Search

Measurements of atmospheric electricity have been made at many sites over a long time, with the vertical Potential Gradient (PG) the most commonly observed quantity. In general, the PG responds to local influences from weather, aerosol effects on charge exchange, and variability in the global atmospheric electric circuit. Different methods have been used to classify PG data, for example through identifying days when conditions were considered relatively undisturbed, or by using meteorological information to identify days on which weather-related variability was negligible. Nevertheless, local effects can persist, especially in data obtained at continental sites. Hence, if long term changes in the global atmospheric electric circuit are to be investigated, the local effects need first to be reduced or, ideally, removed.Recent work has demonstrated a close relationship between the PG at some sites and ocean temperatures modulated by the El Niño Southern Oscillation, through the associated changes in the global atmospheric electric circuit ([1],[2], [3]). The expectation of such a relationship can be used to test methods of removing and reducing local effects in PG data. A method based on the Carnegie curve – the hourly variation known to be present in the global circuit – is discussed here. Through comparison of hourly PG data from a site with the Carnegie curve, outlier values lying beyond the usual range of global circuit changes can be identified and removed. The remaining data can then be used to construct new daily or monthly averages with reduced local variability, evaluated by comparison with global circuit changes associated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation. References[1] R.G. Harrison, K.A. Nicoll, M. Joshi, E. Hawkins: Empirical evidence for multidecadal scale Global Atmospheric Electric Circuit modulation by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation Environ Res Lett 17, 124048 (2022) https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aca68c[2] N.N. Slyunyaev, N.V.I lin, , E.A. Mareev,.G. Price: A new link between El Nino - Southern Oscillation and atmospheric electricity, Environ. Res. Lett., 16, (2021) https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe908 [3] R.G. Harrison, M. Joshi, K. Pascoe: Inferring convective responses to El Niño with atmospheric electricity measurements at Shetland Environ Res Lett 6 (2011) 044028 http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/6/4/044028/

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) modifies precipitation patterns across the planet. Charge separation in disturbed weather and thunderstorms drives the global atmospheric electric circuit (GEC), hence ENSO-induced precipitation changes are anticipated to affect the global circuit. By analysing historical atmospheric electricity data using a new data processing procedure based on the Carnegie curve, signals correlated with ENSO sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies are revealed. These demonstrate a persistent ENSO-GEC relationship for the majority of the twentieth century, in potential gradient data from Lerwick, Shetland and Watheroo, W. Australia. The recovered data is weighted towards the first half of the UTC day, giving a GEC sensitivity up to ∼5% °C−1 of SST anomaly in the Niño 3.4 and 4 regions of the Pacific Ocean. Transferring ENSO variability by electrical means represents an unexplored teleconnection, for example, through proposed GEC effects on stratiform cloud microphysics. The strong ENSO-GEC relationship also provides a quality test for historical atmospheric electricity data, and encourages their use in reducing SST reconstruction uncertainties.

Ionisation in planetary atmospheres resulting from cosmic rays fragments atmospheric molecules resulting in the formation of free ions. The rate at which ions are produced varies with altitude and is determined by a combination of the cosmic ray flux and atmospheric density. The altitude at which this ion production rate peaks is known as the Pfotzer-Regener maximum which, on Earth, occurs at around 15-20 km. On Venus this maximum occurs at ~63 km, coinciding with the main cloud deck. This study investigates the effects enhanced ionisation may have on cloud droplets and their behaviour. Interactions between the ions produced and cloud droplets may have many consequences, including activation at lower saturation ratios, enhanced droplet coalescence and, for large charges, droplet breakup by Rayleigh instability.This work explores the effects of ionisation on water droplets in the laboratory and also simulates some of the conditions occurring in the clouds of Venus. The main element of the experimental apparatus is an acoustic levitator that can allow individual droplets to be electrically isolated and observed. Measurements are taken by a CCD camera and processed using LabView image acquisition software. The droplets can be subjected to enhanced ionisation from a corona source and perturbed by using a 10 kV/m electric field placed across the droplet causing it to be deflected relative to its charge. The principal findings on water droplets were that higher charge led to a slower evaporation rate; however, higher charge also led to increased incidence of Rayleigh explosions which were observed during several of the experiments. Overall, the effect of charge slowing evaporation did not lead to a longer droplet lifetime due to mass loss occurring from the periodic Rayleigh instabilities. In order to simulate conditions more like the clouds of Venus, sulphuric acid droplets were also examined. It was found that even very dilute sulphuric acid was extremely resistant to evaporation, suggesting that the clouds of Venus may have very long-lived droplet lifetimes. This has wide-reaching implications as cloud droplets on Venus have been suggested to act as a substrate for possible microbial life in the clouds.

Charge influences the properties of liquid droplets, such as their evaporation rates, hydrodynamic stability and sticking probabilities in droplet-droplet collisions. Introducing additional charge into an assembly of droplets therefore provides a possible method of influencing the droplet properties, and, in the case of a fog or cloud, a route to weather modification. The effect of charging on natural droplets has been investigated by releasing additional unipolar and bipolar ions into a natural surface fog, from both within the fog at the surface and above the fog, using an Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Droplet properties were monitored before and after the ion release using optical methods, together with the atmospheric electric field using a field mill. The atmospheric electric field measurements robustly demonstrate the present of the additional ions. Further, changes in the fog properties apparent when the additional ions are introduced are discussed.

