The High-Latitude Density Regime at Rocket Altitudes Inferred from Observations in Opposite Hemispheres

Abstract

The compatibility of rocket observational results in the Arctic and Antarctic is examined for altitudes in the upper stratosphere. Atmospheric densities are derived from rocket pressure gage and thermistor observations at Heiss Island, Franz Josef Land (81N), and from rocket thermistor observations at Thule, Greenland (77N) and McMurdo Sound, Antarctica (78S). Climatological statistics are then obtained, representative for 80N, at altitudes between 30 and 50 kilometers. The effect of stratospheric warmings on the density statistics is discussed, and preliminary findings concerning the correlation between the density at rocket altitudes and the pressure and temperature of the lower stratosphere are described.