Gigantic jets between a thundercloud and the ionosphere

Transient luminous events in the atmosphere, such as lighting-induced sprites and upwardly discharging blue jets, were discovered recently in the region between thunderclouds and the ionosphere. In the conventional picture, the main components of Earth's global electric circuit include thunderstorms, the conducting ionosphere, the downward fair-weather currents and the conducting Earth. Thunderstorms serve as one of the generators that drive current upward from cloud tops to the ionosphere, where the electric potential is hundreds of kilovolts higher than Earth's surface. It has not been clear, however, whether all the important components of the global circuit have even been identified. Here we report observations of five gigantic jets that establish a direct link between a thundercloud (altitude approximately 16 km) and the ionosphere at 90 km elevation. Extremely-low-frequency radio waves in four events were detected, while no cloud-to-ground lightning was observed to trigger these events. Our result indicates that the extremely-low-frequency waves were generated by negative cloud-to-ionosphere discharges, which would reduce the electrical potential between ionosphere and ground. Therefore, the conventional picture of the global electric circuit needs to be modified to include the contributions of gigantic jets and possibly sprites.     

The structure of Venus' middle atmosphere and ionosphere

The atmosphere and ionosphere of Venus have been studied in the past by spacecraft with remote sensing or in situ techniques. These early missions, however, have left us with questions about, for example, the atmospheric structure in the transition region from the upper troposphere to the lower mesosphere (50-90 km) and the remarkably variable structure of the ionosphere. Observations become increasingly difficult within and below the global cloud deck (<50 km altitude), where strong absorption greatly limits the available investigative spectrum to a few infrared windows and the radio range. Here we report radio-sounding results from the first Venus Express Radio Science (VeRa) occultation season. We determine the fine structure in temperatures at upper cloud-deck altitudes, detect a distinct day-night temperature difference in the southern middle atmosphere, and track day-to-day changes in Venus' ionosphere.     

Lightning-induced intensification of the ionospheric sporadic E layer

A connection between thunderstorms and the ionosphere has been hypothesized since the mid-1920s. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain this connection, and evidence from modelling as well as various types of measurements demonstrate that lightning can interact with the lower ionosphere. It has been proposed, on the basis of a few observed events, that the ionospheric 'sporadic E' layer--transient, localized patches of relatively high electron density in the mid-ionosphere E layer, which significantly affect radio-wave propagation--can be modulated by thunderstorms, but a more formal statistical analysis is still needed. Here we identify a statistically significant intensification and descent in altitude of the mid-latitude sporadic E layer directly above thunderstorms. Because no ionospheric response to low-pressure systems without lightning is detected, we conclude that this localized intensification of the sporadic E layer can be attributed to lightning. We suggest that the co-location of lightning and ionospheric enhancement can be explained by either vertically propagating gravity waves that transfer energy from the site of lightning into the ionosphere, or vertical electrical discharge, or by a combination of these two mechanisms.     

基于Biexponential基电流传输线通道模型的地闪回击近场电磁环境

地闪回击过程中产生的雷电电磁脉冲作为一种场强幅度大,频谱分量复杂的高功率电磁脉冲,其在回击近场区会形成极为复杂的电磁环境。随着微电子技术的快速发展,微电子设备电磁敏感度大大提升,从三维空间入侵的雷电电磁脉冲对于电子及电气设备的电磁危害不仅限于干扰其正常工作,更有甚者会造成设备的损毁。利用基于Biexponential基电流函数的传输线通道模型,模拟地闪回击物理过程以研究回击近场区综合电磁环境。研究结果表明:利用基于时域有限差分法的XFDTD电磁场仿真软件,可以便利地获得形象直观的回击近场区三维电磁场分布情况。回击近场区复杂的电磁环境会严重影响电子设备的正常运行,近场区LEMP的电磁危害不可小觑。     

Scattering by chorus waves as the dominant cause of diffuse auroral precipitation

Earth's diffuse aurora occurs over a broad latitude range and is primarily caused by the precipitation of low-energy (0.1-30-keV) electrons originating in the central plasma sheet, which is the source region for hot electrons in the nightside outer magnetosphere. Although generally not visible, the diffuse auroral precipitation provides the main source of energy for the high-latitude nightside upper atmosphere, leading to enhanced ionization and chemical changes. Previous theoretical studies have indicated that two distinct classes of magnetospheric plasma wave, electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic waves and whistler-mode chorus waves, could be responsible for the electron scattering that leads to diffuse auroral precipitation, but it has hitherto not been possible to determine which is the more important. Here we report an analysis of satellite wave data and Fokker-Planck diffusion calculations which reveals that scattering by chorus is the dominant cause of the most intense diffuse auroral precipitation. This resolves a long-standing controversy. Furthermore, scattering by chorus can remove most electrons as they drift around Earth's magnetosphere, leading to the development of observed pancake distributions, and can account for the global morphology of the diffuse aurora.     