Analysis of the variation of the potential gradient (PG) at ground level is important to monitor the global electric circuit and the different solar and geophysical phenomena affecting it. However, this is challenging since several factors (e.g., meteorological) produce perturbations in the potential gradient. For this reason, timeseries and spectral analysis of PG at several stations are required. In this work, for the first time we performe the spectral analysis of the potential gradient recorded at several sites located at Vostok, Concordia, Halley and Casleo (South Hemisphere), and Sodankyla and Reading (North Hemisphere). In order to find the main periodicities and how the amplitude of those periods change as a function of time we use the Lomb-Scargle Periodogram and the Wavelet Transform, respectively. For all PG sites the periodicities of 0.5, 1, ~180 and 365-day were found. It was also found evidence of the ~27- and ~45-day periods. Further analysis using the cross-wavelet transform for PG versus cosmic rays, PG versus Madden-Julian Oscillation index, and PG versus meteorological parameters, shows that the 27- and 45-day periods are likely related to the solar rotation and Madden- Julian Oscillation, respectively. Moreover, for the 27-day period we found that the relationship is stronger during the occurrences of co-rotating interaction regions.

Understanding rainfall in arid and water-scarce regions is central to the efficient use of water resources in agriculture, irrigation, and domestic food security. This work presents a new dataset with which to study precipitation processes in arid regions, utilising two years (2018–2020) of ceilometer observations made at Al Ain International Airport in the desert region of Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the annual rainfall is 76 mm. Ceilometer data provide a novel method by which to study both the evolution of water droplets from the cloud base down to the surface and the local circumstances required for rain to successfully reach the surface. In this work, we explore how successful precipitation depends on the initial size of the droplets and the thermodynamic profile below the cloud. For 64 of the 105 rain events, the droplet diameters ranged from 0.60 to 3.75 mm, with a mean of 1.84 mm. We find that smaller droplets, higher cloud bases, reduced cloud depths, and colder cloud bases all act to prevent successful precipitation, instead yielding virga (28 out of the 105 rain generating events). We identify how these multiple regional factors combine—specifically, we identify clouds deeper than 2.9 km, droplet diameters greater than 2 mm, and a midpoint below-cloud RH profile greater than 50%—to give successful rainfall, which may ultimately lead to more efficient rainfall enhancing measures, such as cloud seeding.

Charging of upper and lower horizontal boundaries of extensive layer clouds results from current flow in the global electric circuit. Layer-cloud charge accumulation has previously been considered a solely electrostatic phenomenon, but it does not occur in isolation from meteorological processes, which can transport charge. Thin layer clouds provide special circumstances for investigating this dynamical charge transport, as disruption at the cloud-top may reach the cloud base, observable from the surface. Here, a thin (~300 m) persistent layer-cloud with base at 300 m and strong wind shear at cloud-top was observed to generate strongly correlated fluctuations in cloud base height, optical thickness and surface electric Potential Gradient (PG) beneath. PG changes are identified to precede the cloud base fluctuations by 2 minutes, consistent with shear-induced cloud-top electrical changes followed by cloud base changes. These observations demonstrate, for the first time, dynamically driven modification of charge within a layer-cloud. Even in weakly charged layer-clouds, redistribution of charge will modify local electric fields within the cloud and the collisional behaviour of interacting charged cloud droplets. Local field intensification may also explain previously observed electrostatic discharges in warm clouds.

The occurrence and characteristics of rainfall events in arid and water scarce regions are of great interest to many, as it is vital to understand the efficient use of this finite resource, for example in terms of water management, agriculture, irrigation, and domestic food security. Fundamental to this is understanding the numerous environmental aspects that affect the generation and persistence of rain. These include the presence of cloud droplets, activation and growth processes, temperature and relative humidity of the within and below cloud regions, and the cloud base height. Not only must what causes rainfall to be initiated be understood, but also the conditions that allow that rain to reach the surface. This work examines the conditions required for a successful rain event (i.e. one in which rainfall reaches the ground) to occur in the arid desert region of Al Ain, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (annual rainfall 76mm). The high surface temperatures and dry air mean that rain events at Al Ain commonly occur as virga, as the rain droplets cannot survive evaporation under the local atmospheric conditions. Here we examine individual rainfall events using backscatter data from a laser ceilometer, in conjunction with C-band radar data, to further understand the processes required for successful rain generation. During the 2 year period of study, there was a total of 57.5 hours of rain (rainfall 0.5% of the time), with a total of 105 rainfall events. Here we examine the effect on rainfall of (a) the initial size of the droplets falling from the cloud base, which must be large enough to survive the fall to the surface; and (b) the effect of the below cloud thermodynamic profile on the evaporation of the droplet (which also depends on the height of the cloud base). Preliminary conclusions find that smaller droplets, higher cloud bases, smaller cloud depths, and lower cloud base temperatures all favour the occurrence of a rain event terminating as virga before it reaches the surface. Understanding the details of why many potential rainfall events don’t reach the surface can ultimately lead to the more efficient implementation of rainfall enhancing measures such as cloud seeding.

Electric charge is always present in the lower atmosphere. If droplets or aerosols become charged, their behavior changes, influencing collision, evaporation, and deposition. Artificial charge release is an unexplored potential geoengineering technique for modifying fogs, clouds, and rainfall. Central to evaluating these processes experimentally in the atmosphere is establishing an effective method for charge delivery. A small charge-delivering remotely piloted aircraft has been specially developed for this, which is electrically propelled. It carries controllable bipolar charge emitters (nominal emission current ±5 μA) beneath each wing, with optical cloud and meteorological sensors integrated into the airframe. Meteorological and droplet measurements are demonstrated to 2 km altitude by comparison with a radiosonde, including within cloud, and successful charge emission aloft verified by using programmed flight paths above an upward-facing surface electric field mill. This technological approach is readily scalable to provide nonpolluting fleets of charge-releasing aircraft, identifying and targeting droplet regions with their own sensors. Beyond geoengineering, agricultural, and biological aerosol applications, safe ionic propulsion of future electric aircraft also requires detailed investigation of charge effects on natural atmospheric droplet systems.

