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Tzur, I.

Publications and source records attributed to Tzur, I..

12 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

A global time-dependent model of thunderstorm electricity. I - Mathematical properties of the physical and numerical models

A time-dependent model is introduced that can be used to simulate the interaction of a thunderstorm with its global electrical environment. The model solves the continuity equation of the Maxwell current, which is assumed to be composed of the conduction, displacement, and source currents. Boundary conditions which can be used in conjunction with the continuity equation to form a well-posed initial-boundary value problem are determined. Properties of various components of solutions of the initial-boundary value problem are analytically determined. The results indicate that the problem has two time scales, one determined by the background electrical conductivity and the other by the time variation of the source function. A numerical method for obtaining quantitative results is introduced, and its properties are studied. Some simulation results on the evolution of the displacement and conduction currents during the electrification of a storm are presented.

Browning, G. L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Atmospheric electric field and current configurations in the vicinity of mountains

A number of investigations have been conducted regarding the electrical distortion produced by the earth's orography. Hays and Roble (1979) utilized their global model of atmospheric electricity to study the effect of large-scale orographic features on the currents and fields of the global circuit. The present paper is concerned with an extension of the previous work, taking into account an application of model calculations to orographic features with different configurations and an examination of the electric mapping of these features to ionospheric heights. A two-dimensional quasi-static numerical model of atmospheric electricity is employed. The model contains a detailed electrical conductivity profile. The model region extends from the surface to 100 km and includes the equalization layer located above approximately 70 km. The obtained results show that the electric field and current configurations above mountains depend upon the curvature of the mountain slopes, on the width of the mountain, and on the columnar resistance above the mountain (or mountain height).

Tzur, I.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The interaction of a dipolar thunderstorm with its global electrical environment

The role of the thundercloud in the global electric circuit has been considered by many researchers. Thus, Holzer and Saxon (1952) have constructed a simple model of a bipolar thunderstorm. The global models considered provide insight into the atmospheric electric circuit but are restricted, both by various analytical mathematical representations and by computer size, to a grid of about five degrees in latitude and longitude. A need exists, therefore, for the development of a numerical regional model capable of resolving small-scale phenomena so that their coupling into the global-scale circuit can be examined. The construction of a two-dimensional quasi-static numerical model of atmospheric electricity is discussed. The model provides a basis for the calculation of the global electric field and current distribution produced by a single thunderstorm generator. In connection with the calculations, the thunderstorm was defined by a quasi-static current source function which generates a dipole charge configuration.

Tzur, I.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The magnetic and thermodynamical structure of a coronal hole

A nonpolytropic model of a polar coronal hole of 2-5 solar radii constructed. The main assumptions are: (1) the magnetic structure of the sun can be described by a combination of dipole-like and radial fields; (2) in the magnetically dominated region rho(nu sq/2) much less than B sq/8 pi the influence of the outflow on the magnetic structure is negligible. The magnetic and thermodynamic structures are obtained by solving the force balance equation for plasma with the observationally derived electron density. Profiles of velocities in the acceleration regime are presented and the influence of the outflow on the thermodynamic structure of the solar corona above the polar region is discussed.

Osherovich, V. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Magnetic and thermodynamic structure of the solar corona during sunspot minimum

A model of the solar corona during sunspot minimum was constructed. It was suggested that pole-equator asymmetry is caused by interaction of global azimuthal electric currents in the corona and potential magnetic fields originating below the corona. The problem was reduced to a nonlinear ordinary differential equation for a structural function. Taking the difference in electron density between the equatorial plane and the polar direction from observations, the basic equation was solved and the global electric current distribution around the Sun along with the magnetic and thermodynamic structures of the solar corona was derived. The asymmetry between the two hemispheres, which can be due to the magnetic quadrupole, is considered in detail. It is shown that an additional quadrupole term in the magnetic field representation affects the position of polar coronal hole boundaries differently in the two hemispheres. As a result, the outflow from the two polar regions is found to be different.

