Atmospheric electric field during the solar eclipse on 14 December 2020.

VELAZQUEZ, Y.R.; NICORA, MARIA GABRIELA; GALLIGANI, VICTORIA; WOLFRAM, ELIAN

Tel Aviv

Conferencia; 17th International Conference on Atmospheric Electricity; 2022

In the atmosphere, there is a vertical electric field also known as the potential gradient (PG), as a result of the global atmospheric electric circuit (GAEC). This variable measured at ground level is affected either by global storms as well as by the influence of local meteorological factors. Solar eclipses are natural meteorological experiments to study the response of the atmosphere to a well-characterized reduction in solar radiation. The 14 December 2020 total solar eclipse occurred over the north of Patagonia (Argentina) during summer and at noon during the passage of a cold front. In order to study this eclipse, a field campaign under the name of "Solar Eclipse 2020 Project" was carried out and meteorological instruments were installed in the city of Valcheta (V in Fig. 1, 100% occultation). Additionally two other PG observation sites are available: Buenos Aires (C in Fig. 1, 73%) and El Leoncito (L in Fig. 1, 71%). In this study we analyze the variation of PG in these three sites during the total eclipse and evaluate its correlation with other meteorological measurements. The results presented here correspond to the published work of Velazquez et al, 2022.