Measurements of atmospheric electricity aloft

Nicoll, K.A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5580-6325 (2012) Measurements of atmospheric electricity aloft. Surveys in Geophysics, 33 (5). pp. 991-1057. ISSN 1573-0956 doi: 10.1007/s10712-012-9188-9

Abstract/Summary

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.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/32237
Identification Number/DOI	10.1007/s10712-012-9188-9
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Uncontrolled Keywords	Balloon measurements Aircraft measurements Thunderstorms Airborne measurements
Publisher	Springer
Publisher Statement	The final publication is available at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10712-012-9188-9
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item