Description

Benjamin Franklin's famous experiments in 1752 "drawing lightning from the cloud" by a kite is generally considered as the beginning of the science of Atmospheric Electricity.The term "Atmospheric Electricity" reflects the earlier efforts to study mainly the electrostatic component of the geo-magnetic field. Since the air is electrically conducting, an electric field in the atmosphere cannot be maintained indefinitely, but must be generated by nonelectric forces. Three sources of low frequency electromagnetic waves are presently known:
1. Thunderstorms and related phenomena in the lower atmosphere.
2. Tidal wind interaction with the ionospheric plasma at dynamo layer heights.
3. Solar wind interaction with the magnetosphere.
These fields map down into the ionosphere and drive electric currents within the dynamo region, the magnetic component of which can be observed on the ground. In addition, instabilities within the magnetosphere are the cause of electromagnetic waves with frequencies ranging from the 0.1 mHz. band to the kHz. band and beyond (geomagnetic substorms, geomagnetic pulsations, and natural ELF, VLF and LF noise).
The atmosphere is an electrically conducting medium so that electric currents can flow due to the electrical ionization around the Earth. The earth's crust contains radioactive materials, mainly uranium, thorium, and their decay products. Beta and gamma rays emitted from the ground can ionize the molecules of the air in the first few meters above ground. The gas radon, which is one of the decay products of uranium 238 can reach greater heights, up to several 100m above ground, before it decays into polonium by emitting alpha particles. Radon is therefore a major ionization source in the first few 100 m above ground over the continents. The second major source of ionization is galactic cosmic rays with a maximum in midlatitudes at about 15 km. height.
Solar X-ray and extreme ultraviolet radiation are the principle sources of ionization above 60 to 70 km. altitude with the rates dependent on latitude, time of day and season, and solar activity. During extremely intense solar flare events, solar protrons of cosmic ray intensity can greatly enhance the ion production rate. The solar radiation is responsible for the formation of various ionospheric layers of intense activity.
The positive and negative ions in the atmosphere are accelerated in opposite directions by the earth electric field. The electric conductivity of the atmosphere below about 70 km. height is mostly in all directions where positive and negative small ions contribute nearly equally to the electric conductivity. There is an increase of conductivity with increasing latitude due to the increase of the ion density with latitude dependent on the cosmic ray intensity.
At an altitude of about 100 km. the electrons drift at right angles to the earth's magnetic field, while the ions move in the direction of this earth field. This area of peak amplitude is called the dynamo region where there is this range of peak parallel conductivity along the geomagnetic field lines of electric equipotential. The direction of the geomagnetic field changes from horizontal at the equator to vertical at the magnetic poles. Since the vertical current cannot flow out of the dynamo region, a polarization charge is built up on both boundaries of the dynamo region causing a vertical electric polarization field with the earth's surface. Amplification of electric current at the geomagnetic equator occurs within this dynamo region.
Thunderstorms behave like batteries which are connected with the highly conducting ionosphere and earth via the barely conducting lower and middle atmosphere. The passive electric contineous current flowing outside the thunderstorm regions down to the earth is part of the global electric circuit. In fair weather regions far away from thunderstorm areas, one measures a downward-directed current density which is believed to be driven by the