Wiebke Deierling
Colorado State University-Fort Collins, CO·Earth & Environmental Science
Electricity flows constantly around the planet in a loop called the Global Electric Circuit (GEC). Lightning and electrified clouds push current upward toward the ionosphere, the electrically charged upper atmosphere.
- Fields
Earth & Environmental Science
Physics
- Topics
Global Electric Circuit
atmospheric electricity
lightning
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2027
What they work on
- Relate three decades of above-cloud electric field measurements from field campaigns to radar, microwave radiometer and TRMM/GPM satellite data, to find which electrified clouds supply significant current to the Global Electric Circuit.
- Quantify the share of the circuit's current coming from winter storm systems with freezing rain and thundersnow, and map regional, seasonal and daily patterns of thunderstorm and electrified shower cloud contributions.
- Refine estimates of the downward fair-weather current using ground electric field records from Alaska, Colorado and Texas, and use cloud and aerosol data to better define fair-weather conditions.
- Examine how the local electric field in northern Alaska relates to cloud systems, and how Arctic thunderstorms and electrified shower clouds may change under a warming climate.
More about the research
That current then returns to the ground in calm weather areas as a weak downward 'fair-weather' current. These atmospheric currents affect communication and aircraft navigation. However, it is still uncertain how much each type of cloud contributes and how to measure the return current accurately.
Why it matters
Better estimates of the Global Electric Circuit could improve understanding of atmospheric currents that affect radio communication and aircraft navigation. The work could also show how lightning and storm electricity in the Arctic may shift under a warming climate, information relevant to climate and weather scientists.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Earle Williams
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA·Earth & Environmental Science
Resolve the global circuits paradox by measuring the DC global circuit (ionospheric potential) and the AC global circuit (Schumann resonances) at the same time, during the daily hours when Africa and the Americas each dominate.
Zhanqing Li
University of Maryland, MD·Earth & Environmental Science
Determine how cloud-surface coupling, the link between clouds and the lowest atmospheric layer, changes the influence of aerosols on clouds over urban, forested and coastal land surfaces.
Justin Minder
University at Albany, NY·Earth & Environmental Science
Identify the mechanisms that govern changing temperature and precipitation patterns over the Andes by testing several hypotheses within a single set of high-resolution South American weather simulations.
The school
Colorado State University-Fort Collins: 23 labs on PI Pages, $466M a year on research, 276 research doctorates a year.
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