Investigating Thunderstorm Electrification by Simulating Storm Charge Structures — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Investigating Thunderstorm Electrification by Simulating Storm Charge Structures

Name: Stephanie Bradshaw
Major: Physics
Hometown: Ripon, Wisconsin
Faculty Sponsor: Brant Carlson
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research
Funding: Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium

Abstract

Understanding how thunderstorms work is important as it can help assess risks associated with electrical activity in thunderstorms and other phenomena of a somewhat similar nature such as volcanic eruptions, heavy snowstorms, and large hurricanes. In this study, we focused on understanding how thunderstorms work in the sense of their electrification processes. We started with a review of the scientific literature in order to grasp the current knowledge and understanding of electrification processes in thunderstorms. We then investigated what types of observations could be made using CAERENet (Carthage Atmospheric Electricity Research and Education Network) electric field mills. In order to understand what could be perceived about thunderstorm electrification from the electric field mill observations, we also built mathematical models of electric charge, current, and electric field using Python. A comparison between computer models/simulations and electric field mill observed data will be used to better understand electrification processes in naturally occurring thunderstorms in future projects.

Poster file