and the accompanying conditions in the Earth’s magnetosphere and in the interplanetary medium are presented.

Unitary Variation in the Seismic Regime of the Earth: Carnegie-Curve Matching

According to data on earthquakes with a magnitude of М ≥ 4.5 recorded on the planet in 1973–2017, a UT variation in the number of earthquakes with an amplitude of ~10% was found and compared with the UT variation in the atmosphere gradient of electric-potential (Carnegie curve), the amplitude of which is ~20%. It is shown that the amplitude of UT variations in the number of deep-focus earthquakes is greater than that for crustal earthquakes and that it outruns the UT variation in the atmosphere gradient of electric-potential by ~2 h. A linear regression equation between UT variations in the number of deep-focus earthquakes and the gradient of electric-potential is obtained with a correlation coefficient of R = 0.86. The results support the new concept that the processes of earthquake preparation and realization are coupled with the processes of the functioning of the global electric circuit and the generation of the atmospheric electric field.

Implementation of Ionospheric Generators in the Numerical Model of the Global Electric Circuit

The consistent inclusion of global electric circuit sources of ionospheric and magnetospheric origin in distributed numerical models of the circuit is discussed. It is shown that the most natural approach to this inclusion is to introduce into the boundary conditions at the outer boundary of the model atmosphere the corresponding perturbation of the potential specified up to an unknown constant. As an example of the implementation of this approach, the solution of a model problem on a high-latitude magnetospheric convective generator with the use of a three-dimensional numerical model of the global electric circuit is demonstrated. It is shown that the specified potential perturbation in polar regions is projected into the lower layers of the atmosphere with preservation of their structure, which is a consequence of the quasi-one-dimensionality of the problem under the conditions of slow variation in all parameters with latitude and longitude at an approximately constant profile of conductivity.

Atmospheric electric field variations during fair weather and thunderstorms at different altitudes

Ground-based electric field measurements during fair weather and thunderstorms are key parameters for Global Electric Circuit investigations and climate change assessment. We study the variations of near surface electric field during fair weather and thunderstorms. In this work we present daily, monthly and yearly distribution of thunderstorm activity from 2012 to 2019 at different research stations of Cosmic Ray Division (CRD) of the A. Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory (Yerevan Physics Institute) which has been done the first time for mentioned locations. The distribution of fair-weather days based on electric field variation and meteorological parameters are also discussed. According to results, thunderstorm activity is very high from May to June and the most active part during the day is from 15:00 to 20:00 LT at three different altitudes.

Behind the curve: a comparison of historical sources for the Carnegie curve of the global atmospheric electric circuit

Abstract. The “Carnegie curve” describes the diurnal variation of the global atmospheric electric circuit. It was originally found from atmospheric electric potential gradient (PG) measurements made on the Carnegie, effectively a floating atmospheric electrical observatory, which undertook global cruises between 1915 and 1929. These measurements confirmed that the single diurnal cycle PG variation, previously obtained in both polar regions, was global in extent. The averaged diurnal PG variation, represented by derived harmonic fits, provides a characteristic variation known as the “Carnegie curve”, against which modern measurements are still compared. The ocean air PG measurements were extensively described in reports of the Carnegie Institution of Washington (CIW) but widely used secondary sources of the Carnegie curve contain small differences, arising through approximations and transcription errors. Investigations using the historical CIW data show that the original harmonic fit coefficients are reproducible. Despite the inconsistencies, the secondary sources nevertheless mostly yield diurnal variations which fall within the variability of the original historical data.

Challenges in coupling atmospheric electricity with biological systems

The atmosphere is host to a complex electric environment, ranging from a global electric circuit generating fluctuating atmospheric electric fields to local lightning strikes and ions. While research on interactions of organisms with their electrical environment is deeply rooted in the aquatic environment, it has hitherto been confined to interactions with local electrical phenomena and organismal perception of electric fields. However, there is emerging evidence of coupling between large- and small-scale atmospheric electrical phenomena and various biological processes in terrestrial environments that even appear to be tied to continental waters. Here, we synthesize our current understanding of this connectivity, discussing how atmospheric electricity can affect various levels of biological organization across multiple ecosystems. We identify opportunities for research, highlighting its complexity and interdisciplinary nature and draw attention to both conceptual and technical challenges lying ahead of our future understanding of the relationship between atmospheric electricity and the organization and functioning of biological systems.

