Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-03
CLIMATE OF THE UPPER AIR.
Variation Of Temperature in the At
mosphere at Great Height.


mosphere at a Great Height.
From the Literary Digest
That at great heights 10000 or 10000 feeD
the seasons occur at different times of the
year from those on the surface of the earth
Just below appears from numerous meas
urements of temperature taken with
sounding balloons" or small captive
balloons containing automatically regis
tering instruments. The fact that mid
summer comes In October in the upper air
and midwinter in April appears to have
an important influence on the weather Of
these months as is noted in an article in
Ciel ct Terre, distracted In Cosmos. The
author first notes that the upper air tenn
peratures measured by the method referred
to above are surprisingly low. He writes:
Facts regarding thermic conditions In
the upper regions of the atmosphere are
always of interest. Data collected on this
point several years ago by means of sound
ing balloons caused some establishment,
but nevertheless they do not appear so
rema rka.ble when compare them with
facts obtained more recently, since aero
stats and perfected devices have made it
possible for us to penetrate to still loftier
elevations. On December 8. 1901. q bal
loon sent up at Trappes, near Versailles,
by Mr.. TeisseTenc de Bort, reached the
height of IA, 800 meters about 1904 feet.
At this height the temperature was -73
degrees C. go degrees F.). In the same
December piece of apparatus sent up by
Mr. Rotch at st. Louis GU. S. A. regis
tered -S5.6 degrees at Ia, 800 meters (-122
degrees +. at 1854 feeD These figures,
which are actual records. have now been
exceeded, as We shall see, at least SO far
as the European continent goes: In the
Interchangeable Zeitschrift for July last
Mr.. r. Nimfuhr announces the tempera-
lures registered on two sounding bal
looms sent up from Vienna on March and
April 4, 1905. The minima recorded IN
these ascensions were -S5.4 degrees at
9717 meters on March 2 (-121 degrees +.
at 81 ,ST2 feet) and 1916 degrees at 11.O1O
meters on April till degrees F. at
36,113 feeD. These represent up to the
present day the extreme figures recorded
in Europe.
''H is important to note in this regard
that In the elevated layers of the atmos-
phere the fuctuation of the temperature
undergoes a weH-marked annual variation,
which, however. Is not parallel to that
which IS familiar to US on the lower levels.
The seasons in the upper air are late, the
greatest cold occurring toward spring (the
beginning of ApriD and midsummer about
the beginning of October. This popularity
has some influence on the condition of the
atmospheric strata. The proverbaI varia-
bity of the weather in spring results
largely from the fact that then the atmos-
phere is generally in state OF unstable
equilibrium, due to the GOODNESS and conse-
quent excessive weight of the upper layers
in relation to the lower, which being
already somewhat warmer are lighter. Now
we know that the equilibrium of mass of
air is most stable when the layers that are
relatively warm and light are above the
colder ones. This condition Is most often
realized in autumn for the reason indicated
above, and the weather then is less vari-
able.
Sometimes the upper air also undergoes
extraordinary thermal variations in the
course of day or two.
During the same lapse Of time the dis
tribution OF barometric pressure and tenn
perature on the earths surface remains
senstbly the same