The Diurnal Variation of Turbopause Height.

Abstract

Utilizing chemical release observations, and recently reported turbopause heights based upon mass spectrometer measurements of the Ar/N2 ratio, the diurnal variability of turbopause height is determined. Separation of the data, on a seasonal basis, shows that there is a strong winter diurnal variability with turbulence carrying to its highest altitude (approximately 115 km) between sunset and midnight, and minimizing at the noon hour. The spring data shows a similar variability, but at an overall lower altitude than that of winter, and a possible latitudinal difference, while the fall results demonstrate no real diurnal variation, and an average turbopause height at approximately 106 km. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 03, 1980
Accession Number
ADA099340

Entities

People

  • Samuel P. Zimmerman

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Altitude
  • Atmospheres
  • Coefficients
  • Databases
  • Diffusion Coefficient
  • Diurnal Variations
  • Gaussian Distributions
  • Gravity Waves
  • Heat Transfer
  • High Latitudes
  • Latitude
  • Mass Spectrometers
  • Measurement
  • Momentum Transfer
  • Pressure Gradients
  • Thermosphere

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Space/Atmospheric Physics.