Variations of electrical characteristics of near-surface atmosphere of the Earth during magnetic storm

Temporal variations of the electric field in near-surface layer of the Earth are determined by many factors, among which strong disturbances of the magnetic field should be especially noted. Magnetic storms cause an increase in the ionospheric electric field, which leads to variations in the gradient of the electric field potential near the Earth's surface. We consider the effect of magnetic storms in variations in the electrical characteristics of the atmosphere at Geophysical observatory «Mikhnevo» of Sadovsky Institute of Geosphere Dynamics of Russian Academy of Sciences and at Center for geophysical monitoring of Moscow of Sadovsky Institute of Geosphere Dynamics of Russian Academy of Sciences. We used data from the continuous monitoring of three components of the magnetic field, vertical components of the atmospheric electric field and atmospheric current carried out in fair weather. Experimental data processing and analysis show that accompanying magnetic storms with geomagnetic K index more or equal 5 increased variations in the electric field and vertical atmospheric current are characterized by different morphological structures. It is currently difficult to interpret the data. Nevertheless, the research results can be of great help in the development and verification of theoretical and computational models for generating variations in the electric field as a result of strong geomagnetic disturbances.