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Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Advanced Ground Based Field Mill (AGBFM) Network Table of Contents
This dataset contains measurements of the electric field strength at each sensor of the KSC Advanced Ground Based Field Mill (AGBFM) network. The AGBFM network consists of 34 field mills of which, as of 05/29/97, only 31 are presently working. These data are used in real time at KSC in the Launch Pad Lightning Warning System (LPLWS). Each field mill detects the electrostatic field strength overhead the instrument using stainless steel plates (stators) which are alternatively shielded and exposed to the existing atmospheric electric field by a grounded rotor. The data are recorded at a rate of 50 Hz at a 4V/m sensitivity. Fields of up to +-32kV/m can be recorded with the higher readings corresponding to an intense thunderstorm overhead. The sign convention corresponds to atmospheric potential gradient where the fair weather field is positive. The data are then processed into raw field mill data (50Hz) separated into hourly files and 1 Hz data, sampled from the 50 Hz. The data are stored in separate directories corresponding to the days and includes 1 Hz, 50 Hz, and plots of the 1 Hz data in postscript files. Each postscript file shows a time series of electric field strength during that day for all of the active field mills. Data AcquisitionData are collected from the AGBFM network via ftp. File Naming ConventionFor each day there are three types of data. The first is the 1 Hz data, whose name is in the form:
where ddd is the day of year, hhmm is the start time and yy is the year. 50 Hz data is of the form:
where ddd is the day of year, hhmm is the start time of the particular hourly file and yy is the year. Postscript files are in the following format:
where ddd is the day of year and hhmm is the start time of the file. Isreal, H., 1961: Atmospheric Electricity, Volume II, Fields, Charges, Currents. Akademische Verlangesellschaft, Geese und Portis K.-G., Leipzig. Jacobson, E. A., and E. P. Krider, 1976: Electrostatic field changes produced by Florida lightning. J. Atmos. Sci., 33, 103-117. Stewart, M. F. and L. R. Barnum, Maintenance Manual for the Advanced Ground-Based (Electric) Field Mill Instrument, Vol. 1 and 2, March 26, 1993. Slaton, D. S., Test and Calibration Software User's Guide for The Advanced Ground-Based Field Mill (AGBFM) Network, Version 3.2, March 23, 1993. Remote Sensing Laboratory, Software Maintenance Manual Volume I for Launch Pad Lightning Warning System Base Station Computer, April 12, 1993. Remote Sensing Laboratory, Software Maintenance Manual Volume II for Launch Pad Lightning Warning System Base Station Computer, April 12, 1993. Remote Sensing Laboratory, User Manual for Launch Pad Lightning Warning System Base Station Computer, April 12, 1993. Contact InformationTo order these data or for further information, please contact:
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