Lifetime of the thunderstorm electric energy in the global atmospheric circuit and thunderstorm energy characteristics

The lifetime of electric energy in the atmosphere is introduced and investigated as is the total electric energy of the atmosphere related to the total mean rate of electric energy dissipation. This lifetime, as determined from general estimations and convenient analytical expressions, turns out to be very small – from about 10 to about 100 s, depending on the assumptions on the control parameters of principal sources in the global electric circuit. In particular the energy lifetime is less than the relaxation time of the “global condenser” and field relaxation time near the ground surface. It is explained by the high dissipative rate of the electric energy in the atmosphere, taking into account that the regions mainly contributing to the total energy and its dissipative rate are connected to the altitudes of active parts of electrified (thunderstorm) clouds in the atmosphere with exponentially increasing conductivity.     

Transient currents in the global electric circuit due to cloud-to-ground and intracloud lightning

Intracloud (IC) and cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flashes produce transient changes in the electric field (E) above a thundercloud which drive transient currents in the global electric circuit (GEC). Using in-cloud and above-cloud E data from balloons, ground-based E data, and Lightning Mapping Array data, the above-cloud charge transfers due to lightning transients are estimated for five IC and five CG flashes from four thunderstorms that occurred above the mountains in New Mexico, USA, in 1999. For the five CG flashes (which transferred − 4 to − 13 C to the ground), the transient currents moved + 1 to + 5 C of charge upward from cloudtop toward the ionosphere, with an average transient charge transfer of about 35% of the charge transferred to ground. For the five IC flashes (which neutralized 6 to 21 C inside the cloud), the transient currents moved − 0.7 to − 3 C upward, with an average transient charge transfer of about 12% of the lightning charge. Estimates for three thunderstorms indicate that the transient currents made only a small GEC contribution compared to the quasi-stationary Wilson currents because of the offsetting effects of IC and CG flashes in these storms. However, storms with extreme characteristics, such as high flash rates or predominance of one flash type, may make a significant GEC contribution via lightning transients.     

Modeling the electric structures of two thunderstorms and their contributions to the global circuit

This study examines the electricity in two thunderstorms, typical for their respective locales (the Great Plains and the New Mexico mountains), by modeling them as a set of steady-state horizontal layers of external currents. The model electric sources, corresponding to the charge separation processes in the thundercloud, are embedded in an exponential conducting atmosphere. The source parameters are determined by fitting the model electric field to measured profiles. The resulting currents to the ionosphere (i.e., the Wilson current) from the two storms are 0.53 A and 0.16 A, while the calculated electrical energies of the storms are 2.3 × 10¹⁰ J and 2.8 × 10⁹ J, respectively. The more vigorous storm is estimated to transfer 16 000 C in the global circuit during 8.5 h of its lifetime, while the weaker mountain storm transferred about 1200 C in its entire 2-h lifetime. Removal of the screening charge layer from above the updraft region in one modeled storm leads to only a small increase in the net Wilson current of less than 3%, while it provides a substantial local disturbance of the electric field. Overall, the model findings indicate that differences in the Wilson currents and electrical energies of the two storms result from differences in their internal dynamical and electrical structures as well as their geographical locations.     

In situ Measurement of H2O and CH4 with Telecommunication Laser Diodes in the Lower Stratosphere: Dehydration and Indication of a Tropical Air Intrusion at Mid-Latitudes

Telecommunication laser diodes emitting near 1.39 m and 1.65 m in combination with direct-differential absorption spectroscopy are efficient tools to monitor in situ stratospheric H₂O andCH₄ with a good precision error (a few percents), a high temporal resolution (ranging from 10 ms to 1 s), a large dynamic range in the concentration measurements (four orders of magnitude) and a high selectivity in the analyte species. To illustrate the capability of laser probing technique, we report balloonborne H₂Oand CH₄ simultaneous measurements obtained on October 2001 atmidlatitudes (43° N). The H₂O vertical profile achieved with the lasersensor in the lower stratosphere is compared with the H₂O data yielded by a balloonborne frost-point hygrometer. The total hydrogen mixing ratio in the lower stratosphere, 2[CH₄] + [H₂O], appears to beconstant at 7.5 ± 0.1 ppmv. Nevertheless, an unexpected largedehydration of 0.5 ppmv was detected by both the laser sensor and thehygrometer between 16 km and 23 km. We suspect the occurrence of a tropicalair intrusion into mid-latitudes. We support this interpretation using a high-resolution advection model for potential vorticity.