International audience; Atmospheric electric fields (AEFs) are produced by both natural processes and electrical infrastructure and are increasingly recognized to influence and interfere with various organisms and biological processes, including human well-being. Atmospheric electric fields, in particular electromagnetic fields (EMFs), currently attract a lot of scientific attention due to emerging technologies such as 5G and satellite internet. However, a broader retrospective analysis of available data for both natural and artificial AEFs and EMFs is hampered due to a lack of a semantic approach, preventing data sharing and advancing our understanding of its intrinsic links. Therefore, here we create an ontology (ENET_Ont) for existing (big) data on AEFs within the context of biological systems that is derived from different disciplines that are distributed over many databases. Establishing an environment for data sharing provided by the proposed ontology approach will increase the value of existing data and facilitate reusability for other communities, especially those focusing on public health, ecology, environmental health, biology, climatology as well as bioinformatics.

Rainfall is hypothesized to be influenced by droplet charge, which is related to the global circuit current flowing through clouds. This is tested through examining a major global circuit current increase following the release of artificial radioactivity. Significant changes occurred in daily rainfall distribution in the Shetland Islands, away from pollution. Daily rainfall changed by 24%, and local clouds optically thickened, within the nuclear weapons test period. This supports expectations of electrically induced microphysical changes in liquid water clouds from additional ionization.

Countries in arid and desert climates that have small amounts of rainfall each year use cloud seeding techniques to enhance the little rainfall that is present. Typically, this is achieved by seeding the cloud with hygroscopic nuclei to increase the rainfall. A possible alternative method is to inject the cloud with electric charge, which has been shown in models to alter the droplet size and distribution and influence rainfall properties.Here, in-situ observations of the electrical and optical properties of clouds are described from a desert site. These are used to inform droplet growth models. For this, a yearlong campaign, during which 10 weather balloons carrying electric charge and optical sensors were launched through fog layers from Abu Dhabi airport, United Arab Emirates. Here we present 2 case studies. The first is a clear air ascent comparison between the desert site at Abu Dhabi and a temperate site in northern Finland. The second is a fog comparison between Abu Dhabi and a temperate site in the United KingdomThe results show that the fogs in Abu Dhabi are highly charged with a charge density of 0.1-1 nC m-3 as opposed to the charge densities of fogs in Northern Hemisphere temperate regions which have a typical charge density of 10 pC m-3. The droplet concentration in the Abu Dhabi fog case study is significantly smaller, approximately 150 cm-3 as opposed to droplet concentrations of 300-400 cm-3 in fog over a temperate site.The results suggest that dust contributes strongly to the atmospheric electrical conditions in the UAE region, due to charging of the dust tribo-electrically. This dust charge may also affect the droplet distribution within the fog. These new measurements of the vertical profile of charge through fog layers in desert climates will be used to improve understanding in droplet growth models.

Cloud processes leading to rainfall generation are suspected to be influenced by droplet charge. Droplet charging is abundant, and even in layer clouds, charging of droplets readily occurs at the horizontal cloud-air boundary. Droplet charging in such circumstances is proportional to the vertical current driven through the cloud by the global electric circuit. Small global circuit variations from natural influences, such as solar modulation of cosmic rays can be used to investigate this, but an alternative is presented by artificial introduction of ionisation. The atmospheric nuclear weapons test period, which reached its peak 1962-1964, caused exceptional anthropogenic disturbance to the global circuit, through the increased ionisation from steady sedimentation of stratospheric radioactive debris.Measurements of the vertical current Jz made at Kew Observatory near London (51°28′N, 0°19′W) were several times greater than normal during 1962-1964, as a result of the widespread extra ionisation in the lower atmosphere. At Lerwick, Shetland (60°09′N, 1°08′W) where deposition of radioactive material occurred, the atmospheric electrical parameters were strongly affected by the enhanced ionisation. To investigate tropospheric ionisation effects on local cloud processes, rainfall days at Lerwick in 1962-64 have been analysed by considering reduced and enhanced ionisation periods. During the enhanced ionisation, the Lerwick rainfall distribution shifted towards heavier rainfall and is significantly different from the rainfall distribution for reduced ionisation days; the Lerwick cloud was also significantly optically thicker during the enhanced ionisation. This contrasts with other years of the Kew record, when Jz was relatively undisturbed. Whilst the ionisation conditions of 1962-64 were exceptional, controlled methods of enhancing tropospheric ionisation by non-radioactive means - such as corona emission - may nevertheless be promising for local rainfall modification, or even geoengineering of cloud properties.

Characterisation of the vertical variation in the atmospheric electric field has been made for many decades, but normally in an ad-hoc manner, using instrumented weather balloons or manned aircraft, which are expensive to fly. Such vertical measurements are required to measure the ionospheric potential and to characterise electric fields with clouds (both thunderstorm and non thunderstorm clouds) to understand the charging processes within them. Advances in electronics and battery technology has meant that small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have now become available as a new science platform. These measurement platforms address many of the problems associated with manned aircraft while allowing in-situ measurements with an increased level of control and repeatability when compared to weather balloons. Despite their potential advantages, one of the main challenges to using UAVs for atmospheric electricity research is the lack of small, lightweight sensors which are commercially available. To overcome this barrier, this work describes the development of a lightweight, miniaturised electric field sensor to be integrated with a small UAV (The sensor has been designed to allow measurements of the electric field intensities typical of non-thunderstorm low altitude (

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 10 5 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.

We document for the first time observations of point discharge currents under dust devils using a novel compact sensor deployed in summer 2016 at the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range in New Mexico, USA. A consistent signature is noted in about a dozen events seen over 40 days, with a positive current ramping up towards closest approach, switching to a decaying negative current as the devil recedes. The currents, induced on a small wire about 10 cm above the ground, correlate with dust devil intensity (pressure drop) and dust loading, and reached several hundred picoAmps.

