A self-calibrating electrometer for atmospheric charge measurements from a balloon platform

Nicoll, K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5580-6325 (2013) A self-calibrating electrometer for atmospheric charge measurements from a balloon platform. Review of Scientific Instruments, 84 (9). 096107. ISSN 1089-7623 doi: 10.1063/1.4821500

Abstract/Summary

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.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/34255
Identification Number/DOI	10.1063/1.4821500
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Publisher	AIP
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