EAGER: Monitoring the Global Electric Circuit from Ocean Straits

EAGER：从海洋海峡监测全球电路

• 批准号: 1041122
• 负责人: Robert Tyler
• 金额: $ 12万
• 依托单位: University of Washington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-07-01 至 2012-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1041122&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Monitoring; Global; Electric; Circuit

It has been known for over a century that the atmosphere is positively charged with respect to the earth's surface, and that a globally-distributed downward "fairweather" electric current through the atmosphere attempts to equilibrate this charge disparity. The observation that this charge imbalance and the downward field persist has lead to a theory for a Global atmospheric electric Circuit (GC), in which processes in thunderstorms and electrified clouds provide an upward current balancing the downward fairweather currents. This research will concentrate on the role of the ocean component in the GC. Measurements of electric currents in oceans have not been done before. The current study will explore this new area. If successful, it will provide new evidence for the GC. Intellectual Merit. The GC is a primary component of the earth's global electrical system and is of great interest due to its inferred role in global climate change. Despite this, there are even very basic elements in the GC theory that have not been resolved because an adequate description of the temporal variability of this planetary-scale circuit has not been available for testing ideas. For nearly a century, continuous monitoring of the GC has been both an observational priority and an unaccomplished goal. The global circuit appears to be both a global thermometer and an active element in the Earth's weather system. Future progress in GC science will hinge on the establishment of programs for the continuous, sustained monitoring of the GC, and on the development of numerical models of the GC processes. The work addresses these goals with a highly original approach aimed at establishing long-term GC monitoring from ocean straits.Broader Impacts. The GC currents literally thread through what has been strongly separated geographic domains of study (air, earth, water) in the earth's electrodynamics. This study may provide a better understanding of earth's electrodynamics through the measurements of GC currents in oceans, and also integrates GC into the earth system and climate models.

一个多世纪以来，人们就知道大气相对于地球表面带正电，并且通过大气的全球分布的向下“费尔韦瑟”电流试图平衡这种电荷差异。这种电荷不平衡和向下场持续存在的观察结果催生了全球大气电路 (GC) 的理论，其中雷暴和带电云中的过程提供了向上的电流，平衡了向下的晴天电流。这项研究将集中于海洋成分在 GC 中的作用。以前从未对海洋中的电流进行过测量。目前的研究将探索这个新领域。如果成功，将为GC提供新的证据。智力优点。 GC 是地球全球电力系统的主要组成部分，由于其在全球气候变化中的作用而引起人们极大的兴趣。 尽管如此，GC 理论中甚至还有一些非常基本的要素尚未得到解决，因为尚未对这种行星尺度电路的时间变化进行充分的描述来测试想法。 近一个世纪以来，对GC的持续监测既是观测的优先事项，也是一个未完成的目标。 全球电路似乎既是全球温度计，又是地球天气系统中的活跃元素。 气相色谱科学的未来进展将取决于气相色谱持续监测计划的建立以及气相色谱过程数值模型的开发。 这项工作采用了一种高度原创的方法来实现这些目标，旨在建立对海洋海峡的长期GC监测。更广泛的影响。 GC 电流确实穿过地球电动力学中强烈分离的地理研究领域（空气、地球、水）。这项研究可以通过测量海洋中的GC电流来更好地了解地球的电动力学，并将GC整合到地球系统和气候模型中。