Little or no solar wind enters Venus' atmosphere at solar minimum

Venus has no significant internal magnetic field, which allows the solar wind to interact directly with its atmosphere. A field is induced in this interaction, which partially shields the atmosphere, but we have no knowledge of how effective that shield is at solar minimum. (Our current knowledge of the solar wind interaction with Venus is derived from measurements at solar maximum.) The bow shock is close to the planet, meaning that it is possible that some solar wind could be absorbed by the atmosphere and contribute to the evolution of the atmosphere. Here we report magnetic field measurements from the Venus Express spacecraft in the plasma environment surrounding Venus. The bow shock under low solar activity conditions seems to be in the position that would be expected from a complete deflection by a magnetized ionosphere. Therefore little solar wind enters the Venus ionosphere even at solar minimum.     

Evidence for a link between global lightning activity and upper tropospheric water vapour

Tropospheric water vapour is a key element of the Earth's climate, which has direct effects as a greenhouse gas, as well as indirect effects through interaction with clouds, aerosols and tropospheric chemistry. Small changes in upper-tropospheric water vapour have a much larger impact on the greenhouse effect than small changes in water vapour in the lower atmosphere, but whether this impact is a positive or negative feedback remains uncertain. The main challenge in addressing this question is the difficulty in monitoring upper-tropospheric water vapour globally over long timescales. Here I show that upper-tropospheric water-vapour variability and global lightning activity are closely linked, suggesting that upper-tropospheric water-vapour changes can be inferred from records of global lightning activity, readily obtained from observations at a single location on the Earth's surface. This correlation reflects the fact that continental deep-convective thunderstorms transport large amounts of water vapour into the upper troposphere and thereby dominate the variations of global upper-tropospheric water vapour while producing most of the lightning on Earth. As global lightning induces Schumann resonances, an electromagnetic phenomenon in the atmosphere that can be observed easily at low cost, monitoring of these resonances might provide a convenient method for tracking upper-tropospheric water-vapour variability and hence contribute to a better understanding of the processes affecting climate change.     

基于抛物方程的蒸发波导传播研究

蒸发波导是近海面一种常见的异常大气折射结构,它能够部分陷获电磁波,从而改变电磁波传播特征,为实现电波超视距传播提供条件.使用分步傅里叶算法对电磁波传播的抛物方程模型进行求解,然后基于不稳定层、稳定层和中性层的修正折射率剖面,通过仿真得到了蒸发波导环境中不同层结条件下的空间场分布.     

加速电荷辐射原理求解雷击水平导体辐射场

雷击电力和通信线路或建筑物水平金属时,雷击点处或导体弯曲处会辐射出较强电磁场,分析雷击水平导体周围电磁场对于周边物体雷电防护具有重要意义。根据经典电动力学中加速电荷产生辐射场的原理,将雷击水平导体辐射电磁场分成通道产生电磁场和导线产生电磁场两部分,两者因传播速度不同分别建立不同运动电荷辐射场模型。实例以地面上水平导体受雷击及90°直角折弯导线流经雷电流后电磁场作分析,并绘出对应的辐射电场波形。分析结果表明雷击导体附近辐射电场主要由雷击点和弯曲点处电荷加速与减速引起。加速电荷辐射场分析法与偶子极等方法有异曲同工之妙,且更有助于理解雷击处电磁辐射物理机制。     

高空俯视雷达的大气折射修正与定位误差模型

为了实施对地面目标的精确打击,空中飞行器上的雷达首先需要对地面目标精确定位.由于雷达电波在大气中传播时会产生折射误差,因而会影响雷达定位精度.针对有关部门的实际需求,以及目前大气折射误差修正基本上都是基于地基雷达的现状.通过选择高精度的对流层和电离层大气模型,利用全国对流层大气参数和电离层大气浓度剖面建立大气折射率剖面数据库.根据电波传播理论,利用射线描迹法推导出了位于电离层中俯视雷达的大气折射误差修正模型和定位误差模型.仿真实验表明,大气折射效应对高空俯视雷达探测精度影响很大.利用该模型可极大地提高俯视雷达的定位精度,为有效打击地面目标奠定基础.     

