CJBAS Vol.

(01) - August - Issue 01 (2013) 10-18

Mountainous Features of Global Atmospheric Electrical Parameters Over

Various Tropospheric Regions of China
Adarsh Kumara,
a

Department of Physics, Amity Institute of Applied Sciences (AIAS), Amity University, Noida,
Uttar Pradesh, India 201303.
Keywords:
Atmospheric
conductivity,
Air-earth current,
Electric field,
Orography

Abstract
Global atmospheric electrical parameters like as atmospheric conductivity, air-earth
current density, electric field, and atmospheric potential have been estimated over 220
orographicaly important different places of China assuming fair weather conditions.
Calculations have also been made for total cloud condensation nuclei for these places
of China. Atmospheric electrical conductivity and current density have been found to
increase with height from sea level, while electric field and atmospheric potential
decrease in Chinese orography. New best fit regression lines along with various
statistical parameters like as mean, median, average deviation, and different
coefficients such as correlation, kurtosis, pearson and skewness have been obtained
between the atmospheric electrical parameters and height from sea level for the
orography of China in clean and clear atmosphere. The results show that the orographic
feature is more important than the latitudinal behavior over China in the lower
troposphere.

1. Introduction
Atmospheric electricity is one of the longest-investigated geophysical topics with a variety of
measurement technologies [1]. The atmospheric electricity not only depends upon the mechanism
of thundercloud charge generation and separation, lightning and atmospheric electrical conductivity,
but also upon other environmental factors such as solar activity, air pollution due to vehicular traffic
and industrial emissions, various meteorological parameters and others [2]. Rani et al. [3] made an
attempt to study the effect of cosmic rays, surface radioactivity and particulates present in the
atmosphere on the atmospheric electrical parameters, but they took small-scale orographic features
(0.6 mesh in latitude and longitude) of the Indian subcontinent. Tinsley [4] studied on the
variability of the columnar resistance in global electric circuit but his calculations were limited to
stratospheric region. Velinov and Tonev [5] developed a quasi-static model for electric currents
from thunderstorms to the ionosphere. It appears that there exists a gap in the data available, in

Corresponding Author (E mail : adarsh_phy@yahoo.co.in)

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Adarsh Kumar CJBAS (01)-August - Issue 01 (2013) 10-18

respect of the variation of atmospheric

electrical parameters with orography over
different places of China. In the present work,
first we have collected the geographical data
for different places of China and then
estimated some atmospheric electrical
parameters like conductivity, air earth current
density, electric field and atmospheric
potential over 220 different places of China
by taking into account the clean and clear
atmosphere.

2. Theoretical model
2.1. Atmospheric electrical parameters
Hays and Roble [6] divided the atmosphere
into four coupled regions: lower troposphere,
upper
troposphere,
mesosphere
and
magnetosphere. The first region up to about 9
Km is of much importance due to the earths
orography and varying electrical conductivity
which increases exponentially with altitude
(Agarwal and Varshneya [7]), i.e.

(z, ) = sl exp[z/2S1()]
(z, ) = r() exp[z/2S2()]

Sm-1, z < z1
Sm-1, z z1

where,
z
Height from the sea level and is the
colatitude.

z1
Height of the boundary separating
lower
troposphere
from
the
upper
troposphere.
sl
Sea level conductivity.
The columnar resistance, Rcl(), between the
ionosphere and the earth surface is evaluated
by:

S1() and S2() are the conductivity scale

heights. r() is the reference conductivity.
zi

1
dz
( z, )
z

R cl1 () =

(1)
(2)

0 z zi

m2,

(3)

where, zi is the height of the ionosphere (60

km).
i
J(z,) =
Rcl ( )

The air-earth current density can be estimated

as:

where, i is the ionospheric potential (300

Then, the electric field E(z,) can be

calculated as:

(4)

kV)
J(z,) = (z,).E(z,)

Am-2

(5)

The electrostatic potential ( z,) may be

expressed by the equation:

( z,) =

zi

E ( z, ) dz

kV

11

(6)

Adarsh Kumar CJBAS (01)-August - Issue 01 (2013) 10-18

surface [9]. The ions so produced are
destroyed in the atmosphere by various
attachment processes to the dissimilarly
charged and uncharged large nuclei.
Mukku [10] found a relation between large
(N) and small (n) ion concentrations by
solving the ion-balance equations, i.e.

