The Batsheva de Rothschild Seminar on
The Atmospheric Global
Electric Circuit (GEC)
World Leaders in the Field of Atmospheric Electricity
One of the longest-established research topics in Geophysics concerns the electrical nature of Earth's atmosphere. We have known since the time of Benjamin Franklin that, in fair weather conditions (blue skies), there is a quasi-static vertical electric field of ~150 V/m pointing downwards to the Earth, associated with a conduction current of ~2pA/m2 flowing continuously from the atmosphere to the ground. Much subsequent research has concluded that this electricity is generated, and modulated, by global thunderstorm activity (mainly in the tropics). The thunderstorms act like huge generators of current in the atmosphere, driving electrical currents upwards towards the ionosphere in disturbed weather regions, with the return currents flowing in fair weather regions (like the Negev desert): this is known as the atmospheric global electric circuit (GEC).
In recent years there has been a revival in atmospheric electricity research, due to the links found between atmospheric electricity and air pollution, climate change, biological processes and even solar storms (space weather). Atmospheric electricity can be used as a sensitive diagnostic of changes in our environment, but may also have feedbacks on our environment itself. In addition, new technologies are allowing us to expand the frontiers of atmospheric electricity research, using drones, balloons and UAVs for collecting data.
Today there are about 20 different research groups around the globe researching the GEC, and this workshop will focus on bringing these groups together for the first time to discuss our latest knowledge, observations and understanding of the Earth's electrical environment. We now know that the GEC represents a truly global framework for studying the atmosphere, with recent studies showing links to air pollution, dust storms, global thunderstorm variability, cloud formation, and even climate change. After removing local impacts, GEC measurements around the globe should be well correlated with each other since they are all driven by tropical thunderstorms. One of the goals of this workshop is to develop uniform methodologies for data collection and analysis so that we can correctly compare and share data from widely-spaced locations around the globe, while setting up the framework for long term continuous measurements of the electrical environment.
Participants
Below is a list of participants in alphabetical order
Dr. Orit Altaratz, Israel
Jose Tacza Anaya, Brazil
Dr. Karen Aplin, United Kingdom
Dr. Susana Barbosa, Portugal
Veronika Barta, Hungary
Dr. Vital Bogomolov, Russia
Dr. Jo'zsef Bor, Hungary
Tamas Bozoki, Hungary
Dr. Theodore Giannaros, Greece
Dr. V. Gopalakrishnan, India
Inna Gubenko, Russia
Dr. Anirban Guha, India
Prof. Christos Haldoupis, Greece
Prof. Giles Harrison, United Kingdom
Prof. Yasuhide Hobara, Japan
Jaroslav Jansky, United States
Shai Katz, Israel
Prof. Alexander Khain, Israel
Dr. Masashi Kamogawa, Japan
Margarita Kaznacheeva, Russia
Prof. Ilan Koren, Israel
Prof. Zev Levin, Israel
Dr. Ilkka Lilja, Finland
Dr. Barry Lynn, Israel
Dr. Eugene Mareev, Russia
Ivan Maximov, Russia
Hripsime Mkrtchyan, Armenia
Dr. Vladimir Morozov, Russia
Dr. Keri Nicoll, United Kingdom
Dr. Anna Odzimek, Poland
Prof. Vaughan Phillips, Sweden
Prof. Colin Price, Israel
Dr. Lev Pustilnik, Israel
Prof. Jean Pierre Raulin, Brazil
Dr. Yuval Reuveni, Israel
Prof. Michael Rycroft, United Kingdom
Dr. Sergey Svertilov, Russia
Prof. Brian Tinsley, United States
Min-Duan Tzeng, Taiwan
Dr. Oscar van der Welde, Spain
Dr. Earle Williams, United States
Joanne Wu, Taiwan
Prof. Yoav Yair, Israel
Roy Yaniv, Israel
Dr. Hovav Zafrir, Israel
February 5-10, 2017 : Mitzpe Ramon : Israel
SPONSORS
Associate Sponsors
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The Israel Academy of Sciences
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Tel Aviv University
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Israel Ministry of Science
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Ariel University
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Shamir Research Institute, Haifa University
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The International Union of Geophysics and Geodesy (IUGG)
The Global Electric Circuit?