Osherovich, V. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Theoretical model of the solar corona during sunspot minimum. II - Dynamic approximation

The theoretical quasi-static model of the solar corona during sunspot minimum developed in an earlier paper (Osherovich et al., 1984) is extended to include a quasi-radial outflow. The requirement imposed in the above paper on a plasma flow is relaxed. The dynamic equation derived for the combination of a dipole-like and a radial field is used to calculate the electric current density around the sun in the region 1.5-5 solar radii. Comparison with the current density given by the quasi-static model shows that the outflow decreases the current density only slightly in the dynamic case. The dynamic coronal model with a magnetic quadrupole field is also considered, in relation to the north-south asymmetry in the solar corona.

Osherovich, V. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Numerical investigation of fluid models with full electron and proton thermal conduction equations for the quiet solar wind

The effect of using full equations (rather than Fourier law expressions) for the electron and proton thermal conductivities in conjunction with community, momentum, and temperature equations for the description of spherically symmetric quiet solar wind states is investigated numerically. For this purpose a time-dependent method is used, and steady state solutions in both subsonic and supersonic regimes between the sun and 5 AU are obtained and presented. The consequences for one-fluid and two-fluid models for the solar wind are summarized and discussed.

Cuperman, S.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Theoretical model of the solar corona during sunspot minimum. I - Quasi-static approximation

The model of the solar corona (1.5 to 5 solar radius) during sunspot minimum is constructed. It is suggested that pole-equator asymmetry is caused by the interaction between global azimuthal electric currents in the corona and potential magnetic fields originated below. The asymmetry between the two hemispheres, which can be due to the magnetic quadrupole, is considered in detail. It is shown that an additional quadrupole term in the magnetic field representation affects the position of polar coronal hole boundaries differently in the two hemispheres. As a result, the outflow from the two polar regions is found to be different.

Osherovich, V. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Ambipolar diffusion in the middle atmosphere

In the middle atmosphere above 60 km, the electron concentration increases with altitude, reaching values of 10 to the 10th per cu m in the daytime ionospheric E region near 100 km. The electrons are more mobile than the ions and diffuse more rapidly through the neutral atmosphere. The electron diffusion polarizes the medium, causing an electric field to develop that acts to retard the electron diffusion and enhance the conduction current of ions. A global zonally averaged numerical model of atmosheric electricity from the ground to 100 km is used to examine the effect of ambipolar diffusion and the earth's geomagnetic field on the currents and fields in the middle atmosphere. The results show that above about 65 km, ambipolar diffusion generates local electric fields and conduction currents that balance electron diffusion currents. The electric fields and conduction currents are a few orders of magnitude larger than the vertical fields and currents calculated from the downward mapping of the ionospheric potential without taking electron diffusion into account. Ambipolar diffusion does not alter the total current flowing in the global circuit. It is a local effect where enhanced conduction currens flow to balance the electron diffusion current.

Tzur, I.↗
NASA NTRS1982

A one-dimensional model of the atmospheric electric field near the Venusian surface

A one-dimensional model is developed for the development of an electric field below the Venus cloud layer, assuming an absence of cloud-to-ground lightning. The ion-bearing medium is considered as a collision dominated, partially ionized gas. Ion production by cosmic rays is accompanied by a sink of recombining positive and negative ions. The net diffusion of ions to the surface was examined, and modeled as resulting from differences between the ion diffusivities and electrical activity within the clouds. Calculations were made of the conduction and diffusion currents profiles, positive and negative ion densities, and the net space charge. Higher positive ion diffusivity was found to enhance the surface positive charge, producing an electric field which depended on the boundary layer mixing. Charge separation in the clouds also produces an electric field. Assuming a fair weather conduction current similar to earth leads to an electric field of 5 kV/sq m at the surface, with continuity to a few kilometers altitude.

Tzur, I.↗