Local and global effects on the diurnal variation of the atmospheric electric field in South America by comparison with the Carnegie curve

Abstract

The study of the global atmospheric electric circuit is important to understand the climate system and this can be done by monitoring the atmospheric electric field worldwide. In this way, continuous measurements of atmospheric electric field are being recorded by the Atmospheric electric FIeld Network in South America (AFINSA). The main objective of this network is to obtain the daily curve of atmospheric electric field variations under fair weather conditions for each station, through monthly, seasonal and annual averages. These curves are called ?standard curves?. In this paper, we compare and analyze the monthly, seasonal and annual standard curves for each sensor location. The results indicate significant similarities and differences between the annual standard curve and the Carnegie curve. The similarities, with correlation r ≥ 0.9 for most stations, are associated with a global representation of the global electrical circuit and the differences due to local effects, such as ?Austausch? effect and pollution.