Further Acoustical Studies of Atmospheric Winds and Temperatures at Elevations of 30 to 60 Kilometers

Variation of hourly winds at 35 to 65 kilometers during one day at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida

“…Robin (rocket balloon instrument) is a 1-meter, superpressured-balloon made of half-mil mylar with built-in, aluminized quarter-mil corner refiector. It is ejected from a meteorological rocket at about 70 km, inflated by an iso-pentane capsule to a superpressure of 10 to 12 mb, and tracked by radar as it falls [Leviton and Wright, 1961]. The soundings were made as part of the development program of the observing system.…”

“…Using acoustic ranging methods, Crary [1950] detected no diurnal changes. Later Cra•5•'s methods were applied in multiple observations on several different days; the occurrence of marked fluctuations over very short periods was established, and evidence of a diurnal fluctuation in the winds was found [Kennedy et al, 1955]. Diurnal cycles have been found in chaff-measured winds at 73 to 79 km over Johnston Island [Smith, 1960] and in rawinsonde winds up to 15 mb (about 29 km) over the Azores [Harris et al, 1962].…”