Accession Number:

ADA995431

Title:

OPERATION DOMINIC, FISH BOWL SERIES. Project Officer's Report. Project 9.1b. Ionospheric Wind and Diffusion Measurements

Descriptive Note:

Project Officer's rept.

Corporate Author:

AIR FORCE CAMBRIDGE RESEARCH LABS HANSCOM AFB MA

Personal Author(s):

• Champion, K. S.
• Manring, E. R.

Report Date:

1985-09-01

Pagination or Media Count:

166.0

Abstract:

The aim of this project was to measure high-altitude wind velocities and diffusion coefficients in the altitude region between 60 and 150 km. The method involved the ejection of a sodium vapor trail from a Cajun rocket at dust or dawn twilight. The sodium was sunlit, and as a result of emission of resonance radiation, was visible against a darkened background for about 20 minutes. The trail was photographed simultaneously from four different sites, allowing for subsequent triangulation to determine the altitude of various parts of the cloud. A major application of these wind and diffusion data, taken at dusk and dawn following the high-altitude nuclear tests, was to aid in determining the disposition of the nuclear debris.

Descriptors:

• *IONOSPHERE
• *NUCLEAR EXPLOSION TESTING
• *WIND VELOCITY
• CIRCULATION
• DIFFUSION COEFFICIENT
• HIGH ALTITUDE
• IONIZATION
• METAL VAPORS
• NUCLEAR WEAPON DEBRIS
• PERTURBATIONS
• SODIUM
• TRIANGULATION
• TWILIGHT
• UPPER ATMOSPHERE
• WIND DIRECTION

Subject Categories:

• Atmospheric Physics

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE