The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-08-24


the earth's surface.
Whether such a plan be practicable
or not, it is quite certain that the eX-
periments being carried out at the Blue
Hill observatory are yielding results Of
the greatest possible value to the sci
ence of meteorology and affording us
besides an insight into what may be
| termed the permanent stratlhcatlon OF
the atmosphere not at all unlike that
| which the systematic sounding OF the
ocean depths has enabled us to acquire
| in the kindred science of photography.
The apparatus employed is singularly
simple and portable, especially II 1t IS
compared with the cumbrous accom-
paniments necessary in the case of a
captive balloon-a winch and reel,
! which has to be made very strong to re-
sist the cumulative pressure of six
miles or so of steel wire wound round
1t, small donkey engine to pay out and
haul in the wire, half dozen kites,
some of which are diamond-shaped,
| cloth, single-plane kites, similar to
those of our boyhood days but without
tails; Others of that peculiar double box
shape, called, after their Australian in
|
measure the angles, and then the al
most magical box Of Instruments which
are to investigate these inaccessible re-
glons and bring us down a graphical
record of what Is going on. 1t Is hard
! ly necessary to say that this box con-
tains Richard nleteorograph, special
| ly adapted to its environment, by which
traces Of the barometic PRESSURE tenn
perature and humidity are continuously
and automatically recorded on rotating
papered cylinders
As the wire is unwound, away goes
this precious box UP into the sky, until
we lose sight of it as 1t enters the cloud.
Occasionally, as happened when the
writer was a witness, the strain on a
splice of the wire is too great and away
goes the whole pparatus-kites, wire,
and instrument boY--sailing away for
miles, with this curious result, that,
owing to the parachute-lke descent Of
the kites, the instrument reaches the
ground unframed some miles from the
observatory. Many of the devices en-
ployed at Blue Hill are highly ingen-
ious. The wire, as it runs out, records
it's exact length, and from this, and the
angle of the instrument box, the alti-
tude of the latter can at any moment
be readily calculated. To attain great
attitudes the largest kite of the series
should be at the end Of the wire, and
smaller ones at various intervals be-
low, tandem BY this means the sag
usually observable in the line attached
to single boys kite is obviated, and
cd nj INF
all the way down, hangs in a flatter
curve, thus enabling a greater height to
be attained with the same length of
wire.
To give some idea of what may be
thus accomplished, Professor Marvin of
the Weather bureau has raised the
higher of a tandem of two kites to a
height of over five thousand feet, with
a total length Of wire of about seven
thousand feet, Some very high flights
were made last year at Blue Hill be-
tween February and November, the
highest point reached by the instru-
ments being nearly three times the
height of Ben Nevis, and almost ex-
actly that of Mount Cook the loftest of |
the New Zealand Alps. The results
open new chapter in meteorology. |
We learn what we only surmised before |
that the successive cloud layers
which, on the average, tend to form
about certain levels coincide with air
which, in point of velocity,
and humidity differ as
much from the air above and below
them as the Gulf stream Of the Atlantic
does from the contiguous surface water.
Moreover, these streams are relatively
so much warmer than they should be,
owing to their altitude, that if by any
cause they We're forced downward to
The surface Of the earth they would sem
sibly raise the existing temperature
without the aid of any direct sunshine.
Such streams often moving twice as
last as the air above and below, must
axert a marked influence upon the
and a knowledge Of the posi-
ion and character of, at all events, the
lne or two nearest the floor of our aeri-
II ocean, by means of kite sounding,
will obviously become prime necessity
n scientific work. Then, again, it is
ound that while the warming and cool
ng due to the alienation of day and
light only affect our free atmosphere
Up to a very small height, say two or
hree thousand feet, the marked irregu-
ar changes of temperature-or as they
ire popularity termed. waves of heat
nd cold-are found to occur simulta-
eouSly all through the air to a height
f at least ten thousand feet.
Another fact of great importance is
hat the greatest temperature at all 8
lights, as a rule, nearly comedies with
he lowest barometric pressure recorded
t sea level, while the lowest air tenn
erature at all heights occurs somewhat
4 advance of the highest pressure at
ca level Moreover, we have here pre-
ented for the first time remarkable
Inference between the condition Of the
ir at all heights above cyclones and
as they are successfully
ldicated from the chartered barometric
urves drawn on the weather chart en-
racing the surface area of observation,
ver the cyclone the air is humid and
ne wind velocity is high, and increases
apidly with the height. Over the anti
yclone, on the contrary, the humidity
very small at all times. =
Facts such as these naturally consti- =