Kwajalein Reference Atmospheres, 1979.

Abstract

Measurements of atmospheric temperature, density, and wind have been used to derive consistent hydrostatic models representative of the atmospheric properties at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. A mean annual model and 12 monthly models of thermodynamic properties have been constructed between altitudes of 0 and 120 km, using data available up to 1979. Below an altitude of 60 km, the models are based on a data base that is large enough for the monthly variations to be statistically significant. Above 60 km the significance of the monthly models progressively decreases with altitude because of the small number of high-altitude measurements. The statistical properties of winds have been calculated for altitudes up to 60 km for the midseason months. Although the information used to prepare these models is based primarily on observations made at Kwajalein, some data from other tropical locations have been considered, particularly for such items as the estimates of time and space variations. The Kwajalein Missile Range (KMR) Reference Atmospheres contains information on the following parameters: temperature, pressure, density, speed of sound, dynamic viscosity, wind speed and direction, relative humidity, optical and radar indices of refraction, mean molecular weight, interlevel correlations of temperature, density, and wind, acceleration of gravity, and magnitudes of diurnal and semidiurnal tidal components of temperature, density, and wind. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 09, 1979
Accession Number
ADA081780

Entities

People

  • Allen E. Cole
  • Arthur J. Kantor
  • C. Russell Philbrick

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Sensors
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Altitude
  • Atmospheric Temperature
  • Databases
  • Frequency
  • Gas Laws
  • High Altitude
  • Marshall Islands
  • Measurement
  • Molecular Electronics
  • Optics
  • Plastic Explosives
  • Radial Velocity
  • Refractive Index
  • Sea Level
  • Stratified Fluids
  • Turbulence

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.
  • Climatology
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space