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Direct measurement of lower atmospheric vertical potential differences
Author(s) -
Holzworth R. H.,
Dazey M. H.,
Schnauss E. R.,
Youngbluth O.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl008i007p00783
Subject(s) - balloon , altitude (triangle) , environmental science , payload (computing) , meteorology , voltage , range (aeronautics) , volt , ground level , electrical impedance , wind speed , remote sensing , geology , electrical engineering , physics , aerospace engineering , engineering , computer science , ground floor , geometry , mathematics , network packet , cardiology , medicine , architectural engineering , computer network
A high impedance system has been developed to make direct measurements of the atmospheric potential difference up to several thousand feet. A tethered balloon flown from Wallops Island, Virginia was used to loft a high voltage, insulated wire and a conducting collector in a test flight to 550 meters for two days of experiments in October 1980. The balloon was equipped with a payload to measure exact altitude, wind speed and direction, and other meteorological parameters. Electric potentials of 170,000 volts at 550 meters were measured. The collected currents which could be drawn through the wire by grounding the lower end were in the 10 microamp range indicating a system impedance of about 10 10 ohms. This paper will describe the apparatus and details of these measurements.