A tethered balloon system (TBS) has been developed and is being operated by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility in order to collect in situ atmospheric measurements within mixed-phase Arctic clouds. Periodic tethered balloon flights have been conducted since 2015 within restricted airspace at ARM’s Advanced Mobile Facility 3 (AMF3) in Oliktok Point, Alaska, as part of the AALCO (Aerial Assessment of Liquid in Clouds at Oliktok), ERASMUS (Evaluation of Routine Atmospheric Sounding Measurements using Unmanned Systems), and POPEYE (Profiling at Oliktok Point to Enhance YOPP Experiments) field campaigns. The tethered balloon system uses helium-filled 34 m3 helikites and 79 and 104 m3 aerostats to suspend instrumentation that is used to measure aerosol particle size distributions, temperature, horizontal wind, pressure, relative humidity, turbulence, and cloud particle properties and to calibrate ground-based remote sensing instruments. Supercooled liquid water content (SLWC) sondes using the vibrating wire principle, developed by Anasphere Inc., were operated at Oliktok Point at multiple altitudes on the TBS within mixed-phase clouds for over 200 hours Sonde-collected SLWC data were compared with liquid water content derived from a microwave radiometer, Ka-band ARM Zenith radar, and ceilometer at the AMF3, as well as liquid water content derived from AMF3 radiosonde flights. The in situ data collected by the Anasphere sensors were also compared with data collected simultaneously by an alternative SLWC sensor developed at the University of Reading, UK; both vibrating wire instruments were typically observed to shed their ice quickly upon exiting the cloud or reaching maximum ice loading. Tethered balloon fiber optic distributed temperature sensing measurements were also compared with AMF3 radiosonde temperature measurements. Combined, the results indicate that TBS distributed temperature sensing and supercooled liquid water measurements are in reasonably good agreement with remote-sensing and radiosonde-based measurements of both properties. From these measurements and sensor evaluations, tethered balloon flights are shown to offer an effective method of collecting data to inform and constrain numerical models, calibrate and validate remote sensing instruments, and characterize the flight environment of unmanned aircraft, circumventing the difficulties of in-cloud unmanned aircraft flights such as limited flight time and in-flight icing.

The Arabian Gulf region experiences regular thermally driven sea breeze circulations which occur all year round, penetrating hundreds of kilometres inland. As a sea breeze front moves inland, substantial electric fields are generated by separation of charged desert dust. In the first surface electric field measurements made in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), consistent and repeatable substantial electric field changes with magnitudes up to 7 kV m-1 have been detected at Al Ain (170 km from the western coast), during 80 separate sea breeze events in 2018. Every sea breeze frontal passage shows the same characteristic signature of a transient maximum peak in electric field lasting tens of minutes. Electric field changes during these events were always negative (i.e. enhancing the existing negative “fair weather” electric field), in contrast to many other reported observations in dust storms in which conditions were less repeatable. The regular and substantial dust electrification found demonstrates that accurate representation of dust in climate and weather models requires electrical effects to be addressed, both in the generation process, and by considering aggregates in radiative transfer calculations as electrically aligned rather than randomly ordered. Furthermore, satellite aerosol retrievals are affected by the changed attenuation of electromagnetic radiation when dust particles are charged, for which corrections may be needed.

This manuscript gives an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the effects of energetic particle precipitation (EPP) onto the whole atmosphere, from the lower thermosphere/mesosphere through the stratosphere and troposphere, to the surface. The paper summarizes the different sources and energies of particles, principally galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), solar energetic particles (SEPs) and energetic electron precipitation (EEP). All the proposed mechanisms by which EPP can affect the atmosphere are discussed, including chemical changes in the upper atmosphere and lower thermosphere, chemistry-dynamics feedbacks, the global electric circuit and cloud formation. The role of energetic particles in Earth’s atmosphere is a multi-disciplinary problem that requires expertise from a range of scientific backgrounds. To assist with this synergy, summary tables are provided, which are intended to evaluate the level of current knowledge of the effects of energetic particles on processes in the entire atmosphere.

15th MST Radar WorkshopSession M4: MST Radar scattering, turbulence and small-scale processesMay 30 (Tue), NIPR Auditorium

Top-down and bottom-up aerosol-cloud-radiative flux closures were conducted at the Mace Head atmospheric research station in Galway, Ireland in August 2015. This study is part of the BACCHUS (Impact of Biogenic versus Anthropogenic emissions on Clouds and Climate: towards a Holistic UnderStanding) European collaborative project, with the goal of understanding key processes affecting aerosol-cloud-radiative flux closures to improve future climate predictions and develop sustainable policies for Europe. Instrument platforms include ground-based, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and satellite measurements of aerosols, clouds and meteorological variables. The ground-based and airborne measurements of aerosol size distributions and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentration were used to initiate a 1D microphysical aerosol-cloud parcel model (ACPM). UAVs were equipped for a specific science mission, with an optical particle counter for aerosol distribution profiles, a cloud sensor to measure cloud extinction, or a 5-hole probe for 3D wind vectors. UAV cloud measurements are rare and have only become possible in recent years through the miniaturization of instrumentation. These are the first UAV measurements at Mace Head. ACPM simulations are compared to in-situ cloud extinction measurements from UAVs to quantify closure in terms of cloud radiative flux. Two out of seven cases exhibit sub-adiabatic vertical temperature profiles within the cloud, which suggests that entrainment processes affect cloud microphysical properties and lead to an overestimate of simulated cloud radiative flux. Including an entrainment parameterization and explicitly calculating the entrainment fraction in the ACPM simulations both improved cloud-top radiative closure. Entrainment reduced the difference between simulated and observation-derived cloud-top radiative flux (δRF) by between 30 W m−2 and 40 W m−2. After accounting for entrainment, satellite-derived cloud droplet number concentrations (CDNC) were within 30 % of simulated CDNC. In cases with a well-mixed boundary layer, δRF is less than 25 W m−2 after accounting for cloud-top entrainment, compared to less than 50 W m−2 when entrainment is not taken into account. In cases with a decoupled boundary layer, cloud microphysical properties are inconsistent with ground-based aerosol measurements, as expected, and δRF is as high as 88 W m−2, even after accounting for cloud-top entrainment. This work demonstrates the need to take in-situ measurements of aerosol properties for cases where the boundary layer is decoupled as well as consider cloud-top entrainment to accurately model stratocumulus cloud radiative flux.

