Summary
Winter and summer Mid-Latitude (45oN) atmospheres to 90 km, two of a family of nine atmospheres supplemental to the U.S. Standard Atmosphere (1962), provide information on atmospheric structure by seasons rather than the mean annual data shown in the Standard, which is described for reference. Principal data sources for constructing these atmospheres consisted of summaries of Northern Hemisphere radiosonde observations at stations near, 45oN, and observations made from rockets and instruments released by rockets, from nearly a dozen Northern Hemisphere launching sites.
Winter and summer temperature-height profiles begin with surface temperatures of −1° and +21 °C, respectively, and contain three isothermal layers: −58°C at 19 to 27 km in winter and −57.5°C at 13 to 17 km in summer; −7.5° and +2.5°C at 47 to 52 km; and −79.5 and −99°C at 80 to 90 km, respectively. The temperature-height curve for the U.S. Standard has a surface temperature of +15°C with isothermal regions at 11 to 20 km (−56.5°C), 47 to 52 km (−2.5°C), and 80 to 90 km (−92.5°C). In all three atmospheres, temperature gradients for various segments are linear with geopotential, height. Humidity is incorporated into the lowest 10 km of the Supplemental Atmospheres, whereas the Standard is dry. Figures and tables depict temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and density for winter and summer, and temperature, pressure, density, speed of sound, and dynamic viscosity for the U.S. Standard Atmosphere.
The Supplemental Atmospheres are mutually consistent; zonal wind profiles, computed from the geostrophic wind equation and selected pressure heights, compare favorably with existing radiosonde and rocket wind observations.
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Kantor, A.J., Cole, A.E. Mid-latitude atmospheres, winter and summer. Geofisica Pura e Applicata 53, 171–188 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02007120
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02007120