Availability of Upper Atmospheric and Other Selected Data from the I.G.Y.
Abstract
Basic understanding of the physics of the upper atmosphere has been hampered by a lack of sufficient data on the various complex phenomena of that region. During the I.G.Y. the United States spent several hundred million dollars on our part of the International effort to collect raw geophysical data. Much of this was spent specifically for the acquisition of data on the upper atmosphere. This memorandum describes the U.S. I.G.Y. data archives pertaining to the geophysics of the upper atmosphere. It then reviews the general state of knowledge and the major lines of Investigation of the U.S. I.G.Y. programs in the Interrelated fields of the Ionosphere, aurora, cosmic rays, solar activity, and geomagnetism. The program for using rockets and satellites as scientific tools in these I.G.Y. studies is also discussed. Thorough analysis of the I.G.Y. data is necessary In order to gain better understanding of the geophysical problems investigated in short, to realize on the Investment in the I.G.Y. program. Except for one modest study, American workers are not carrying out extensive analyses of the accumulated I.G.Y. data. However, Russian and other foreign workers are performing extensive world-vide analyses of the data contributed by all nations, including the United States.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 07, 1959
- Accession Number
- AD0243951
Entities
People
- S. M. Greenfield
Organizations
- RAND Corporation