Affiliation:
1. Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, and University of Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Abstract
Abstract
Theoretical estimation of the influence of large-scale conductivity inhomogeneities on the global electric circuit and, in particular, on the ionospheric potential is considered. A well-posed formulation of this problem is presented, on the basis of which an approximate method is developed so as to take account of large-scale conductivity inhomogeneities. Under certain restrictions imposed on the distributions of the conductivity and the external current density, explicit approximate formulas for the ionospheric potential are derived. The approximation developed is shown to be equivalent to that of classical models of atmospheric electricity in which the atmosphere is divided into two or more columns and is replaced by a simple equivalent electric circuit. The effect of conductivity inhomogeneities located inside and outside thunderclouds is discussed and, in particular, it is demonstrated that taking account of the conductivity reduction inside thunderclouds leads to a substantial increase in the ionospheric potential. The results following from the approximate theory are compared with those obtained from direct numerical simulations. It is found that the suggested approximation qualitatively accounts for the dependence of the ionospheric potential on the parameters of the conductivity distribution, although the relative error may be significant, especially in the case of a substantial reduction in the conductivity inside thunderclouds.
Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Cited by
13 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献