Global electric circuit parameters over Indian subcontinent

Abstract

Some global electric circuit (GEC) parameters like electrical conductivity, air-earth current, electric field and electrostatic potential etc. have been calculated over Indian subcontinent taking into account the small scale (0.6° grid in latitude and longitude) orographic and latitudinal effects and the base conditions of conductivity profiles. It has been found that the electrical conductivity and air-earth current are larger over mountains than over ocean, while the electric field and the electrostatic potential are smaller over mountains. The theoretically calculated average value of electric field over sea surface is found to be in good agreement with the experimental observations. The values of all the parameters are found to increase with latitude, but the latitudinal variation is observed to be smaller than the orographic variation.