2.2. Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) and

atmospheric electrical conductivity
The atmospheric ions that are chiefly caused
by solar and galactic cosmic rays play an
important role in atmospheric electricity [8].
Near the earth surface, the prominent source
of ionization is radioactive emission which
varies according to the orography of the earth

1 n 2

N
n

(7)

Where, q, & are ion-production rate,

recombination coefficient and the total
attachment coefficient respectively.
Singh et al. [11] suggested that large ion
density contributes to about 20 % of the total
condensation nuclei population.

5 q m

e m

Then, the relationship between condensation

nuclei concentration (Z) and atmospheric
conductivity ( = n e m ) can be obtained
from Eq. (a) as

(8)

Where, e and m are the electronic charge and

average ion mobility respectively.
The ion-production rate is given by q = qc + qr
, where, qc and qr are the ion-production rates

due to cosmic rays and radioactive substances

respectively over the earth surface.
Now, qc (m-3s-1) is given as ( Trakhtengerts
[12])

(z za )
q a exp[( z z a ) / S a ]

q max exp{[( z z max ) 2 / S b ]}

( z a z a z max )

q c ( z , ) q max z exp z / 2 0.5 ( z a z a z max )

z max
z max

q (at 30 Km)
( z 30 Km)

Where, the scale heights Sa and Sb are given

by

z
Sa = - a / ln(qo/qa) &
[-ln(qo / qmax)]1/2

12

(9.1)

(9.2)

(9.3)

(9.4)

Sa = (zmax -

za

)/

Adarsh Kumar CJBAS (01)-August - Issue 01 (2013) 10-18

Where, qo and qa are the ionization rates at
sea level and at an altitude z a , respectively,

and are given by:

qo = (1.5 + 0.533 cos4) x 106 , m-3s-1

qa = (15 + 17.778 cos4) x 106 , m-3s-1
The ionization rates primarily due to cosmic
rays and radioactivity are nearly constant
below 300 and above 1500 colatitudes.
Therefore, in our calculations following Rani
et al. [3], we have taken to be 300 for all

(10)
(11)

values less than it, and 1500 for all values

greater than 1500.
The parameters qmax (maximum ionization
rate), za (6 Km) and zmax, appearing in the
above equations, have the following values,

qmax = ( 93.5 + 730 cos4 ) x 106 , m-3s-1

zmax = ( 16 + 24.889 cos4) x 106 , Km
The ionization rate due to radioactive
substances qr above the land decreases

(12.1)
(12.2)

exponentially with altitude (Srivastava and

Varshneya [13]) and is given by

qr (z) = qro exp[-(z-zg) / Sr] x 106 ,

Where, qro ( 8.6 x 106 m-3s-1) & Sr (1 Km)
are the ionization due to radioactivity at sea
level and scale heights respectively.

m-3s-1

(13)

Rani et al. [3] expressed analytically the

recombination coefficient () which are given
by the following expression,

(z)=2.0 x 10-12 exp[-0.01(z-7)2]x106 ,

The study of ion-aerosol attachment
coefficient is important with reference to
atmospheric electrical parameters since it is
very much dependent on aerosol size
distribution. Hoppel [14] found the value of
attachment coefficient () ranging from 1.0 x
10-12 to 4.2 x 10-12 m-3s-1, while Sapkota
and Varshneya [15] estimated it as 2.0 x 1012 to 5.0 x 10-12 m-3s-1 over oceans. We
have taken it as 3.0 x 10-12 m-3s-1 for
present calculations.
Rosen et al. [16] found that the positive ion
mobility has a slow rise with altitude of about
1.7 cm2V-1s-1 near 15 Km to 2.0 cm2V-1s-1
near 35 Km. Velinov and Mateyev [17]
reported the positive ion mobility about 2.1
0.1 cm2V-1s-1 at 45-75 Km and the negative
ion mobility of about 1.5 0.5 cm2V-1s-1 at

m-3s-1

(14)

35-50 Km. Swider [18] suggested that the

negative ion mobility is approximately equal
to the positive ion mobility. Following the
studies of Rani and Varshneya [3] , we have
used the average ion mobility of about 1.14
cm2V-1s-1 for our calculations which fits
fairly
well with the experimental
observations at ground surface.
This way, the calculations have been made for
220 different places of China in the lower
troposphere region. First the atmospheric
conductivity has been calculated from Eq (1)
for z < 9 km. Then the columnar resistance
between the ionosphere and the earth's surface
has been evaluated from Eq (3). From the
values of J and , E has been calculated from
Eq (5). Then the electrostatic potential has
been evaluated from Eq (6). For the

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Adarsh Kumar CJBAS (01)-August - Issue 01 (2013) 10-18

calculations of condensation cloud nuclei (Z),
the values of conductivity for different places
of India have been used.
For the calculation of condensation cloud
nuclei (Z), the values of conductivity for
different cities of India have been used.
Ionization rate due to cosmic rays (qc) has
been found out from Eq. (9) and also from Eq.
(10), (11) and (12). But the ionization rate due
to radioactivity sources have been estimated
from Eq. (13) and (14).