Comparative analysis of local and global atmospheric electric field at the Northern Pakistan

Daily variations of the Atmospheric Electric Field (AEF) allow to observe separately the atmospheric electricity due to global and local factors. Observations of the AEF are made for three different sites of Pakistan during fair weather conditions. These three sites are Islamabad (ISB), Muzaffarabad (MZF) and Balakot (BKT). Analyses of the diurnal variations of the atmospheric electric field for these sites are discussed in this paper with respect to annual and seasonal behavior. Muzaffarabad and Balakot sites show two daily maxima and Islamabad site shows single maxima, characteristic of local influences, such as the aerosol, sunrise effect and “Austausch effect” or exchange layer effect. Later, these results are compared globally with land based measurements available in the literature and with the Carnegie curve. Local effects found to be dominant among these sites with respect to one another due to geographical location, climate and different meteorological parameters. This is the first different creation of the ISB-MZF-BKT database which will be very effective to improve the information of atmospheric electricity in the complex processes due to weather and climate. This database from Pakistan will be useful for the scientific community for further understating and investigation of the Global Electric Circuit (GEC).

Extensive layer clouds in the global electric circuit: their effects on vertical charge distribution and storage.

A fair-weather electric field has been observed near the Earth's surface for over two centuries. The field is sustained by charge generation in distant disturbed weather regions, through current flow in the global electric circuit. Conventionally, the fair-weather part of the global circuit has disregarded clouds, but extensive layer clouds, important to climate, are widespread globally. Such clouds are not electrically inert, becoming charged at their upper and lower horizontal boundaries from vertical current flow, in a new electrical regime—neither fair nor disturbed weather; hence it is described here as semi-fair weather. Calculations and measurements show the upper cloud boundary charge is usually positive, the cloud interior positive and the lower cloud boundary negative, with the upper charge density larger, but of the same magnitude (∼nC m−2) as cloud base. Globally, the total positive charge stored by layer clouds is approximately 105 C, which, combined with the positive charge in the atmospheric column above the cloud up to the ionosphere, balances the total negative surface charge of the fair-weather regions. Extensive layer clouds are, therefore, an intrinsic aspect of the global circuit, and the resulting natural charging of their cloud droplets is a fundamental atmospheric feature.

Special features of the studies of deep electrical conductivity of the Moon and the Earth (once more on toroidal mode of natural magnetic field)

Studies of the deep electrical conductivity of the Earth and the Moon are carried out by measuring and analyzing the natural electromagnetic (EM) fields excited by the solar wind, introducing an electric field of the order of 2 mV/m applied to the boundaries of the Earth’s magnetosphere or directly to the surface of the Moon. For a concentrically layered sphere with electrical conductivity σ = σ (r), the EM fields can be represented as the sum of two modes: electric with a toroidal magnetic field and magnetic with a poloidal magnetic field. Each of the modes is associated with electrical conductivity by different ratios/formulas and is characterized by different possibilities for studying the electrical conductivity inside a celestial body. It is generally accepted that currents from the boundary of the Earth’s magnetosphere descend along the geomagnetic field lines to the ionosphere, but do not reach the Earth due to the very high resistance of near-the-surface air layer (up to 1014 Ohm · m) and only poloidal fields of the magnetic mode are induced in the solid Earth. A review of the data on the global electric circuit shows that vertical currents penetrate from the atmosphere into the Earth and the electric mode is not equal to zero. Vertical currents are characterized by strong spatio-temporal variability. Separation of the modes from observation data was not carried out. On the Moon, the high-resistance layer is the lithosphere with regolith and breccias on its surface with a resistivity of 107―1012 Ohm · m. Spatial inhomogeneities of the Moon interior are considered and a conclusion is made about their multitude and intensity. Based on the analysis of the spatial distribution of tidal and tectonic moonquakes, it was suggested that they trace quasi-vertical structures like a plume. The results of observations of volcanism and transient lunar phenomena, obtained in recent years by orbital missions with high-resolution equipment, indicate an intense degassing of the moon. All this allows us to conclude that in the Moon there are quasi-vertical conductors supporting an electric mode. Proposals for the optimization of new studies of the electrical conductivity of the moon are substantiated and formulated. Deep studies of electrical conductivity are based on a theoretical model of the magnetic mode, the existence of the electrical mode is neglected, and it falls into unidentified noise, which by means of coherent analysis and multi-stage processing is largely eliminated and the conductivity models more or less correctly describe the real geoelectric structure of the Earth, but with probable systematic errors. Separation and study of the electric mode should be considered as an additional channel of information in EM studies of planets.

