S. V. Anisimov

Electricity of the Convective Atmospheric Boundary Layer: Field Observations and Numerical Simulation

The electric state of the middle-latitude convective atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is investigated during a point in time when it is not disturbed by clouds, precipitation, mist, or industrial aerosols. A numerical model is developed that estimates the electroaerodynamic state of the convective ABL. The model is parameterized using results of field observations and laboratory experiments. According to the model, vertical profiles of atmospheric electric field strength, space charge density, electric conductivity, and atmospheric electric current density are calculated in the horizontally homogeneous approximation with a high space-time resolution.

Radon volumetric activity and ion production in the undisturbed lower atmosphere: Ground-based observations and numerical modeling

The results of in situ ground-based observations of radon volumetric activity carried out at the Borok Geophysical Observatory of Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth of the Russian Academy of Sciences (58°04′ N; 38°14′ E) are presented. Modeling the characteristic diurnal variation in the ion production rate in the undisturbed midlatitude lower atmosphere above land is carried out. The Lagrangian stochastic model of turbulent transport is developed in application to determining the vertical profiles of radon activity for 222Rn and 220Rn isotopes and their radioactive decay products. The results calculated by the Lagrangian stochastic model are matched with the analytical solution for the free atmosphere. Based on the model, the estimate is obtained for the rate of radon outflow from the convective boundary layer to the free clear sky atmosphere. The implications of temperature stratification of the atmosphere for the vertical distribution of the ion production rate at the different radon emission rate are explored.

Mechanisms for the formation of electric-field pulsation spectra in the near-surface atmosphere

We present the results of detailed measurements of the spectrum of short-term (f≃ 0.001-1 Hz) pulsations of the electric field of the near-surface atmosphere under the fair-weather and fog conditions. It is shown that the electric-field pulsations at frequencies 10-2-10-1 Hz have a power-law spectrum under both fair-weather and fog conditions. The spectral index varies in a range of from -1.23 to -3.36 depending on the experimental conditions, but the most probable values of the index fall in a range of from -2.25 to -3.0. The spectra corresponding to long time intervals of about a few hours are more steep. The relation of the spectral characteristics to the formation of aeroelectric structures (AESs) is studied. The distribution obtained for the structured spectra is bimodal, i.e., it exhibits two maxima in the ranges of spectral indices from -2.75 to -3.0 and from -2.25 to -2.5. The nonstructured-spectrum distribution is asymmetric and has a pronounced maximum corresponding to hard spectra with indices from -2.5 to -3.3. The intensity of the electric-field pulsations under fog conditions increases by about an order of magnitude compared to the case of fair-weather conditions. The mechanisms of spectrum formation of electric-field pulsations and their relations to the pulsation spectra of the electric-charge density with allowance for the neutral-gas turbulence and the presence of AESs are analyzed. We point out the key role of the nonlocal relation between the electric-field intensity and the space-charge density under conditions of spatially inhomogeneous turbulence. Model problems of the spectrum of electric-field fluctuations generated by a homogeneous and “structured” turbulence in the presence of charge-density fluctuations, considered as a passive tracer, are solved.