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This dataset is a compressed archive that includes 2 data files in binary format, 4 files in csv format, and 2 metadata files (pdf documents) that provide information on how to interpret the data. This data was collected from instruments deployed on two stratospheric balloons, launched a day apart in late June 2021 from central Oregon. They flew on upper level winds to the west, out over the northeastern Pacific Ocean. The measurement objective was a multi-day set of vertical electric field and polar conductivity measurements at roughly a 10 minute cadence, and from widely separated locations in the stratosphere. The binary format data is comprehensive, including everything that was measured. The csv files have been processed from the raw data files into calibrated, timed, and time-ordered ASCII files containing the primary science measurements and some essential auxiliary measurements such as measurement location and time. This data was collected in an effort to (1) compare the fair-weather return current density at different geographic locations and (2) to compare the fair-weather current density with global thunderstorm activity. 

We propose that the upcoming Decadal Survey on Solar and Space Physics describe prominent contributions of lightning and its impacts beyond the troposphere, particularly within the NASA Heliophysics portfolio. We present a brief review of several topics highly relevant to NSF and NASA. We opt to unify these topics into one white paper, with longer reviews/references included.