The Response of Surface-Level Atmospheric Electrical Parameters in Israel to Severe Space Weather Events

We report on ground-based measurements of the atmospheric electric field (Ez) and current density (Jz) that were conducted from Israel at two locations. At the Mt. Hermon station (34.45 N, 2020 m AMSL) located in northern Israel near the Syrian-Lebanon border and at the Wise astronomical observatory in the Negev desert highland plateau of southern Israel (31.18 N, 870 m AMSL). We investigated possible effects of strong, short-term solar events that occurred during days that are defined meteorologically as fair-weather days. The first case study (St. Patrick Day, 17 March 2015) was classified as the strongest event of 2015. The second case study (8 Sep 2017) was categorized as the strongest event of 2017 and the 12 th strongest event on record to date. The results show that electrical parameters measured at ground level at both stations are affected during the two massive proton events and the ensuing geomagnetic storms. We deduce that our stations are both near the detection threshold of global electrical circuit response to solar disturbances because the magnetospheric shielding is strong enough to stop most of the flux of energetic particles, almost obscuring noticeable impacts that are above the daily variations induced by local meteorological conditions.

Studying Earth’s Double Electrical Heartbeat

Charged by thunderstorms and other weather phenomena, the global electrical circuit connects the entire planet.

On the Correlation of the Components of the Earth’s Electric Field at Spatially Separated Stations at the Harmonics of the Frequencies of Rotation of Relativistic Double Star Systems

Using spectro-eigenoscopy of multiyear series of observations of the vertical component of the electric field strength in the surface layer of the atmosphere, we have obtained results indicating the evidence of gravitational-wave impact of relativistic double star systems on the global electric circuit of the Earth. A statistically significant increase in the spatial correlations of the Ez components, spectrally localized at the gravitational-wave frequencies of radiation of forty-three relativistic double star systems with small eccentricity has been revealed from the Ez data at four spatially separated stations.

Measurements of atmospheric electricity in the Széchenyi István Geophysical Observatory, Hungary

Abstract. The Széchenyi István Geophysical Observatory, also known as the Nagycenk Geophysical Observatory (NCK), was established in 1957. It has been the only measurement site in Hungary where observations of various parameters of the atmospheric global electric circuit are made in the framework of organized research under the umbrella of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA). Measurements of the atmospheric electrical potential gradient (PG) and Schumann resonances (SRs) running quasi-continuously in the observatory for decades provide an invaluable source of information for geophysical research. This paper gives an overview on the history of the observatory and particularly on various atmospheric electricity (AE) measurements on-site to commemorate the efforts and excellence of the people who served atmospheric sciences by dedicating their lives to obtaining high-quality, reliable data and scientific achievements at the highest possible level.

Cosmic Dusty Plasma and the Global Electric Circuit of the Earth

The model of the global electric circuit of the Earth (GECE) is considered, which is inseparably linked with the processes in space plasma. The Earth is surrounded by cosmic plasma consisting of electrons, ions, and negatively charged dust particles. Dust particles easily penetrate through the magnetic field and the atmosphere and charge the surface of the Earth negatively. The stationary electric state is achieved when the current carried by the negative dust particles and the current of positively charged ions accelerated in the surrounding plasma become equal. Positive ions penetrate into the atmosphere through the regions with the northern and southern latitudes to altitudes of the order of 100 km, where they become nonmagnetized and can move parallel to the surface of the Earth, performing additional ionization in the anomalous structure of the E-layer, and creating the fair-weather current (of approximately 1500 A). The ions forming the fair-weather current are uniformly deposited on the negatively charged surface of the Earth. Using the data on the average dust flux onto the Earth surface and the value of the fair-weather current, it was found that the mean size of a dust particle is rd ≈ 4 × 10–7 m, its mass is md ≈ 5 × 10–17 kg, and its charge is Qd ≈ 10–16 C. The formation, charging, and discharging of clouds, as well as the causes for the effect of cosmic dust on the Earth’s weather, are discussed in the paper.