During a period of heliospheric disturbance in 2007–9 associated with a co-rotating interaction region (CIR), a characteristic periodic variation becomes apparent in neutron monitor data. This variation is phase-locked to periodic heliospheric current sheet crossings. Phase-locked electrical variations are also seen in the terrestrial lower atmosphere in the southern UK, including an increase in the vertical conduction current density of fair weather atmospheric electricity during increases in galactic cosmic ray-induced neutron monitor count rate at the surface and energetic proton count rates measured by geosynchronous spacecraft. At the same time as the conduction current increases, changes in the cloud microphysical properties lead to an increase in the detected height of the cloud base at Lerwick Observatory, Shetland, with associated changes in surface meteorological quantities. As electrification is expected at the base of layer clouds, which can influence droplet properties, these observations of phase-locked thermodynamic, cloud, atmospheric electricity and solar sector changes are not inconsistent with a heliospheric disturbance driving lower troposphere changes.

Internal gravity waves are generated as adjustment radiation whenever a sudden change in forcing causes the atmosphere to depart from its large-scale balanced state. Such a forcing anomaly occurs during a solar eclipse, when the Moon’s shadow cools part of the Earth’s surface. The resulting atmospheric gravity waves are associated with pressure and temperature perturbations, which in principle are detectable both at the surface and aloft. In this study, surface pressure and temperature data from two UK sites at Reading and Lerwick are examined for eclipse-driven gravity wave perturbations during the 20 March 2015 solar eclipse over northwest Europe. Radiosonde wind data from the same two sites are also analysed using a moving parcel analysis method, to determine the periodicities of the waves aloft. On this occasion, the perturbations both at the surface and aloft are found not to be confidently attributable to eclipse-driven gravity waves. We conclude that the complex synoptic weather conditions over the UK at the time of this particular eclipse helped to mask any eclipse-driven gravity waves. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse’.

The global atmospheric electric circuit is driven by thunderstorms and electrified rain/shower clouds and is also influenced by energetic charged particles from space. The global circuit maintains the ionosphere as an equipotential at~+250 kV with respect to the good conducting Earth (both land and oceans). Its "load"is the fair weather atmosphere and semi-fair weather atmosphere at large distances from the disturbed weather "generator"regions. The main solar-terrestrial (or space weather) influence on the global circuit arises from spatially and temporally varying fluxes of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) and energetic electrons precipitating from the magnetosphere. All components of the circuit exhibit much variability in both space and time. Global circuit variations between solar maximum and solar minimum are considered together with Forbush decrease and solar flare effects. The variability in ion concentration and vertical current flow are considered in terms of radiative effects in the troposphere, through infra-red absorption, and cloud effects, in particular possible cloud microphysical effects from charging at layer cloud edges. The paper identifies future research areas in relation to Task Group 4 of the Climate and Weather of the Sun-Earth System (CAWSES-II) programme. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

International audience; Atmospheric transport and suspension of dust frequently brings electrification, which may be substantial. Electric fields of 10 kV m−1 to 100 kV m−1 have been observed at the surface beneath suspended dust in the terrestrial atmosphere, and some electrification has been observed to persist in dust at levels to 5 km, as well as in volcanic plumes. The interaction between individual particles which causes the electrification is incompletely understood, and multiple processes are thought to be acting. A variation in particle charge with particle size, and the effect of gravitational separation explains to, some extent, the charge structures observed in terrestrial dust storms. More extensive flow-based modelling demonstrates that bulk electric fields in excess of 10 kV m−1 can be obtained rapidly (in less than 10 s) from rotating dust systems (dust devils) and that terrestrial breakdown fields can be obtained. Modelled profiles of electrical conductivity in the Martian atmosphere suggest the possibility of dust electrification, and dust devils have been suggested as a mechanism of charge separation able to maintain current flow between one region of the atmosphere and another, through a global circuit. Fundamental new understanding of Martian atmospheric electricity will result from the ExoMars mission, which carries the DREAMS (Dust characterization, Risk Assessment, and Environment Analyser on the Martian Surface)—MicroARES (Atmospheric Radiation and Electricity Sensor) instrumentation to Mars in 2016 for the first in situ electrical measurements.

Measurements of the electrical characteristics of the atmosphere above the surface have been made for over 200 years, from a variety of different platforms, including kites, balloons, rockets and aircraft. From these measurements, a great deal of information about the electrical characteristics of the atmosphere has been gained, assisting our understanding of the global atmospheric electric circuit, thunderstorm electrification and lightning generation mechanisms, discovery of transient luminous events above thunderstorms and many other electrical phenomena. This paper surveys the history of atmospheric electrical measurements aloft, from the earliest manned balloon ascents to current day observations with free balloons and aircraft. Measurements of atmospheric electrical parameters in a range of meteorological conditions are described, including clear air conditions, polluted conditions, non-thunderstorm clouds, and thunderstorm clouds, spanning a range of atmospheric conditions, from fair weather to the most electrically active.

