MATHEMATICAL SIMULATION OF QUASI-STATIONARY ELECTRIC FIELDS PENETRATION THROUGH THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE

A quasi-stationary three-dimensional model of electric fields and currents in the conductor that includes the Earth's atmosphere and ionosphere is created. The results of the three dimensional model are simpler regarding interpretation and explanation then two dimensional ones. Known approaches which simulate the ionosphere as a boundary condition at the upper boundary of the atmospheric conductor are analyzed. It is shown that for the large scale electric field penetration from ground into the ionosphere it is sufficient to take into account only integral conductivity of the ionosphere and it is not adequate to ignore ionospheric conductivity or to approximate its value with infinity. The obtained penetration from ground to the ionosphere is so small that the ionospheric electric fields which are reported by some investigators as earthquakes precursors can not be explained as penetration of the near ground electric fields through the conductor that includes atmosphere and ionosphere.