Chinese Meridian Project near-surface atmospheric electric field observations

Abstract

The near-surface atmospheric electric field is an important parameter in disciplines such as space physics and atmospheric science. Variations in the atmospheric electric field represent the state of the global atmospheric circuit and charge distribution in the near-surface atmosphere, which is affected jointly by meteorological activities (including precipitation, wind speed, relative humidity, and lightning), geological activities (earthquakes, landslides, mudslides, etc.), and solar activities (including solar flares, geomagnetic activities, coronal mass ejections, and high-energy proton events). The atmospheric electric field's near-surface average value in a specific region during the calm period is represented by its average daily variation characteristics. This average value is important to study the fluctuations in the near-surface atmospheric electric field at different latitudes, which are caused by geological or solar activities. To realize the three-dimensional detection of the whole circle and multiple elements of the solar-terrestrial space environment, several atmospheric electric field observation stations were built under the Meridian Project at the poles and several regions in China. The present study introduces observations made at seven such stations. It mainly included observations by the field-mill-type atmospheric electric field instrument, the data format, and information on clear days during November 2021-October 2022 at the Tibet Gar Station. The average daily variation in the atmospheric electric field during this one-year period was analyzed. Finally, the comparison of the average daily atmospheric electric field curve with the standard "Carnegie curve" was discussed.

Keywords

• chinese meridian project
• atmospheric electric field
• ground-based observation