Modeling the Global Circuit Response to Solar Activity

研究人员将开发一个全球电路回路中电流分布的模型。该模式将纳入平流层云和气溶胶、高能电子降水、对流层云和大气电的影响。目标是提高对全球回路的理解，包括在现有模型中未处理的近似值和影响。对流层云产生了高阻力，阻碍了电流向下流动，并增加了电离层电位，从而增加了天气晴朗地区的电流。平流层气溶胶降低离子迁移率，增加离子复合和电阻率。这些类似地增加了电离层电位，并将电流重新分配到平流层气溶胶浓度较低的纬度带。极地平流层云在其出现的地点和时间可能具有相同的效果。高能电子沉降也调节平流层电阻率的变化。研究人员将模拟这些影响的纬度变化，并将模型输出与观测结果进行比较。这项工作将对了解响应太阳活动的电流变化的观测有价值。这对于理解太阳变率在全球气候变化中的作用非常重要。

The investigators will develop a model of the distribution of current flow in the return path of the global electric circuit. The model will incorporate effects of stratospheric clouds and aerosols, energetic electron precipitation, tropospheric clouds, and atmospheric electricity. The goal is to improve understanding of the global circuit including approximations and influences not treated in existing models. Tropospheric clouds create a high resistance that impedes downward current flow and increases ionospheric potential that increases the current flow in fair weather regions. Stratospheric aerosols reduce ion mobility and increase recombination and resistivity. These similarly increase ionospheric potential and redistribute the current flow into latitude bands where there is a lower concentration of stratospheric aerosols. Polar stratospheric clouds may have the same effect in the locations and at the times they are present. Energetic electron precipitation also modulates the stratospheric resistivity variations. The investigators will model the latitudinal variations of these effects and compare the model output with observations. The work will be valuable for understanding the observations of changes in current flow in response to solar activity. This is important for understanding the role of solar variability in global climate change.