Electromagnetic Response of the Mid‐Latitude Ionosphere to Power Transmission Lines

To foresee a plausible electromagnetic contamination of the near‐Earth space by anthropogenic activity, a magnitude of electromagnetic response in the upper ionosphere to 50/60 Hz power line emission (PLE) is to be modeled. For that we have calculated the spatial structure of electromagnetic disturbance in the mid‐latitude atmosphere and ionosphere immersed into an inclined geomagnetic field B0. The electromagnetic field is excited by a large‐scale 50/150 Hz oscillating linear current suspended above the ground. The elaborated model is based on numerical solution of full‐wave equations in a realistic ionosphere whose parameters have been reconstructed with the use of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model. The PLE wave beam in the ionosphere is not guided by B0, but still is shifted equatorward from the vertical. The response of the nightside upper ionosphere is slowly decreasing with diminishing of latitude. The amplitude of PLE electric component in the upper ionosphere generated by the unbalanced power line current with intensity of ∼10 Amperes can reach ∼1 μV/m which is sufficient to be detected by a low‐Earth‐orbit satellite. For a better insight into PLE transmission through the ionosphere a basic information about ELF waves in the multi‐ion plasma is provided. Key Points Electromagnetic response in the upper ionosphere to 50/60 Hz unbalanced power line emission at mid‐latitudes is modeled Though power line emission in the ionosphere is not guided by B0, but it is still shifted equatorward from a vertical PLE amplitude generated by line with intensity ∼10 Amperes can reach ∼1μV/m which is sufficient to be detected by LEO satellite