A plume of Saharan dust and Iberian smoke was carried across the southern UK on 16th October 2017, entrained into an Atlantic cyclone which had originated as Hurricane Ophelia. The dust plume aloft was widely noticed as it was sufficiently dense to redden the visual appearance of the sun. Time series of backscatter from ceilometers at Reading and Chilbolton show two plumes: one carried upwards to 2.5 km, and another below 800 m into the boundary layer, with a clear slot between. Steady descent of particles at about 50 cm s-1 continued throughout the morning, and coarse mode particles reached the surface. Plumes containing dust are frequently observed to be strongly charged, often through frictional effects. This plume passed over atmospheric electric field sensors at Bristol, Chilbolton and Reading. Consistent measurements at these three sites indicated negative plume charge. The lower edge plume charge density was (-8.0 ± 3.3) nC m-2, which is several times greater than that typical for stratiform water clouds, implying an active charge generation mechanism such as turbulent triboelectrification. A meteorological radiosonde measuring temperature and humidity was launched into the plume at 1412 UTC, specially instrumented with charge and turbulence sensors. This detected charge in the boundary layer and in the upper plume region, and strong turbulent mixing was observed throughout the atmosphere’s lowest 4 km. The clear slot region, through which particles sedimented, was anomalously dry compared with modelled values, yet water clouds were forming intermittently in the air beneath. We conclude that charging enhanced the particle hygroscopicity, drying the atmosphere and transporting water vapour into the cloud-forming region beneath. Inclusion of the electrical aspects in numerical models is required in order to accurately represent particle transport, and its effects in the atmosphere, particularly concerning cloud microphysical properties.

Charge is observed in clouds of all forms, which influences their development and properties. In-cloud charge measurements require a wide dynamic range instrument, extending from charge in aerosols and dusts to that present in thunderstorms. Unexpectedly large charge densities (>200 pCm-3) have recently been detected in layer clouds using balloon-carried linear electrometers. These, however, lead to instrument saturation if sufficient sensitivity for aerosol and droplet charge is maintained. Logarithmic electrometers provide an alternative, but suffer strong non-linear thermal effects. This is a limitation for balloon-carried instruments which encounter temperature changes up to ~100 °C, as full thermal compensation requires complexity inappropriate for disposable devices. Here, a novel hybrid system is described, combining linear and logarithmic electrometers to provide extended dynamic range (±50 pA), employing the negligible (±4%) total temperature drift of the linear device to provide in situ calibration of the logarithmic device. This combination opens up new measurement opportunities for charge in clouds, dusts and aerosols.

The global atmospheric electrical circuit sustains a vertical current density between the ionosphere and the Earth's surface, the existence of which is well-established from measurements made in fair-weather conditions. In overcast, but non-thunderstorm, non-precipitating conditions, the current travels through the cloud present, despite cloud layers having low electrical conductivity. For extensive layer clouds, this leads to space charge at the upper and lower cloud boundaries. Using a combination of atmospheric electricity and solar radiation measurements at three UK sites, vertical current measurements have been categorised into clear, broken, and overcast cloud conditions. This approach shows that the vertical “fair weather” current is maintained despite the presence of cloud. In fully overcast conditions with thick cloud, the vertical current is reduced compared to thin cloud overcast conditions, associated with the cloud's resistance contributions. Contribution of cloud to the columnar resistance depends both on cloud thickness, and the cloud's height.

Atmospheric electricity measurements were made at Lerwick Observatory in the Shetland Isles (60°09′N, 1°08′W) during most of the 20th century. The Potential Gradient (PG) was measured from 1926 to 84 and the air-earth conduction current (Jc) was measured during the final decade of the PG measurements. Daily Jc values (1978–1984) observed at 15 UT are presented here for the first time, with independently-obtained PG measurements used to select valid data. The 15 UT Jc (1978–1984) spans 0.5–9.5 pA/m2, with median 2.5 pA/m2; the columnar resistance at Lerwick is estimated as 70 PΩm2. Smoke measurements confirm the low pollution properties of the site. Analysis of the monthly variation of Lerwick Jc data shows that winter (DJF) Jc is significantly greater than the summer (JJA) Jc by 20%. The Lerwick atmospheric electricity seasonality differs from the global lightning seasonality, but Jc has a similar seasonal phasing to that observed in Nimbostratus clouds globally, suggesting a role for non-thunderstorm rain clouds in the seasonality of the global circuit.

The Chiado's fire that affected the city centre of Lisbon (Portugal) occurred on 25th August 1988 and had a significant human and environmental impact. This fire was considered the most significant hazard to have oc- curred in Lisbon city centre after the major earthquake of 1755. A clear signature of this fire is found in the atmospheric electric field data recorded at Portela meteo- rological station about 8 km NE from the site where the fire started at Chiado. Measurements were made using a Benndorf electrograph with a probe at 1-m height. The atmospheric electric field reached 510 V/m when the wind direction was coming from SW to NE, favourable to the transport of the smoke plume from Chiado to Portela. Such observations agree with predictions using Hysplit air mass trajectory modelling and have been used to esti- mate the smoke concentration to be ~0.4 mg/m 3 .I t is demonstrated that atmospheric electric field measure- ments were therefore extremely sensitive to Chiado' sf ire. This result is of particular current interest in using net- works of atmospheric electric field sensors to complement existing optical and meteorological observations for fire monitoring.

A weather balloon and its suspended instrument package behave like a pendulum with a moving pivot. This dynamical system is exploited here for the detection of atmospheric turbulence. By adding an accelerometer to the instrument package, the size of the swings induced by atmospheric turbulence can be measured. In test flights, strong turbulence has induced accelerations greater than 5g, where g = 9.81 m s(-2). Calibration of the accelerometer data with a vertically orientated lidar has allowed eddy dissipation rate values of between 10(-3) and 10(-2) m(2) s(-3) to be derived from the accelerometer data. The novel use of a whole weather balloon and its adapted instrument package can be used as a new instrument to make standardized in situ measurements of turbulence.

