On the existence of a systematic error in the measurement of winds aloft
"Winds aloft are normally determined from the horizontal projection of an ascending balloon's path on a polar diagram. This method obtains a value for the average wind speed and direction for the layer through which the balloon has ascended during a two-minute interval by drawing a straigh...
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| Format: | Others |
| Language: | English English |
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Florida State University
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| Online Access: | http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_historic_akp4991 |
| Summary: | "Winds aloft are normally determined from the horizontal projection of an ascending balloon's path on a polar diagram. This method obtains a value for the average wind speed and direction for the layer through which the balloon has ascended during a two-minute interval by drawing a straight line between the horizontal projection of the balloon's position at the beginning and end of the two-minute interval. The horizontal projection of a balloon's actual path is a smooth curve and it is believed that a more accurate measurement of the average wind speed and direction for the layer will be obtained by determining the wind speed from the length of the curve for the two-minute interval and determining the direction from the tangent to the balloon's position along the curve at the intermediate time interval. The wind speed was computed by both methods for three months' data and the results compared with the purpose of determining a correction factor. The wind direction as determined by the method suggested was found not to vary appreciably from the direction determined by the conventional method. It was found that there is often a considerable difference in the wind speed as determined by the two methods especially at very low wind speeds, with the wind speed determined by the conventional method always being too small, but that it is impractical to apply a correction factor to reported winds when one considers the absolute value, rather than the percentual value, of the difference"--Abstract. === Typescript. === "August, 1956." === "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." === Includes bibliographical references (leaf 16). |
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