TAKING PLACE
Feb 5-10, 2017
Mitzpe Ramon, ISRAEL
Program for the Batsheva de Rothschild Seminar on the Atmospheric Global Electric Circuit (GEC)
Sunday 5 February
1600: Bus leaves from Art Plus Hotel, Tel Aviv for Mitzpe Ramon
1900: Dinner
2100: Ice Breaker
Monday 6 February
Session 1: Processes and Generators in the GEC
0900: Welcome and Introduction
0915: Michael Rycroft (United Kingdom): Overview
1000: Brian Tinsley (United States): Observations and electrical cloud mechanisms for high latitude surface pressure responses to day-to-day changes in ionospheric potential.
1015: Eugene Mareev (Russia): Towards a new paradigm in the description of the GEC generators
1030: Coffee break
1100: Vitaly Bogomolov (Russia): Magnetosphere electron precipitation and high altitude discharges as elements of the Global Electric Circuit. Results from the Vernov and Lomonosov missions.
1115: Yuval Reuveni (Israel): Ground level gamma-ray and electric field measurements during disturbed weather: combined signatures from convective clouds, lightning and rain
1130: Keri Nicoll (United Kingdom): Stratiform cloud electrification through the global electric circuit
1145: Vaughan Phillips (Sweden): Numerical simulations of lightning
1200 Lunch
1300: Bus to Wise Observatory (balloon launch, tour) followed by visit to Ramon geological museum and Ramon crater
1800: Dinner
2000: Discussion about GEC datasets, formats and comparisons (led by Keri Nicoll)
Tuesday 7 February
Session 2: Local Impacts on GEC parameters
0900: Giles Harrison (United Kingdom): Overview
0945: Anna Odzimek (Poland): Global atmospheric electric circuit and the polar regions
1000: Yoav Yair (Israel): Dust electrification on Earth and analogies to Mars
1015: Coffee
1045: Earle Williams (United States): Five special days in Vostok/Concordia
1100: Masashi Kamogawa (Japan): Local modulation of atmospheric electricity: The 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident
1115: Orit Altaratz (Israel): Aerosol effects on lightning activity
1130: Yasuhide Hobara (Japan): A study on global temperature and thunderstorm activity by using the data of Schumann resonance observed in Japan
1145: V. Gopalakrishnan (India): Contribution of Conduction current to GEC during dissipation stage of thunderstorm
12:00: Lunch
1300: Bus trip to Avdat archeological site, Zin Valley and Ben Gurion memorial
1900: Dinner
2000: Poster session
Wednesday 8 February
Session 3: New instrumentation for studying the GEC
0900: Karen Aplin (United Kingdom): Overview
0945: Oscar van der Velde (Spain): Development of airborne methods for atmospheric electricity measurements at the UPC
1000: Boaz Ben-Moshe (Israel): Using atmospheric balloon and return glider for upper-atmospheric remote sensing measurements – A proof of concept
1015: Coffee
1045: Susan Barbosa (Portugal): the gamma radiation monitoring campaign at the Eastern North Atlantic ARM facility
1100: Hovav Zafrir (Israel): Gamma ray spectral analysis of long-term atmospheric radiation measurements, above and below the surface.
