Solar-Induced Long-Period Variations in the Vertical Component of an Electric Field in Lake Baikal.

The long-term experiment for electromagnetic monitoring in Lake Baikal and the adjacent territory is underway. Within this experiment, long-period (36–200 days) variations in the vertical component of electric field are revealed in the water column, which are not caused by any internal sources, but show a close lagged relationship with slow variations in the solar X-ray emission, especially with Rieger variations. The variations in the electric field are interpreted as the manifestation of changeability of the current in the hydrospheric section of the Global Electric Circuit over the Baikal Rift due to the indirect influence of the solar X-ray radiation on the convective component of the current in the atmosphere through slow meteorological processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]