Reconstructing the electrical structure of dust storms from locally observed electric field data.

ABSTRACT: While the electrification of dust storms is known to substantially affect the lifting and transport of dust particles, the electrical structure of dust storms and its underlying charge separation mechanisms are largely unclear. Here we present an inversion method, which is based on the Tikhonov regularization for inverting the electric field data collected in a near-ground observation array, to reconstruct the space-charge density and electric field in dust storms. After verifying the stability, robustness, and accuracy of the inversion procedure, we find that the reconstructed space-charge density exhibits a universal three-dimensional mosaic pattern of oppositely charged regions, probably due to the charge separation by turbulence. Furthermore, there are significant linear relationships

SUBMITTER: Zhang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7544890 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature