DETERMINATION OF HIGH-ALTITUDE WINDS AND TEMPERATURES IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN AREA BY ACOUSTIC SOUNDINGS, OCTOBER 1951

Abstract

An attempt was made to determine upper-atmosphere winds and temperatures to 100 kilometers by acoustic soundings during the early part of October 1951. At the first inversion near 50 km, light and variable winds with temperatures near surface values were obtained. Above 50 km, available data were generally insufficient to separate the wind and temperature effects. However, wind-component speeds calculated from both azimuth shifts and deviations of the velocity-height curves from that due to probable temperatures showed speeds up to 100 meters per second near 70 to 80 km, with wind shears up to 10 (m/sec)/km. Some diurnal effects appear to influence the direction of favorable signal returns above the 50-km level.