Enhanced atmospheric loss on protoplanets at the giant impact phase in the presence of oceans

The atmospheric compositions of Venus and Earth differ significantly, with the venusian atmosphere containing about 50 times as much 36Ar as the atmosphere on Earth. The different effects of the solar wind on planet-forming materials for Earth and Venus have been proposed to account for some of this difference in atmospheric composition, but the cause of the compositional difference has not yet been fully resolved. Here we propose that the absence or presence of an ocean at the surface of a protoplanet during the giant impact phase could have determined its subsequent atmospheric amount and composition. Using numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the presence of an ocean significantly enhances the loss of atmosphere during a giant impact owing to two effects: evaporation of the ocean, and lower shock impedance of the ocean compared to the ground. Protoplanets near Earth's orbit are expected to have had oceans, whereas those near Venus' orbit are not, and we therefore suggest that remnants of the noble-gas rich proto-atmosphere survived on Venus, but not on Earth. Our proposed mechanism explains differences in the atmospheric contents of argon, krypton and xenon on Venus and Earth, but most of the neon must have escaped from both planets' atmospheres later to yield the observed ratio of neon to argon.     

建筑防雷接地既不科学又不经济

为解决现代城市建筑防雷问题,应用物理学的基础原理,对建筑防雷接地的概念进行批判。采用绝缘地基的中国古代建筑不仅经济,而且历千年不遭雷击;近年来众多现代建筑采用接地方式防雷,不仅耗资巨大,而且使室内信息设备频频招致雷灾。分析认为:在闪电过程中,似稳电路的概念和定律全失效了,应采用M axw e ll电磁场理论,阐明闪电的规律,接地的概念违反科学基本准则。事实证明:F rank lin避雷思维不适用于现代建筑防雷。“等离子避雷技术”是一种有效而经济的建筑防雷高新技术。     

Creation of visible artificial optical emissions in the aurora by high-power radio waves

Generation of artificial light in the sky by means of high-power radio waves interacting with the ionospheric plasma has been envisaged since the early days of radio exploration of the upper atmosphere, with proposed applications ranging from regional night-time street lighting to atmospheric measurements. Weak optical emissions have been produced for decades in such ionospheric 'heating' experiments, where they serve as key indicators of electron acceleration, thermal heating, and other effects of incompletely understood wave-particle interactions in the plasma under conditions difficult to replicate in the laboratory. The extremely low intensities produced previously have, however, required sensitive instrumentation for detection, preventing applications beyond scientific research. Here we report observations of radio-induced optical emissions bright enough to be seen by the naked eye, and produced not in the quiet mid-latitude ionosphere, but in the midst of a pulsating natural aurora. This may open the door to visual applications of ionospheric heating technology or provide a way to probe the dynamics of the natural aurora and magnetosphere.     

基于无线电掩星观测的火星电离层观测研究进展

火星电离层早期的观测数据非常少,除了Viking登陆器对火星电离层的在位测量外,火星电离层的主要物理信息是通过掩星观测方法得到的.近年来,Mars Global Surveyor和Mars Express轨道器通过掩星观测的方法对火星的上层大气和电离层进行了长期的观测,得到了大量的火星电离层电子密度廓线资料.火星电离层受到来自太阳EUV和X射线辐射、太阳风、太阳耀斑、中性大气、表面壳磁场、宇宙射线、流星等多种因素的影响,使其结构发生瞬态或季节性的变化.本文介绍了行星无线电掩星探测的基本原理和技术特点,回顾了国内外科学家们基于已有的火星掩星观测数据（主要是Mars GlobalSurveyor和Mars Express）在火星电离层研究中的一些最新科学成果,并详细介绍了火星电离层的结构和火星夜间电离层的主要特征.     

