A Preliminary Study of Fair-Weather Atmospheric Electric Field at a High Altitude Station (Shillong) 25° N, 91° E.

Abstract

Atmospheric electric field at the surface of the earth is susceptible to local meteorological processes including solar irradiance. In the study reported here, the surface measurements of atmospheric electric potential gradient on selected fair-weather days was evaluated for diurnal and monthly variations. The measurements were carried out over the period from January 2017 to June 2017. The measurement demonstrated that on fair-weather days the diurnal potential gradient showed positive correlation to temperature and solar irradiance. The relative humidity however exhibited negative correlation with temperature and solar irradiance. The study demonstrates that the potential gradient is dependent on solar irradiance, temperature and humidity. Keyword: Potential Gradient, atmospheric electric field, fairweather day, meteorological parameters.