scholarly journals Effects of the March 2015 solar eclipse on near-surface atmospheric electricity

Author(s):  
A. J. Bennett

Measurements of atmospheric electrical and standard meteorological parameters were made at coastal and inland sites in southern England during the 20 March 2015 partial solar eclipse. Clear evidence of a reduction in air temperature resulting from the eclipse was found at both locations, despite one of them being overcast during the entire eclipse. The reduction in temperature was expected to affect the near-surface electric field (potential gradient (PG)) through a reduction in turbulent transfer of space charge. No such effect could be unambiguously confirmed, however, with variability in PG and air–Earth current during the eclipse being comparable to pre- and post-eclipse conditions. The already low solar radiation for this latitude, season and time of day was likely to have contributed to the reduced effect of the eclipse on atmospheric electricity through boundary layer stability. The absence of a reduction in mean PG shortly after time of maximum solar obscuration, as observed during eclipses at lower geomagnetic latitude, implied that there was no significant change in atmospheric ionization from cosmic rays above background variability. This finding was suggested to be due to the relative importance of cosmic rays of solar and galactic origin at geomagnetic mid-latitudes. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse’.

2021 ◽  
Vol 254 ◽  
pp. 01001
Author(s):  
Sergey Smirnov

Atmospheric electric field diurnal variation measured in fair weather conditions over the ocean surface has a typical form which is called a unitary variation. It is associated with the global time and occurs simultaneously all over the planet. However, the diurnal variation, measured over the ground, depends on many local factors. The diurnal variation maximum of the electric field potential gradient, measured at Paratunka observatory, has the maximum close in time to the unitary variation maximum. In the paper we show that this maximum is determined by local conditions and is associated in time with the sunrise. The diurnal variation maximum of the electric field potential gradient, measured at Paratunka observatory in fair weather conditions, has annual variation coinciding with the annual variation of local sunrise.


2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 627-640
Author(s):  
S. E. Smirnov ◽  
Y. V. Marapulets

Abstract. The effect of a single lightning discharge on electric field intensity in the near ground atmosphere was investigated. The effect appeared as a sharp fall of electric field potential gradient from 80 V m−1 up to −21 V m−1. The process of intensity recovery is described by flat capacitor model with characteristic time of recovery of 17 c. Simultaneously with electric field, the acoustic emission response in the near surface rocks on lightning discharge was registered in the frequency range of 6.5–11 kHz.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stavros Stathopoulos ◽  
Stergios Misios ◽  
Konstantinos Kourtidis

<p>Here we examine the cause-and-effect relations between galactic cosmic rays, electric field, aerosols and clouds over a region of Atlantic Ocean, during a Forbush Decrease (FD) event on 07/12/2015, using Convergent Cross Mapping (CCM) method. For this purpose, we used FD data from the Neuron Monitor Database (NMDB), Potential Gradient data (PG) from Global Coordination of Atmospheric Electricity Measurements (GLOCAEM) and remote sensing data from MODIS/Aqua, namely Aerosol Optical Depth at 550nm (AOD), Cloud Fraction (CF), Cloud Optical Thickness (COT), Cloud Top Pressure (CTP), Cirrus Reflectance (CR) and Cloud Effective Radius-Liquid (CERL). A cause-and-effect relation was found between FD and AOD, CERL, CF and PG, over the region. On the other hand, no causal effect was found between FD and COT, CTP and CR. This research is funded in the context of the project "Cosmic and electric effects on aerosols and clouds” (MIS: 5049552) under the call for proposals “Support for researchers with emphasis on young researchers - Cycle B” (EDULL 103). The project is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund - ESF) by the Operational Programme Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning 2014-2020.</p>


Author(s):  
Elizabeth Good

The behaviour of remotely sensed land surface temperatures (LSTs) from the spinning-enhanced visible and infrared imager (SEVIRI) during the total solar eclipse of 20 March 2015 is analysed over Europe. LST is found to drop by up to several degrees Celcius during the eclipse, with the minimum LST occurring just after the eclipse mid-point (median=+1.5 min). The drop in LST is typically larger than the drop in near-surface air temperatures reported elsewhere, and correlates with solar obscuration ( r =−0.47; larger obscuration = larger LST drop), eclipse duration ( r =−0.62; longer duration = larger LST drop) and time ( r =+0.37; earlier eclipse = larger LST drop). Locally, the LST drop is also correlated with vegetation (up to r =+0.6), with smaller LST drops occurring over more vegetated surfaces. The LSTs at locations near the coast and at higher elevation are also less affected by the eclipse. This study covers the largest area and uses the most observations of eclipse-induced surface temperature drops to date, and is the first full characterization of satellite LST during an eclipse (known to the author). The methods described could be applied to Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) LST data over North America during the August 2017 total solar eclipse. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse’.


