Further Studies of Electrical Conditions inside Thunderstorms

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During the summer of 1984 a thunderstorm experiment was conducted near Langmuir Laboratory, New Mexico Institute of Mines and Technology in central New Mexico. One primary objective of this field experiment was to understand thunderstorm electrification. Presently the cloud charging mechanisms and the relative importance of different currents in reducing the electrical energy of thunderstorms are not well understood. Professor Marshall made electric charge measurements by releasing instrumented balloons through the thunderclouds. Preliminary work indicates that falling precipitation creates a substantial electric current inside the sampled thunderclouds. Under this grant Professor Marshall will continue analyzing the electric field soundings collected during the New Mexico experiment. His results, together with Doppler radar analyses of the thunderstorms carried out by other participating scientists, should improve our understanding of thunderstorm electrification.