Atmospheric Electricity and Effects on Cloud Microphysics

大气电及其对云微物理的影响

• 批准号: 9903424
• 负责人: Brian Tinsley
• 金额: $ 18.54万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Dallas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-09-01 至 2003-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9903424&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Atmospheric; Electricity; Effects; Cloud; Microphysics

The investigators will examine a mechanism that may increase the rate of atmospheric ice formation through contact nucleation of supercooled droplets. The mechanism involves electrical forces between charged contact nuclei resulting from the evaporation of charged droplets at cloud tops and charged, supercooled water droplets at cloud tops. Charging results from conductivity gradients at cloud boundaries due to vertical fair weather currents in the global electric circuit. This mechanism may be a significant source of ice in the atmosphere. If the mechanism is proven to be a source of ice it may mediate physical connections between solar processes and terrestrial weather and climate. Such connections are suggested by various statistical studies, but identification of a causal link has proved to be elusive. The main effort is to calculate details of the mechanism, and to incorporate the mechanism into a model of global electricity. This model will permit an assessment of meteorological effects.

研究人员将研究一种可能通过过冷液滴的接触成核来增加大气冰形成速率的机制。这一机制涉及到云顶带电液滴和云顶带电过冷水滴蒸发所产生的带电接触核之间的电作用力。充电是由云层边界的电导率梯度引起的，这是由于全球电路中垂直的公平天气电流造成的。这种机制可能是大气中冰的重要来源。如果这种机制被证明是冰的一个来源，它可能会调解太阳活动过程与陆地天气和气候之间的物理联系。各种统计研究都表明了这种联系，但因果关系的确定已被证明是难以捉摸的。主要工作是计算机制的细节，并将该机制纳入全球电力模型。这种模式将允许对气象影响进行评估。