Atmospheric electric and radon profiles over a closed basin and the open ocean

Measurements of atmospheric electricity and radon (222Rn) gas were made in February 1972 over the Yukon basin in Alaska and over the ocean near Hawaii. A strong, deep temperature inversion was observed over the Yukon, but there was only a weak trade wind inversion over the ocean. Over Alaska, radon was trapped near the surface in the inversion, and the electrical conductivity was measurably increased above normal at altitudes of 90 and 150 m above the terrain; the qualitative agreement between the radon concentration and the conductivity increase at low levels is good. The current density computed as the product of conductivity and electric field was observed to be substantially constant with height over the Yukon but not over the ocean. It is concluded that representative electrical measurements should not be attempted without investigating possible interfering conditions and that it is possible for natural atmospheric radon to have a direct measurable effect on atmospheric conductivity.