During Biogenic Aerosols—Effects on Clouds and Climate (BAECC), the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program deployed the Second ARM Mobile Facility (AMF2) to Hyytiälä, Finland, for an 8-month intensive measurement campaign from February to September 2014. The primary research goal is to understand the role of biogenic aerosols in cloud formation. Hyytiälä is host to the Station for Measuring Ecosystem–Atmosphere Relations II (SMEAR II), one of the world’s most comprehensive surface in situ observation sites in a boreal forest environment. The station has been measuring atmospheric aerosols, biogenic emissions, and an extensive suite of parameters relevant to atmosphere–biosphere interactions continuously since 1996. Combining vertical profiles from AMF2 with surface-based in situ SMEAR II observations allows the processes at the surface to be directly related to processes occurring throughout the entire tropospheric column. Together with the inclusion of extensive surface precipitation measurements and intensive observation periods involving aircraft flights and novel radiosonde launches, the complementary observations provide a unique opportunity for investigating aerosol–cloud interactions and cloud-to-precipitation processes in a boreal environment. The BAECC dataset provides opportunities for evaluating and improving models of aerosol sources and transport, cloud microphysical processes, and boundary layer structures. In addition, numerical models are being used to bridge the gap between surface-based and tropospheric observations.

A disposable backscatter instrument is described for optical detection of cloud in the atmosphere from a balloon-carried platform. It uses an ultra-bright light emitting diode (LED) illumination source with a photodiode detector. Scattering of the LED light by cloud droplets generates a small optical signal which is separated from background light fluctuations using a lock-in technique. The signal to noise obtained permits cloud detection using the scattered LED light, even in daytime. The response is interpreted in terms of the equivalent visual range within the cloud. The device is lightweight (150 g) and low power (∼30 mA), for use alongside a conventional meteorological radiosonde.

In order to access the effect of the lakes in the atmospheric electrical field, measurements have been carried out near a large man-made lake in southern Portugal, the Alqueva reservoir, during the ALqueva hydro-meteorological EXperiment 2014. The purpose of these conjoint experiments was to study the impact of the Alqueva reservoir on the atmosphere, in particular on the local atmospheric electric environment by comparing measurements taken in the proximity of the lake. Two stations 10 km apart were used, as they were located up- and down-wind of the lake (Amieira and Parque Solar, respectively), in reference to the dominant northwestern wind direction. The up-wind station shows lower atmospheric electric potential gradient (PG) values than the ones observed in the down-wind station between 12 and 20 UTC. The difference in the atmospheric electric PG between the up-wind and the down-wind station is ~30 V/m during the day. This differential occurs mainly during the development of a lake breeze, between 10 and 18 UTC, as a consequence of the surface temperature gradient between the surrounding land and the lake water. In the analysis presented, a correlation is found between the atmospheric electric PG differences and both wind speed and temperature gradients over the lake, thus supporting the influence of the lake breeze over the observed PG variation in the two stations. Two hypotheses are provided to explain this observation: (1) The air that flows from the lake into the land station is likely to increase the local electric conductivity through the removal of ground dust and the transport of cleaner air from higher altitudes with significant light ion concentrations. With such an increase in conductivity, it is expected to see a reduction of the atmospheric electric PG; (2) the resulting air flow over the land station carries negative ions formed by wave splashing in the lake's water surface, as a result of the so-called balloelectric effect. These negative ions will form a space-charge density (SCD) that can reduce the atmospheric electric PG. A formulation is derived here in order to estimate the local SCD. Keywords: atmospheric electric field, lake breeze, air ions, space-charge density (Published: 23 June 2016) Citation: Tellus A 2016, 68, 31592, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v68.31592

Charged aerosol particles and water droplets are abundant throughout the lower atmosphere, and may influence interactions between small cloud droplets. This note describes a small, disposable sensor for the measurement of charge in non-thunderstorm cloud, which is an improvement of an earlier sensor [K. A. Nicoll and R. G. Harrison, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 80, 014501 (2009)]. The sensor utilizes a self-calibrating current measurement method. It is designed for use on a free balloon platform alongside a standard meteorological radiosonde, measuring currents from 2 fA to 15 pA and is stable to within 5 fA over a temperature range of 5 °C to -60 °C. During a balloon flight with the charge sensor through a stratocumulus cloud, charge layers up to 40 pC m(-3) were detected on the cloud edges.

The plume from the 2011 eruption of Gr\'{i}msv\"{o}tn was highly electrically charged, as shown by the considerable lightning activity measured by the UK Met Office's low-frequency lightning detection network. Previous measurements of volcanic plumes have shown that ash particles are electrically charged up to hundreds of km away from the vent, which indicates that the ash continues to charge in the plume [Harrison et al., Env. Res. Lett. 5 024004 (2010), Hatakeyama J. Met. Soc. Japan 27 372 (1949)]. In this paper we study triboelectric charging of different size fractions of a sample of volcanic ash experimentally. Consistently with previous work, we find that the particle size distribution is a determining factor in the charging. Specifically, our laboratory experiments demonstrate that the normalised span of the particle size distribution plays an important role in the magnitude of charging generated. The influence of the normalised span on plume charging suggests that all ash plumes are likely to be charged, with implications for remote sensing and plume lifetime through scavenging effects., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

A low cost, disposable instrument for measuring solar radiation during meteorological balloon flights through cloud layers is described. Using a photodiode detector and low thermal drift signal conditioning circuitry, the device showed less than 1% drift for temperatures varied from +20 °C to −35 °C. The angular response to radiation, which declined less rapidly than the cosine of the angle between the incident radiation and normal incidence, is used for cloud detection exploiting the motion of the platform. Oriented upwards, the natural motion imposed by the balloon allows cloud and clear air to be distinguished by the absence of radiation variability within cloud, where the diffuse radiation present is isotropic. The optical method employed by the solar radiation instrument has also been demonstrated to provide higher resolution measurements of cloud boundaries than relative humidity measurements alone.

