Layer of Magma Found Under American Southwest

Originally posted by Muaddib

The fair weather is when the charges in the atmosphere and the telluric currents travelling in the surface of the Earth are neutral and produce "fair weather".

So presumably over the UK for the past few weeks these currents have not been neutral - hence all the unsettled weather conditions we've had?

Nothing to do with a southward tracking jet stream at all? Or does this interaction between telluric currents and the solar wind also direct where the jet stream goes?

Originally posted by Essan

Originally posted by grover

There is a phenomena where there are lightening like flashes during earthquakes but as I recall they seem to come from the ground.

However, more relevant might be the theory of 'earth lights' which do appear to be a genuine phenomena and seem to often occur prior to earthquakes

www.daviddarling.info...

Isn't that something called 'pizeo-electric'? [not sure of spelling]
& has to do with quartz releasing 'light' when its put into undue stress or pressure?

Originally posted by Essan

So presumably over the UK for the past few weeks these currents have not been neutral - hence all the unsettled weather conditions we've had?

It depends as to what sort of "unsettled weather conditions" you have had over there.

Did I say these charges are the causes of storms?, If i did I should have written thunderstorms.

An example of what I am talking about is called "positive lightning".

Here is a website with a bit of informaiton about lightning and the differences between negative and positive lightning.

www.srh.weather.gov...

Originally posted by Essan
Nothing to do with a southward tracking jet stream at all? Or does this interaction between telluric currents and the solar wind also direct where the jet stream goes?

You do know that the Sun heats the Earth's atmosphere and surface and it is the Sun which drives convection in the atmosphere and oceans and produces winds and currents right?

Any factors that does increase, or reduces the temperatures on Earth will have an effect on winds and ocean currents.

[edit on 3-7-2007 by Muaddib]

We've had plenty of thunderstorms of late. Although we get plenty of thunderstorms this time of year every year .... And to be fair it's mainly been unsettled due to the position of the jet.

Anyway, presumably the solar wind will affect all parts of the earth equally (or, at least, large regions of it).

So if there's a connection with thunderstorm activity, then the telluric currents must vary considerable over relatively small areas of the Earth's surface? (otherwise all areas for see the same upsurge or decline in TS activity at around the same time).

Unless, of course, thunderstorms are driven by heat difference between layers of the atmosphere and the ground surface, and neither the solar wind nor telluric currents have any significant effect on them?

I guess to prove one way or the other one would need to do a study (over several years) comparing thunderstorm activity (and particularly the frequency of +ve lightning) in a given region with the strength of the solar wind and local telluric currents.