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Atmospheric Electric Measurements at the South Pole

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Electrical Processes in Atmospheres

Abstract

A five-year program of atmospheric electric measurements is now in its second year at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Major objectives of the program are to establish an environmental benchmark of the atmospheric electric climate of the region and to investigate those processes which may control, maintain, or influence the “global circuit”. Surface measurements of the potential gradient and the air-earth current density exhibit the well known 24-hour pattern found at other remote monitoring sites. Balloon measurements of the air-earth current density reveal that the current, measured at the same time each day, may vary by more than an order of magnitude even in the stratosphere, and is usually not constant with altitude.

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© 1976 Dr. Dietrich Steinkopff Verlag GmbH & Co. KG., Darmstadt

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Cobb, W.E. (1976). Atmospheric Electric Measurements at the South Pole. In: Dolezalek, H., Reiter, R., Landsberg, H.E. (eds) Electrical Processes in Atmospheres. Steinkopff. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-85294-7_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-85294-7_23

  • Publisher Name: Steinkopff

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-85296-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-85294-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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