1115: Jean-Pierre Raulin (Brazil): The AFINSA network: presentation and first results
1130: Theodore Giannaros (Greece): Operational lightning forecasting in Europe
1145: Christos Haldoupis (Greece): Long lasting effects on the D region Ionosphere caused by intense CG lightning
1200: Lunch
Session 4: Modelling of the GEC
1400: Eugene Mareev (Russia): Overview
1445: Jaroslav Jansky (United States): Analysis of the diurnal variations of the global electric circuit obtained from different numerical models
1500: Michael Rycroft (United Kingdom): The consistency between DC and AC models of the air conductivity profile
1515: Coffee
1545: Vladimir Morozov (Russia): Theoretical investigations on the Global Electric Circuit in Voeikov Main observatory (St. Petersburg)
1600: Alexander Khain (Israel): Formation of lightning in tropical cyclones
1615: Barry Lynn (Israel): Prediction lightning in the WRF model
1800: Workshop Dinner at Bedouin Tent
Thursday 9 February
0900: Bus leaves hotel for Dead Sea and Masada tour (check out of hotel)
1300: Lunch at the Dead Sea
1800: Dinner at Kibbutz Degania (Sea of Galilee). Hotel at Degania kibbutz (north Israel)
2000: Evening discussion of Research Gaps and Future Directions (led by Earle Williams)
Friday 10 February
0900: Walking tour of Kibbutz Degania History
1000: Bus leaves for Golan and Mt. Hermon Cosmic Ray Observatory
1300: Lunch in Druze Village
1400: Drive to Nazareth (visit Church of the Annunciation)
1800: Return to Art Plus Hotel in Tel Aviv
Poster Session (Tuesday evening 7 February) [90x150 cm portrait]
1. Anirban Guha (India): Schumann resonance and global warming: A new approach to monitor long-term climate change
2. Jozsef Bor and Veronika Barta (Hungary): Half a century of near-surface electric field measurements at NCK observatory, Hungary: a review
3. Min-Duan Tzeng (Taiwan): Simulation of electric field and lightning using the NTU scheme coupled with the WRF model
4. Roy Yaniv (Israel): Summary of ground and airborne measurements of electrical parameters in Israel
5. Shai Katz (Israel): The peculiar electrical properties of the 8-12th September, 2015 massive dust outbreak over the Levant
6. Earle Williams (United States): Five special Schumann resonance days in 2009
7. Earle Williams (United States): Hiatus in Global Warming
8. Inna Gubenko (Russia): Simulation of a severe thunderstorm event over Moscow region using the WRF-model
9. Venkatachalam Gopalakrishnan (India): On the effect of electrical forces on raindrop size distribution
10. Vital Bogomolov (Russia): Observations of gamma-ray flashes from the atmosphere at different latitudes in the Vernov and Lomonosov missions
11. Hripsime Mkrtchyan (Armenia): Preliminary results of the impact of solar events on the near surface electric field
12. Yen-Jung (Joanne) Wu (Taiwan): Revisiting oceanic elves and lightning occurrence rate during El Nino and La Nina episodes in a 10-year time frame
13. Anna Odzimek (Poland): Measurements of the atmospheric electric field at the Polish atmospheric electricity stations
14. Anna Odzimek (Poland): Dynamic and electric charge structure of thunderclouds obtained from the WRF-ELEC model and related to the charge sources of multiple CG flashes detected by the LLDN in the Warsaw region during the thunderstorm season of 2009
15. Margarita Kaznacheeva (Russia): Measurements of UV transient atmospheric events by the TUS detector on board the Lomonosov satellite
16. Ivan Maximov (Russia): Study of thunderstorm ground enhancements (TGE) and gamma-ray flashes in 0.03-10MeV energy range in ground experiments near Moscow and Aragatz
17. Lev Pustilnik (Israel): Israel Space Weather and Earth Environment Observatory on the Mount Hermon
18. Yasuhide Hobara (Japan): Preliminary results from total lightning observation in Japan
19. Jose Carlos Tacza Anya (Brazil): Effects of geophysical disturbances on atmospheric electric field
20. Brian Tinsley (USA): Insights from Vostok and Concordia simultaneous Ez measurements
21. Masashi Kamogawa (Japan): Local-time daily variation of fair-weather atmospheric electric field at the high mountain.
22. Masashi Kamogawa (Japan): Intensive atmospheric electric field variation during snow blizzard at Antarctica
23. Jaroslav Jansky (USA): Charge balance and ionospheric potential dynamics in time-dependent global electric circuit model