A numerical simulation of the penetration of the global atmospheric electric field from the troposphere into the ionosphere has been performed. The numerical model, which we use here, has been described earlier. Evaluations of the amplitude of the electric mode penetrating into the upper regions, which depends on the frequency, the characteristic spatial scale of the field and the wave electric field orientation relative to the geomagnetic field have been made using realistic models of the anisotropic conductivity. We show that in an inhomogeneous medium the high-altitude behaviour of the electric mode is characterized by the appearance of regions with either vertical or horizontal currents being dominant. The possibility of using an analogy with the laws for calculating the currents in different regions, namely Kirchhoff's laws for circuits with lumped parameters, is demonstrated. Characteristics of the magnetic modes excited in the ionosphere due to the action of the penetrating atmospheric electric fields are also described.