(altitude >4500 m) of China like as Samsang

(4875 m), Bogkamba (4892 m), Pagnag
(4997 m), Gela (5181 m) and Yagra (5865 m)
has been found to be 13.10x10-14 Sm-1,
13.28x10-14 Sm-1, 13.83x10-14 Sm-1, 14.65x1014
Sm-1 and 18.96x10-14 Sm-1, respectively,
whereas of some plain places(attitude < 12 m)
such
as
Baishuyuan
(3
m),
and
Dongqiangmen (11 m), it is uniformly 2.2x1014
Sm-1 reflecting the orographic feature as
reported by Makino and Ogawa [19].
The variation in conductivity for the place of
maximum height from sea level (Yagra, 5865
m) to that for the minimum height
(Baishuyuan, 3 m) of present Chinese
orography is about 88 %, whereas for
locations of highest (Wenquan, 44 58( and
lowest latitude (Zengtian, 24 18) of Chinese
orography, it is about 35 %. These results
show that the latitudinal effect is much
smaller than the orographic effect. It is in
conformity with the work of earlier
investigators [7].
The calculated values of air-earth current
density for mountainous places of China such
as Samsang (4875 m), Bogkamba (4892 m),
Pagnag (4997 m), Gela (5181 m) and Yagra
(5865 m) has been found to be 14.39x10-12
Am-2, 14.64x10-12 Am-2, 15.27x10-12 Am-2,
16.08x10-12 Am-2, and 20.89x10-12 Am-2,
respectively. In our case, the current density
over places close to sea level such as
Baishuyuan has been found to be 2.42x10-12
Am-2.
Figure 2 shows a plot of current density
versus height from sea level along with the
trend line. The variation in air-earth current
density for the place of maximum height from
sea level to that for the minimum height of
Indian orography is about 89 %, where as for
locations of highest and lowest latitudes, it is
about 38 %. These results again agree with
the fact that latitudinal effect is much smaller
than the orographic effect over the orography
of China.

3. Results and Discussion

The
plot
of
atmospheric
electrical
conductivity versus ground height from sea
level along with the trend line is shown in
Figure 1. The trend line for the variation of
conductivity with height from sea level was
found to be of exponential form which shows
the correctness of our calculations for the
orography of China.

Figure 1. Variation of Atmospheric

conductivity with height from sea level in
various orographicaly important places of
China.
In the present work of Chinese orography,
height from sea level varies between 3 m and
5865 m whereas the conductivity over
different places of China was found to lie
between 2.2x10-14 Sm-1 and 18.96x10-14 Sm-1.
The atmospheric conductivity for hilly places
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Adarsh Kumar CJBAS (01)-August - Issue 01 (2013) 10-18

V/m. Agarwal and Varshneya [7] reported it
to be 110 V/m over the Indian subcontinent.
As both India and China are in Asia continent.
Therefore, these results agree completely with
the earlier investigators ([3, 19]).

Figure 2. Variation of Air-earth current

density with height from sea level in
various orographicaly important places of
China.
The plot of atmospheric electric field versus
height from sea level along with the trend line
is shown in Figure 3. The atmospheric electric
field slightly decreases with increasing height
from sea level over Chinese orography.

Figure 4. Variation of Atmospheric

potential with height from sea level in
various orographicaly important places of
China.
The calculations for atmospheric electrical
potential have been made for different
locations of China at a constant height of 9
km from the place concerned, since 90 % of
the atmospheric potential has been found to
be lying at about 10 km above sea level [7]. A
plot showing the variation of atmospheric
potential with height from sea level over
different places of China under consideration
versus their mean height from sea level is
shown in Figure 4. The electrical potential
decreases with increasing height over Chinese
orography. The atmospheric potential over
different places ranges between 205.13 kV to
289.09 kV, whereas the average value of it in
our calculations has been found to be around
272.90 kV.
The distribution of total cloud condensation
nuclei contents at land surface over different
places of China has been determined by
taking radioactive substances and cosmic rays

