Electrical conductivity and electric field measurements in the stratosphere by balloon-borne probes from Hyderabad

Abstract

During the IMAP period (1980-89), several balloon flights had been carried out for measurement of ion conductivity and electric field in the stratosphere. The balloons were launched from TIFR Balloon Launching Facility at Hyderabad. Measurements were done in the altitude region of 15-35 km. The results from four of the six balloon flights done for conductivity measurements are reported here. While most of these measurements were carried out during daytime, one balloon flight made early morning measurements (IMAP-C2) and one flight extended from late night (IMAP-C9) to daytime. The measurements show higher values of conductivity during day as compared to daytime. The measurements show higher values of conductivity during day as compared to those during night A larger variation of positive conductivity as compared to the negative conductivity is also observed.