摘要： Thunderstorms are electric generators, which drive currents upwardly into the ionosphere. In this paper, we examine the effects of thunderstorm upward current on the ionosphere. We use a thunderstorm model to calculate the three‐dimensional current flows in the atmosphere and to simulate the upward current above the thunderstorm with the tripole‐charge structure. The upward current flows into the ionosphere, while the associated electric field causes the plasma E × B motion. The caused plasma motion redistributes the plasma density, leading to ionospheric density variations. In the nighttime ionosphere, the E × B motion may also cause the formation of plasma bubbles. Key Points TEC variations and nighttime plasma bubble can be caused by thunderstorm Thunderstorm upward current 1.7–8.3 A may cause TEC variations of 0.6–4% Thunderstorm upward current may trigger the formation of plasma bubble 其他題名： J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics 出版者： Washington: Blackwell Publishing Ltd 出版日期： 2015-04 出處： Journal of geophysical research : Space physics (2013 - Present), 2015-04, Vol.120 (4), p.3240-3253 資源來源： Access articles in the Wiley collection 版權： 2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. 識別號： ISSN: 2169-9380 識別號： EISSN: 2169-9402 識別號： DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020767
