Behavior of Smoke Trails, 30 to 70 km

Abstract

This preliminary study is concerned with proving the smoke trail as a usable tool in measuring total atmospheric motion, and developing a technique for the three-dimensional analysis of smoke trail data in the 30?65 km altitude region. The field experiment and data reduction techniques are explained. The trail is shown to be a reliable tracer of atmospheric motion and the analysis of only one trail indicates the rather startling fact that vertical motions are present at all altitudes sampled. Extreme vertical motions >5 m sec?1 are present even in the thermally stable atmosphere below the stratopause.