Atmospheric electric parameters and micrometeorological processes during the solar eclipse on 15 January 2010

Kumar, C. Sathish; Gopalsingh, R.; Selvaraj, C.; Nair, K. U.; Jeyakumar, H. Johnson; Vishnu, R.; Muralidas, S.; Balan, N.

doi:10.1002/jgrd.50437

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous reports from other sites have identified that a significant (order 60%) reduction in PG is generally observed during an eclipse [23,[31][32][33][34][35][36]. These measurements were taken at low geomagnetic latitudes (less than 40 • ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of the March 2015 solar eclipse on near-surface atmospheric electricity

Bennett

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Measurements of atmospheric electrical and standard meteorological parameters were made at coastal and inland sites in southern England during the 20 March 2015 partial solar eclipse. Clear evidence of a reduction in air temperature resulting from the eclipse was found at both locations, despite one of them being overcast during the entire eclipse. The reduction in temperature was expected to affect the near-surface electric field (potential gradient (PG)) through a reduction in turbulent transfer of space charge. No such effect could be unambiguously confirmed, however, with variability in PG and air-Earth current during the eclipse being comparable to pre- and post-eclipse conditions. The already low solar radiation for this latitude, season and time of day was likely to have contributed to the reduced effect of the eclipse on atmospheric electricity through boundary layer stability. The absence of a reduction in mean PG shortly after time of maximum solar obscuration, as observed during eclipses at lower geomagnetic latitude, implied that there was no significant change in atmospheric ionization from cosmic rays above background variability. This finding was suggested to be due to the relative importance of cosmic rays of solar and galactic origin at geomagnetic mid-latitudes.This article is part of the themed issue 'Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse'.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of the March 2015 solar eclipse on near-surface atmospheric electricity

Bennett

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Relatively few studies of this nature have been undertaken based on a dense network of meteorological stations, due to the relative rarity of solar eclipses taking place across suitably instrumented regions during modern times. However, previous studies, usually based on one to a few recording sites rather than dense station networks, report surface air temperature dips during solar eclipses of approximately 3 • C (Paraguay [2]), 1.7-2.1 • C (Germany [3]), 0.3-1.5 • C (Svalbard [4]), 1.2-4 • C (India [5][6][7]), up to 2.5 • C (Korea [8]), 0.7-3.9 • C (Greece [9,10]), 3.0 • C (Antarctica [11]) and 3 • C (Florida, USA [12]). Several workers also present evidence of an eclipse-related decrease in near-surface wind speed that can be attributed to more stable conditions in a cooler boundary layer (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meteorological effects of the solar eclipse of 20 March 2015: analysis of UK Met Office automatic weather station data and comparison with automatic weather station data from the Faroes and Iceland

Hanna

Penman

Jónsson

et al. 2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Here, we analyse high-frequency (1 min) surface air temperature, mean sea-level pressure (MSLP), wind speed and direction and cloud-cover data acquired during the solar eclipse of 20 March 2015 from 76 UK Met Office weather stations, and compare the results with those from 30 weather stations in the Faroe Islands and 148 stations in Iceland. There was a statistically significant mean UK temperature drop of 0.83±0.63°C, which occurred over 39 min on average, and the minimum temperature lagged the peak of the eclipse by about 10 min. For a subset of 14 (16) relatively clear (cloudy) stations, the mean temperature drop was 0.91±0.78 (0.31±0.40)°C but the mean temperature drops for relatively calm and windy stations were almost identical. Mean wind speed dropped significantly by 9% on average during the first half of the eclipse. There was no discernible effect of the eclipse on the wind-direction or MSLP time series, and therefore we can discount any localized eclipse cyclone effect over Britain during this event. Similar changes in air temperature and wind speed are observed for Iceland, where conditions were generally clearer, but here too there was no evidence of an eclipse cyclone; in the Faroes, there was a much more muted meteorological signature.This article is part of the themed issue ‘Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse’.

show abstract

“…For example during the 11 August 1999 total solar eclipse transient a temperature decreases of up to 3 °C and a mean regional wind speed decrease of 0.7 m s −1 during the maximum eclipse hour with a mean anticlockwise wind direction change of 17° were observed (Gray and Harrison 2012). Also the electric parameters of the atmosphere change: the ambient electric field dropped by up to 65% during the eclipse, and potential gradient showed epochs of enhancements during and after the eclipse until after Sunset (Anil Kumar et al 2013). The authors conclude that during the course of an eclipse, radiative cooling enables the formation and development of water droplets resulting in scavenging or coalescence of free ions/free space charges in the atmosphere causing the decreases in electric currents and field strengths with the reduction in galactic cosmic rays flux as possible additional effect.…”

Section: Environmental Studiesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Solar Eclipses and the Surface Properties of Water

Fuchs¹,

Oudakker²,

Justinek³

et al. 2019

Earth Moon Planets

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During four solar eclipse events (two annular, one total and one partial) a correlation was observed between a change in water surface tension and the magnitude of the optical coverage. During one eclipse, evaporation experiments were carried out which showed a reduction in water evaporation at the same time as a rise in the surface tension. The changes did not occur on a day without a solar eclipse and are not correlated to changes in temperature, pressure, humidity of the environment. The effects are delayed by 20, 85, 30 and 37 min, respectively, compared to the maximum eclipse. Possible mechanisms responsible for this effect are presented, the most likely hypothesis being reduced water/muon interaction due to solar wind and cosmic radiation blocking during an eclipse. As an alternative hypotheses, we propose a novel neutrino/water interaction and overview of other, less likely mechanisms.

show abstract

Atmospheric electric parameters and micrometeorological processes during the solar eclipse on 15 January 2010

Cited by 6 publications

References 28 publications

Effects of the March 2015 solar eclipse on near-surface atmospheric electricity

Effects of the March 2015 solar eclipse on near-surface atmospheric electricity

Meteorological effects of the solar eclipse of 20 March 2015: analysis of UK Met Office automatic weather station data and comparison with automatic weather station data from the Faroes and Iceland

Solar Eclipses and the Surface Properties of Water

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About