Abstract
The global atmospheric electric current flow may be determined, if local influences can be eliminated, by measuring the total Maxwell current flowing to the surface of all fairweather areas. A new method to reduce the effect of locally produced disturbances on surface measurements of the atmospheric electric current density is described. Experiments indicate that in the time domain from a few seconds to a few hours the standard deviation of the total current density decreases approximately with the square root of the sensor size. Locally generated currents may therefore be effectively suppressed by area averaging.