Electrification of atmospheric dust influences the coagulation, wet removal and fall speeds of dust particles. Alignment of dust particles can also occur in fair weather atmospheric electrical conditions if the particles are charged. However, very few electrical measurements made in elevated dust layers exist. Balloon-borne charge and particle instrumentation have been used to investigate the electrical properties of elevated Saharan dust layers. Soundings from the Cape Verde Islands, which experience frequent Saharan dust outbreaks, intercepted several dust layers. Two balloon soundings during summer 2009 detected dust particles in layers up to 4 km altitude. Simultaneous electrical measurements showed charge inside the dust layers, with a maximum measured charge density of 25 pC m − 3, sufficient to influence wet removal processes.

[1] The cloud-air transition zone at stratiform cloud edges is an electrically active region where droplet charging has been predicted. Cloud edge droplet charging is expected from vertical flow of cosmic ray generated atmospheric ions in the global electric circuit. Experimental confirmation of stratiform cloud edge electrification is presented here, through charge and droplet measurements made within an extensive layer of supercooled stratiform cloud, using a specially designed electrostatic sensor. Negative space charge up to 35 pC m−3 was found in a thin (

The weekly dependence of pollutant aerosols in the urban environment of Lisbon (Portugal) is inferred from the records of atmospheric electric field at Portela meteorological station (38°47′N, 9°08′W). Measurements were made with a Bendorf electrograph. The data set exists from 1955 to 1990, but due to the contaminating effect of the radioactive fallout during 1960 and 1970s, only the period between 1980 and 1990 is considered here. Using a relative difference method a weekly dependence of the atmospheric electric field is found in these records, which shows an increasing trend between 1980 and 1990. This is consistent with a growth of population in the Lisbon metropolitan area and consequently urban activity, mainly traffic. Complementarily, using a Lomb–Scargle periodogram technique the presence of a daily and weekly cycle is also found. Moreover, to follow the evolution of theses cycles, in the period considered, a simple representation in a colour surface plot representation of the annual periodograms is presented. Further, a noise analysis of the periodograms is made, which validates the results found. Two datasets were considered: all days in the period, and fair-weather days only.

The fair weather atmospheric electrical current (J z ) couples the ionosphere to the lower atmosphere and thus provides a route by which changes in solar activity can modify processes in the lower troposphere. This paper examines the temporal variations and spectral characteristics of continuous measurements of J z conducted at the Wise Observatory in Mitzpe-Ramon, Israel (30°35′ N, 34°45′ E), during two large CMEs, and during periods of increased solar wind density.Evidence is presented for the effects of geomagnetic storms and sub-storms on low latitude J z during two coronal mass ejections (CMEs), on 24–25th October 2011 and 7–8th March 2012, when the variability in J z increased by an order of magnitude compared to normal fair weather conditions. The dynamic spectrum of the increased J z fluctuations exhibit peaks in the Pc5 frequency range. Similar low frequency characteristics occur during periods of enhanced solar wind proton density. During the October 2011 event, the periods of increased fluctuations in J z lasted for 7 h and coincided with fluctuations of the inter-planetary magnetic field (IMF) detected by the ACE satellite. We suggest downward mapping of ionospheric electric fields as a possible mechanism for the increased fluctuations.

The electrification of stratiform clouds has is little investigated in comparison with thunderstorms and fair weather atmospheric electricity. Theory indicates that, at the upper and lower horizontal boundaries of layer clouds, charging will arise from vertical flow of cosmogenic ions in the global atmospheric electric circuit. Charge is transferred to droplets and particles, affecting cloud microphysical processes such as collision and droplet activation. Due to the lack of in-situ measurements, the magnitude and distribution of charge in stratiform clouds is not well known. A sensitive, inexpensive, balloon borne charge sensor has been developed to make in-situ measurements of edge charging in stratiform cloud using a standard meteorological radiosonde system. The charge sensor has now been flown through over 20 stratiform clouds and frequently detected charge up to 200 pC m−3 near cloud edges. These results are compared with measurements from the same sensor used to investigate charge in particle layers, such as volcanic ash from the Eyjafjallajokull eruption, and Saharan dust in the Cape Verde Isles.

Volcanic plumes generate lightning from the electrification of plume particles. Volcanic plume charging at over 1200 km from its source was observed from in situ balloon sampling of the April 2010 Eyjafjallajökull plume over Scotland. Whilst upper and lower edge charging of a horizontal plume is expected from fair weather atmospheric electricity, the plume over Scotland showed sustained positive charge well beneath the upper plume edge. At these distances from the source, the charging cannot be a remnant of the eruption itself because of charge relaxation in the finite conductivity of atmospheric air. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK.

Despite the importance of microphysical cloud processes on the climate system, some topics are under-explored. For example, few measurements of droplet charges in nonthunderstorm clouds exist. Balloon carried charge sensors can be used to provide new measurements. A charge sensor is described for use with meteorological balloons, which has been tested over a range of atmospheric temperatures from -60 to 20 degrees C, in cloudy and clear air. The rapid time response of the sensor (to >10 V s(-1)) permits charge densities from 100 fC m(-3) to 1 nC m(-3) to be determined, which is sufficient for it to act as a cloud edge charge detector at weakly charged horizontal cloud boundaries.