STRATOSPHERE WINDS AND TEMPERATURES FROM ACOUSTICAL PROPAGATION STUDIES

Abstract

An investigation of the velocities of compressional waves in the region 30 to 60 km above sea level has been conducted by means of sound-propagation tests. From an analysis of these tests, knowledge of stratosphere winds and temperatures is obtained. A separation of the temperature and wind effects is made possible by variations in the distances and azimuths of the recording sites from the source of the waves. Results of summer tests in the Canal Zone, Bermuda, and Alaska, and of a winter test in Alaska, together with some results of incomplete tests on the east coast of the United States and in New Mexico, are presented. Temperatures were found to be less than those reported in earlier acoustical studies, where winds were assumed to be negligible. The height of the high-temperature layer varied between 50 and 60 km, being greatest in high latitudes in winter. Easterly winds were found during the summer months for all latitudes, with minimum values in Alaska; high westerly winds were found in Alaska during the winter. Diurnal effects are shown to have been negligible.