Novel Measurements of Desert Dust Electrical Properties: A Multi-Instrument Approach during the ASKOS 2022 Campaign

Abstract

Synergetic measurements of the vertical atmospheric field and the total charge density in the presence of dust events are presented through the launches of balloon-borne instrumentation, including a MiniMill electrometer and a space charge sensor, under dust events during the AEOLUS Cal/Val campaign of ASKOS in Cabo Verde, in June/September 2022. The electric field profiling measurements obtained by different instrumentations are compared, and the near-ground observations are evaluated with a reference ground-based fieldmill electrometer. Moreover, their performance is assessed by utilizing measurements of the co-located Polly XT lidar and its extracted products above the launching site.

Keywords

• dust particle electrification
• atmospheric electric field
• atmospheric