2020 ◽  
Vol 196 ◽  
pp. 01004
Author(s):  
Sergey Smirnov

In fair weather conditions, electric field potential gradient in the near-ground air takes positive values. Negative anomalies occur under the influence of different ionizing processes such as galactic cosmic ray flux and radioactive gas emanation from the ground. In the conditions of calm geomagnetic state and fair weather, anomalies can be used for earthquake forecast. In the paper, the efficiency of earthquake forecast based on negative anomalies is under the study. It was obtained that the efficiency of such a forecast during any weather conditions is 10%.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1221-1226 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Kachakhidze ◽  
M. Kachakhidze ◽  
Z. Kereselidze ◽  
G. Ramishvili

Abstract. The subject of the research is the study of anomalous disturbances of the gradient of electric field potential of the atmosphere as possible precursors of earthquakes. In order to reveal such precursor Dusheti observatory (φ=42.05; λ=44.42) records of electric field potential's gradient (EFPG) of the atmosphere are considered for 41 earthquakes (M≥5.0) occurrence moments in the Caucasus region. Seasonal variations of atmospheric electric field potential gradient and inter overlapping influence of meteorological parameters upon this parameter are studied. Original method of "filtration" is devised and used in order to identify the effect of EFPG "clear" anomalies. The so-called "clear" anomalies are revealed from (−148.9 V/m) to 188.5 V/m limits and they are connected with occurrence moments of 29 earthquakes out of 41 discussed earthquakes (about 71%). "clear" anomalies manifest themselves in 11-day precursor window. Duration of anomalies is from 40 to 90 min.


Author(s):  
J. M. Pasachoff ◽  
M. A. Peñaloza-Murillo ◽  
A. L. Carter ◽  
M. T. Roman

This article reports on the near-surface atmospheric response at the High Arctic site of Svalbard, latitude 78° N, as a result of abrupt changes in solar insolation during the 20 March 2015 equinox total solar eclipse and notifies the atmospheric science community of the availability of a rare dataset. Svalbard was central in the path of totality, and had completely clear skies. Measurements of shaded air temperature and atmospheric pressure show only weak, if any, responses to the reduced insolation. A minimum in the air temperature at 1.5 m above the ground occurred starting 2 min following the end of totality, though this drop was only slightly beyond the observed variability for the midday period. Eclipse-produced variations in surface pressure, if present, were less than 0.3 hPa. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse’.


Geosciences ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Sergey Smirnov

Anomalies of the electric field potential gradient have been observed in the near-ground air before earthquakes in different regions of the world. Such anomalies are likely caused by radon air ionization. In this study, the impact of this precursor was estimated according to continuous observations of the electric field in Kamchatka in 1997–2002.


Author(s):  
Matthew R. Clark

Near-surface air temperature (NSAT) anomalies during the 20 March 2015 solar eclipse are investigated at 266 UK sites, using operational data. The high density of observing sites, together with the wide range of ambient meteorological conditions, provided an unprecedented opportunity for analysis of the spatial variability of NSAT anomalies under relatively uniform eclipse conditions. Anomalies ranged from −0.03°C to −4.23°C (median −1.02°C). The maximum (negative) anomaly lagged the maximum obscuration by 15 min on average. Cloud cover impacted strongly on NSAT anomalies, with larger anomalies in clear-sky situations ( p <0.0001). Weaker, but statistically significant, correlations were found with wind speed (larger anomalies in weaker winds), proximity to coast (larger anomalies at inland sites), topography (larger anomalies in topographical low points) and land cover (larger anomalies over vegetated surfaces). In this mid-morning eclipse, the topographical influences on NSAT anomalies were apparently dominated by variations in residual nocturnal inversion strength, as suggested by significant correlations between post-sunrise temperature and NSAT anomaly at clear-sky sites (larger negative anomalies with lower post-sunrise temperatures). The largest NSAT anomaly occurred at a coastal site where flow transitioned from onshore to offshore during the eclipse, in a situation with large coastal temperature gradients associated with antecedent nocturnal cooling. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse’.


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