Planetary Atmospheric Electricity

R. G. Harrison (1) , K. L. Aplin (2) , François Leblanc (3) , Y. Yair (4)

1 Department of Meteorology [Reading]
2 RAL Space - Space Science and Technology Department [Didcot]
3 SA - Service d'aéronomie
4 Department of Life and Natural Sciences [Israël]

Electrification is a fundamental process in planetary atmospheres, found widely in the solar system. It is most evident through lightning discharges, which can influence an atmosphere's chemical composition, but electrification also affects the physical behaviour of aerosols and cloud droplets that determine an atmosphere's radiative balance. In the terrestrial atmosphere, lightning has been implicated in the origin of life

Mots clés: Comparative planetology; Electrostatic discharge; Lightning; Electromagnetic radiation; Cosmic rays; Primordial atmosphere; Charge

Domaines: Océan, Atmosphère

R. G. Harrison, K. L. Aplin, François Leblanc, Y. Yair. Planetary Atmospheric Electricity. Space Science Reviews, 2008, 137 (1-4), pp.5-10. ⟨10.1007/s11214-008-9419-z⟩. ⟨hal-00311434⟩