The Influence of Aerosol on Elements of Global Atmospheric Electrical Circuit

The influence of aerosol particles on the parameters of the global atmospheric electrical circuit is among important issues of the theory of atmospheric electricity. This paper presents a theoretical model of the effect of aerosol particles on the global atmospheric electrical circuit (GEC) under the fair weather. Surface aerosol is considered as a summand in the total columnar resistance. Electric field generators which support the GEC are taken into account through the boundary condition as the specified ionospheric potential. In addition to the theoretical model, experimental observations of electrical characteristics of the atmosphere and aerosol concentration are presented. The theoretical and experimental studies make it possible to estimate the concentration of submicron aerosol particles.