Atmospheric Vorticity Production in Electrified Clouds

Abstract

The rate that vertical vorticity is created or retarded in electrified clouds is calculated from the cross product of the charge gradient and the electrical field and compared with the magnitude of the vertical vorticity produced dynamically. Calculations are made for clouds on the thunderstorm, mesoscale and synoptic scales for midlatitude and tropical conditions. The results show that in moderately electrified clouds with particle charges an order of magnitude less than the observed maxima, the production of vorticity due to electrostatic forces approaches or slightly exceeds the dynamic production in thunderstorm anvil clouds and on the mesoscale in the tropics. Highly electrified clouds with maximum particle charges can produce vorticity at comparable rates to its dynamic production on all scales except the synoptic scale in midlatitudes. To the extent that cloud charging conditions due to the global electric field and mid-tropospheric conductivity conditions are perturbed by solar events or solar-included electromagnetic disturbances, some solar influence on the electrical conditions could be expected in the mid-troposphere where clouds of the suitable type and extent form as a consequence of the normal meteorological processes. Where the electrical conditions exceed the threshold required for the production of vorticity dynamically, organized circulations produced electrophysically are possible in a solar-disturbed large-scale electrical environment.