Figure 3. Variation of Electric field with

height from sea level in various
orographicaly important places of China.
The electric field over various regions of
China, which are under consideration, has
been found to lie between 108.78 and 113.43
V/m with a mode value of 113.07 V/m. The
mean value of electric field over 220 different
places of China has been found to be 110.81
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Adarsh Kumar CJBAS (01)-August - Issue 01 (2013) 10-18

as sources of ion production. The plot
between cloud condensation nuclei and height
from sea level is shown in Figure 5. The
concentration of cloud condensation nuclei
also increases with height of the place of
observation. Therefore, mountainous regions
have larger cloud concentration of
condensation nuclei than pains. Therefore, it
becomes clear that the orographic feature is
more important than the latitudinal behavior
which is due to the dominance of radioactive
sources near the earth surface.
From the foregoing results, it is concluded
that the orographic feature also plays an
important role in determining the atmospheric
electrical parameters. We have obtained the
best fit regression lines (Figures 1-5) and
various statistical parameters like as mean,
mode, average deviation, correlation, kurtosis,
pearson and skewness coefficients for these

different atmospheric electrical parameters

over Chinese orography in clean and clear
atmosphere (Table 1).

Figure 5. Variation of Cloud condensation

nuclei (CCN) with height from sea level in
various orographicaly important places of
China.

Table 1. Calculated statistical parameters of different atmospheric electrical parameters for

various orographically important places of China.
Atmospheric
Electrical
Parameters
Electrical
Conductivity(S/m)

Coefficients
Mean

Mode

Average
Dev

5.46x10-14

2.2x10-14

3.27

0.96

0.94

0.96

1.32

6.04x10-12

2.42x10-12

3.62

0.97

0.89

0.97

1.30

110.81

113.07

0.96

-0.13

-0.56

-0.13

0.72

Atmospheric
Potential(kV)

272.90

289.07

16.18

-0.96

1.09

-0.96

-1.36

CCN(per m3)

65.21x109

11.74x109

62.76

0.87

5.53

0.87

2.22

Current Density
(A/m2)

Correlation

Kurtosis

Pearson

Skewness

Electric Field
(V/m)

While atmospheric conductivity and current

density increase with height from sea level
over Chinese orography, the electric field and
atmospheric potential decrease. It is one of
the important feature that in lower
troposphere the global atmospheric electrical
parameters are the function of height from sea
level along with other parameters like aerosol

concentration, ionization due to cosmic rays,

radioactivity, and solar-terrestrial relationship.
From the results, it appears that the
atmospheric potential for various places of
China is around 272 kV. This is important as
all values of potentials are expected to
converge to a common value.

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Adarsh Kumar CJBAS (01)-August - Issue 01 (2013) 10-18

[4] Tinsley B. A.: On the variability of the
stratospheric column resistance in the
global electric circuit. Atmospheric
Research, 76, 78-94 (2005).
DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2004.11.013

4. Conclusions
In the present research work, estimations have
been made for global atmospheric electrical
parameters viz. atmospheric conductivity, airearth current density, electric field and
atmospheric potential over 220 different
orographicaly important places of China
under fair weather conditions. It has been
found that while atmospheric conductivity
and current density increase with height from
sea level, electric field and atmospheric
potential decrease in lower troposphere over
the orography of China. The atmospheric
electrical conductivity and air-earth current
have been found to be larger over mountain
places of China (e.g. Samsang, Bogkamba,
Pagnag, Gela and Yagra etc) while at places
close to ocean of China (Baishuyuan,
Dongqiangmen etc), these atmospheric
electrical parameters are determined smaller.
Therefore, it is concluded that orography
contributes significantly in fair-weather
atmospheric electricity.

[5] Velinov P. I. Y., Tonev P. T.: Electric

currents from thunderstorms to the
ionosphere during a solar cycle: Quasistatic modeling of the coupling
mechanism.
Advances
in
Space
Research, 42, 1569-1575 (2008).
DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2007.12.006
[6] Hays P. B., Roble R. G.: A quasi-static
model of global atmospheric electricity,
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Geophysical Research: Space Physics,
84, 3291-3305 (1979).
DOI: 10.1029/JA084iA07p03291
[7] Agarwal R. R., Varshneya N.: Global
electric circuit parameters over Indian
subcontinent. Indian Journal of Radio
and Space Physics, 22, 320-324 (1993).

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