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The results of experimental and theoretical studies of diurnal variations in the atmospheric electric field in the surface layer are presented. The gradient of the potential of the atmospheric electric field was measured at the Cheget Peak station (3040 m above sea level) in the high-mountain zone of the Elbrus region, where no significant anthropogenic impact is available and the unitary variation features appear in the diurnal course of the electric field. An analysis of observational data has indicated that the diurnal variation of the electric field has a morning (0200–0400 UT) minimum and daytime (0600–1100 UT) and evening (1600–1900 UT) maxima, the positions of which depend on surface wind speed. Local variations are caused by electric-field perturbations resulting from the space charge at the Earth's surface due to the electrode effect and the influence of turbulent mixing. Analytical solutions of the equation for the total electric current in the region of the electrode effect have been obtained and investigated. In the case of the classical electrode effect, the oscillations of the electric field and current coincide in time, but differ in amplitude, depending on the characteristic scale of the electrode layer. In a turbulent stably stratified surface layer, if the electric field strength on the Earth's surface is constant (i.e., there is no diurnal variation), it has been found that, with an increase in the turbulence coefficient in the diurnal variation of the electric field, the maxima and minima of the diurnal variation shift by 2–3 h relative to current density fluctuations. An increased electric field slightly reduces the shift due to the increased influence of the classic electrode effect, which inhibits the effects of turbulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we develop a model representation of the relationships of hydrogen, methane, radon, and the atmospheric electric field based on the results of experimental observations. Bubble formations of hydrogen and methane are the only carriers of radon in the surficial soil layers and atmosphere. Light ions are formed as a result of ionization and, when combined with neutral condensation nuclei, they form heavy ions affecting the atmospheric electric field. Outside the hydrocarbon clusters, hydrogen and methane are related by an exponential relationship. Under stable weather conditions, the atmospheric radon and its inverse quantity, which is the atmospheric electric field, correlate with the radon content in the soil through the carrier-gases density. Owing to the lower molecular weight, hydrogen at comparable concentrations of volatile gases is the main carrier of radon into the surficial soil layers and atmosphere near the surface. At a methane-to-hydrogen concentration ratio of ~6.4, the volatile gases are equally involved in the transport of the ionizer. At an average ratio of their concentrations (~47), methane is the major carrier gas of radon. Upon increasing concentrations of carrier gases, the sensitivity of the atmospheric electric field to changes in their concentrations increases. Based on observations of the atmospheric electric field and the hydrogen and radon content in the atmosphere, the result significantly increases the accuracy of indirect control over the methane content in the soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract—: Measurements of variations in the atmospheric electric field (AEF), soil and atmospheric radon concentration, and hydrogeological parameters have made it possible to establish links between the listed processes. A rise in aquifer levels increases the outflow of soil radon, which decreases the AEF; a decrease in levels leads to the opposite effect. The rise can be caused by the infiltration of precipitation, hydraulic fracturing, and lowering of atmospheric pressure; the fall can be caused by the pumping of artesian waters or by an increase in atmospheric pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of a volcanic plume from the Shiveluch volcano explosion on November 16, 2014, is analyzed using a complex of geophysical methods. The start of the explosion was detected by seismic data. The World Wild Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) allowed the localization of volcanic lightning discharges that occurred during the first stage of the eruption plume. Satellite IR monitoring data made the plume structure obvious. An electrostatic fluxmeter mounted 113 km apart from the volcano recorded the first disturbances of the atmospheric electrical potential gradient (PG) at a distance of 90 km from the eruption cloud front. Two distinct PG anomalies, of 50 and 32 min in length and of more than 100 V/m in amplitude, recorded in 2 h, indicate two separate eruption formations formed by this time. The propagation velocities of two parts of the plume close to the wind speeds at altitudes of temperature inversions (9-10 and 12 km), according to balloon sensing, point out to the plume layering and propagation at two altitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water vapor is able to transfer radon to the near-surface atmosphere. The ionizer concentration changes insignificantly because of the small thickness of the soil layer, from which evaporation occurs. The injection of water vapor into the near-surface air increases the density of neutral condensation nuclei and the atmospheric electric field. Evaporation clears the pore space, which facilitates the discharge of radon to the atmosphere and the enhancement of polar air conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]