Toward a Realistic Representation of Global Electric Circuit Generators in Models of Atmospheric Dynamics

AbstractThe diurnal variation of the global electric circuit (GEC) is simulated using the Weather Research and Forecasting model by estimating contributions of grid columns to the ionospheric potential (IP). A parameterization based on cutting off the grid columns with shallow convection and estimating the area covered by GEC generators (electrified clouds) in each column from the amount of precipitation yields the IP variation of the same shape as the classical Carnegie curve with a correlation coefficient of 0.97, although with a smaller peak‐to‐peak amplitude (18% against 34% of the mean) and maxima and minima shifted by 1–2 hr. It is shown that omission in the IP parameterization of either convective activity or the area covered by electrified clouds (estimated using the calculated precipitation) would result in poor similarity between the modeled IP variation and the classical Carnegie curve. The results of simulation show the best agreement with the Carnegie data during Northern Hemisphere winters; the shape of the simulated diurnal variation of the IP substantially changes throughout the year owing to the decrease of South America's contribution and the increase of Southern Asia's contribution in summer. The discrepancies between the results of modeling and the results of observations are probably caused by the limited ability of large‐scale models to differentiate between electrified and nonelectrified clouds. Further improvement of the parameterization of the IP in models of atmospheric dynamics requires using finer grids, which should allow computing microphysical characteristics of clouds and estimating source currents more accurately.

Local and global effects on the diurnal variation of the atmospheric electric field in South America by comparison with the Carnegie curve

The study of the global atmospheric electric circuit is important to understand the climate system and this can be done by monitoring the atmospheric electric field worldwide. In this way, continuous measurements of atmospheric electric field are being recorded by the Atmospheric electric FIeld Network in South America (AFINSA). The main objective of this network is to obtain the daily curve of atmospheric electric field variations under fair weather conditions for each station, through monthly, seasonal and annual averages. These curves are called ‘standard curves’. In this paper, we compare and analyze the monthly, seasonal and annual standard curves for each sensor location. The results indicate significant similarities and differences between the annual standard curve and the Carnegie curve. The similarities, with correlation r ≥ 0.9 for most stations, are associated with a global representation of the global electrical circuit and the differences due to local effects, such as ‘Austausch’ effect and pollution. • A new network to monitor the atmospheric electric field on the ground. • Global and local contribution are found in the electric field standard curves. • Annual standard curves have a high correlation with the ‘universal’ Carnegie curve.

Low Latitude Lightning Activity Responses to Cosmic Ray Forbush Decreases

AbstractThe relation between low latitude lightning activity and Forbush decreases (FDs) of galactic cosmic rays was studied, with flash rates observed by the Lightning Image Sensor aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite and FDs selected from the events with decreases more than 2% measured by the Mexico City neutron monitor. The effect of spacecraft precession on Lightning Image Sensor data complicates the analysis, but this can be dealt with by the approach we use. Applying a superposed epoch analysis to all of the 70 FD cases, we found the low latitude lightning activity decreases by about 10% after the Forbush minimum, with a 95% confidence level tested by Monte Carlo simulation, and recovers 3 days later. The response is more significant in the Southern Hemisphere. Our result provides evidence for a proposed link between solar activity, cosmic rays, the global atmospheric electric circuit, and cloud microphysics.

Smart Measurement Technique Employed for Detection of Localized Anomalies in the Atmosphere

Atmospheric electricity and global electric circuit have been one of most important segments under investigation in recent times. For years, despite the various studies performed using various techniques on atmospheric parameters, it has now gradually become inevitable to use miniaturized circuits and compact instrumentation system to analysis the dynamics of the atmosphere. One such ‘Smart Measurement Technique’ is the use of the Electric Field Mill to measure and detect the lower atmospheric field under the case of perturbed state.In this paper, authors have discussed the effective implementation of the compact electric field mill which may be termed as a Smart way to measure the parameters. In the process some sample results have also been presented to reflect upon the effectiveness of the experimentation system

Comparative study of effects of cosmic rays on the earth’s atmospheric processes

In this paper, we have provided an overview of cosmic ray effects on terrestrial processes such as electrical properties, global electric circuit, lightning, cloud formation, cloud coverage, atmospheric temperature, space weather phenomena, climate, etc. It is suggested that cosmic rays control short term and long term variation in climate. There are many basic phenomena which need further study and require new and long term data set. Some of these have been pointed out.