Abstract
FOR some years past, kites have been persistently and successfully employed by Mr. A. L. Rotch at his observatory at Blue Hill, U.S.A., for obtaining a knowledge of the movements, temperature and humidity of the upper air, and heights of three miles have been reached; their use was also systematically begun about the same time on the continent of Europe, especially at M. Teisserenc de Bort's observatory at Trappes, near Paris, where altitudes exceeding those at Blue Hill have been attained. We have also frequently referred to similar experiments both with kites and balloons made at the request of the International Aëronautical Committee. Valuable results have been obtained and published, so far as the land is concerned, and experiments will, we believe, be undertaken in this country under the superintendence of the Royal Meteorological Society. But in order to raise the kites to any considerable height, a wind of certain velocity is necessary; Mr. Rotch's flights were made when the wind velocity on the ground was between twelve and thirty-five miles per hour, and he points out that certain types of weather, such as anti-cyclonic conditions, with very light winds, or stormy conditions, can rarely be studied by that means.
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The Exploration of the Atmosphere at Sea by Means of Kites . Nature 65, 545 (1902). https://doi.org/10.1038/065545a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/065545a0