云闪斜向通道闪电电磁辐射特性研究

雷暴过程中,云闪发生频次约占总闪电频次的2/3以上;但由于云地闪对人类危害较大,目前对其研究较多.随着微电子技术的发展,云闪的电磁辐射特性也越来越受到重视.将云闪的放电通道近似为一斜向通道,考虑镜像电流,将回击电流近似为水平偶极子与垂直偶极子的叠加,根据Maxwell方程,推导了云闪斜向通道电磁场计算模型.通道基电流选取脉冲函数,在MTLL传输模型下计算了斜向放电通道在地面1～200 km处激发的电磁场波形.计算结果表明云闪斜向放电通道中水平偶极子与回击点高度对近场电磁场的影响较大.随着距离的增加,影响越来越小;在大于50 km的远场区,其影响可以忽略.     

South-polar features on Venus similar to those near the north pole

Venus has no seasons, slow rotation and a very massive atmosphere, which is mainly carbon dioxide with clouds primarily of sulphuric acid droplets. Infrared observations by previous missions to Venus revealed a bright 'dipole' feature surrounded by a cold 'collar' at its north pole. The polar dipole is a 'double-eye' feature at the centre of a vast vortex that rotates around the pole, and is possibly associated with rapid downwelling. The polar cold collar is a wide, shallow river of cold air that circulates around the polar vortex. One outstanding question has been whether the global circulation was symmetric, such that a dipole feature existed at the south pole. Here we report observations of Venus' south-polar region, where we have seen clouds with morphology much like those around the north pole, but rotating somewhat faster than the northern dipole. The vortex may extend down to the lower cloud layers that lie at about 50 km height and perhaps deeper. The spectroscopic properties of the clouds around the south pole are compatible with a sulphuric acid composition.     

电子系统雷击电磁脉冲风险评估分级及工程实例

分析了建筑物内电子系统雷击电磁脉冲风险因子,介绍了对建筑物内电子信息系统雷击电磁脉冲进行风险评估分级的步骤。通过工程实例,分析了雷击电磁脉冲风险评估分级在工程中的应用。     

电磁波在填充非线性左手介质平板波导中的传播

对填充非线性左手介质理想导体平板波导中横电波(TE波)进行了理论分析,得到其电磁场分布和色散方程.通过数值计算,给出了部分TE波低次模的色散关系曲线.结果表明,当电磁波频率为4～6GHz时,介质的电容率和磁导率都为负;电磁波在此种波导中的各次模的色散程度随电磁波频率的增大而近似线性增大;在板间距离相同时,低次模的色散比高次模的色散大;随着板间距离的增大,电磁波在波导中的相速度线性增大;当电磁波的频率一定时,波导的色散程度随波导两板间距离增大而线性增大.     

Nonlinear dispersive scale Alfvén waves inmagnetosphere-ionosphere coupling: Physical processes and simulation results

Dispersive Alfvén waves(DAWs)have been demonstrated to play a significant role in auroral generation of the magnetosphereionosphere coupling system.Starting from a two fluid reduced MHD model,we summarize the frequency,temporal and spatial characteristics of magnetospheric DAWs.Then,the nonlinear kinetic and inertial scale Alfveén waves are studied,and we review some theoretical aspects and simulation results of dispersive Alfve′n waves in Earth’s magnetosphere.It is shown that dispersive standing Alfve′n waves can generate the field-aligned currents which transport energy into the auroral ionosphere,where it is dissipated by Joule heating and energy lost due to electron precipitation.The Joule dissipation can heat the ionospheric electron and produce changes in the ionospheric Pedersen conductivity.As a feedback,the conducting ionosphere can also strongly affect the magnetospheric currents. The ponderomotive force can cause the plasma to move along the field line,and generate ionospheric density cavity.The nonlinear structuring can lead to a dispersive scale to accelerate auroral particle,and the Alfvn waves can be trapped within the density cavity. Finally,we show the nonlinear decay of dispersive Alfvén waves related to two anti-propagating electron fluxes observed in the auroral zone.     

电子产品电快速瞬变脉冲群干扰的防护

随着电子技术应用的飞速发展,电子电器产品已得到广泛的应用,人们越来越重视电磁环境与电磁干扰对电子电器产品可靠性的影响,逐渐形成一门新兴技术分支——电子电器产品的电磁兼容性技术,它主要包括静电放电,辐射电磁场,电快速瞬变脉冲群以及雷击浪涌要求。其中电快速瞬变脉冲群的分析与研究尤为重要,文章从分析电快速瞬变脉冲群产生的原因着手,总结出电快速瞬变脉冲群特征,提出了试验和防护解决方法。