Abstract
THE Meteorological Service of Canada has published an interesting account of its upper-air investigation. Part i., which is now published, deals with the records of registering balloons; the work has been done, and the report prepared by Mr. Patterson, under the direction of Mr. Stupart, the director. Ninety-four balloons were sent up, and fifty-three recovered, a fair proportion perhaps, considering the nature of the country. The instruments and methods are practically the same as in England, but the balloons have all been started at 8 p.m. local time, so as to avoid solar radiation. The mean annual temperature at each height up to n km. is very similar to that in England, the temperature fall per kilometre is almost identical, but the actual temperature is a degree or two higher. In view of the lower latitude this is not surprising. But in Canada the fall of temperature continues to a greater height than in Europe, the mean value of Hc being given as 11–7 km., against about 10–7 for Europe, and in consequence the temperature of the stratosphere is from 6° to 7° C. colder. Except in the case of the surface pressure, the variations of all the elements are larger in Canada; the amplitude of the seasonal variation of Hc is about 2.0, and the standard deviation is 1.96. The correlation between Hc and the pressure at 9 km. is very high, but the correlation between the surface pressure and the other quantities is very small, perhaps on account of the small variation shown by the former. The most remarkable result given is that the temperature of the stratosphere over Canada is colder in summer than in winter. The number of observations is scarcely enough to establish this with absolute certainty, but they suffice to make it almost certain, and, after all, it is no more surprising than that the lowest temperatures of the stratosphere should have been found over the equator. The general drift of the balloons, in Canada as in Europe, is towards the east, but there are a few instances of a balloon falling westward of its starting point.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Upper Air Investigation . Nature 97, 370 (1916). https://doi.org/10.1038/097370a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/097370a0