INTRODUCTION TO AEROLOGY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00039R000100220005-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 31
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 23, 2012
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: February 25, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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STAT
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I NTRO.DU CTl ON
10 A ERO Lo `I'
Aerology refers to that science devoted to research on
physical phenomena and processes occurring in the free atmosphere,
i.e., above the surface air layer which is directly influenced by
the earth's surface. Comparatively recently aerology came to be
considered an independent discipline of meteorology
the science
devoted to the study of physical phenomena and processes occurring
in the whole atmosphere. Since the atmosphere is the general subs
ject of study of the various divisions of meteorology, all meteoro-
logical disciplines are closely interrelated and together utilize
the results and conclusions obtained. Aerology is directly allied
to synoptical and dynamic meteorology.
in relation to studying aerological problems in the field
of free atmosphere physics, it is natural that the development of
aerological methods and instruments should be considered.
The study of the free atmosphere is effected by the use of
special instruments which are sent aloft in flying apparatuses.
For the study of higher atmospheric layers, various physical methods
are widely used: optical, radiophysical and others. The result
of aerological observations permit us to clarify the peculiarities
of processes occurring in the atmosphere, to obtain physical ex
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lanations for them, and to determine the laws of their develop
p
The results of aerological studies are widely applied,
'/ J P ( 4. a?0 ~h /c' I
d forecasting
in the weather service. The analysis an
of weather cannot be fully grounded nor successful without the
utilization of aerological data,
The development of aerological observations in the USSR is
an important condition in the success of Soviet synoptical meteor-
ology.
The value of aerology to the weather service determines its
role in satisfying the demands made by various branches of national
.
economy, transportation, and others, The results of aerological
observations are especially widely applied in aviation. The dis-
tribution of winds and temperatures with altitude, the height
and concentration of cloud layers, probability of aircraft icing
all of this has a great bearing on the successful completion of
flights.
The series of problems which aerology places before itself
is quite important in the general complexity of meteorological
studies. The following must be included therein: study of clouds
(height and thickness of clouds, their micro structure), icing,
study of the stratosphere, atrriospheric fronts, processes of turbu-
fence and so forth. As a result of aerological studies, a scheme
,
r
of the atmospheric structure is provided, many processes occuring
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therein are discovered, the structure of the fields of meteorological
~.
elements is clarified, and a basis for certain atmospheric phenomena is provided.
From this we may see how great is the role of aerological
observata. ?ons and how practical its application. Therefore it is
der the conditions in our country, with its
understandable that under
planned socialist economy, great attention is devoted to the study
The more widely applied systematic aerological observations
have the aim of determining the more important physical character-
the free atmosphere at various geographical points. The
istscs of
basic meteorological elements are included primarily in these
characteristics pressures temperature and humidity of the
~.o air.
Their measurements in the free atmosphere is considerably
difficult than observations at the earth's surface. Aerology
more
utilizes the latest achievements in physics, radio technology,
fully
instrument construction, aviation, and so forth.
The course offered here is devoted to the explanation of
contemporary methods in aerological observations.
A BriefReView of Methods of Aerolo 'cal .Observations
Methods of aerological observations are differentiated according
tithe object studied and the means applied thereto. As we have
stated, systematic aerological observations, in the main, provide
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information on the velocity and direction of the wind at various
altitudes, distribution of pressure, temperature, humidity, and
the height of clouds. At the same time, aerological methods are
utilized also for the study of the composition of the air, dis?
tribution of radiant energy, electrical condition, intensity of
cosmic radiation, and so forth.
Methods of aerological research may be divided into two
groups according to the character of means applied: methods of
direct aerological observations and the so?.called indirect methods.
In the first case, instruments sent aloft with the aid of
flying apparatus, either lighter or heavier than air, serve for
studying the physical conditions of the free atmosphere and its
changes.
Indirect methods give the opportunity for studying the
atmosphere by observing the distribution of sound waves (acoustiM
cal method), of optical phenomena (searchJ.ight beam, brightness
of the twilight sky, lightness of the night sky, meteors, northern
lights), and the distribution of radio waves (reflecting of radio
waves, atmospherics and others). These methods do not require
The methods of the first group, used daily in the aerological
station network, are the basic and more widely applied for the study
of the free atmosphere up to altitudes of 24 to 34 kilometers.
Direct aerological observations are usually conducted with the aid
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of instruments (meteorographs), automatically recording changes.
in meteorological elements during the ascent of free and captive
aerostats weather balloons, aircraft and aerial kites. An
observer participates during aerostatic and aircraft flights in
order to conduct observations and make measurements. Together
with this, there are methods of observation in which the results
of the measur~nents of ascending instruments are recorded by
an observer or a special apparatus located on the ground. Such
re: 1 the method of pilot balloons in which the location of
the balloon during flight is determined with the aid of a theodo-
lice3 and the method of radio pilots in which the observations
of the balloon are made with the aid of radio locators or radio
direction finders; (2) the method of radio meteorographs in which
the results of meteorologic measurements are transmitted by radio
and are recorded by special radio receiving equipment on the
ground.
In everyday aerological observation practices these latter
methods, namely, with recording of results on the ground,. have
the widest application.
At the present time, study of air currents in the free
atmosphere is conducted mainly by methods of the pilot and radio
balloon observations. For the measurement of pressure, temperature,
and humidity at various altitudes, radio meteorographs carried on
hydrogen-'filled balloons, as well as meteorographs on aircraft are
used.
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The study of dimensions of cloud strata is made by the
as well as with the aid of nephographs
pilot balloon method,
and radio meteorographs on aerostats and airplanes.
Study of the m.cro~structux es of clouds, developing more
e ui ed
and more in the last several years,. requires especially q pp
f1 ? in this work, the methods of radio location
y? ~.ng laboratories have also been applied.
Before arrivifl at the present contemporary condition, the
methods of aerological research went through a not inconsiderable
historical development related to the development of meteorology,
O/?
the eneral development of science and technology.
as well as g
f erolo icalResearch. Or anization of S stem,
earance o A
bservations in Russia in the Nineteenth and1
~,erolo~~.cal 0
Twentieth Centuries
The problems involved in studying the upper atmospheric
layers first caught the attention of scientists in the middle of
century. The founder of Russian science, M. V.
the eighteenth
Lomanosov, was the first to point to the importance of this type
His ideas of 200 years ago indicated the value of
of study.
studying the atmosphere.
studying the atmospheric conditions from various levels in
mountains, a method makUg an appearance at that time, could not
characterise the actual conditions of the free atmosphere. Such
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a problem could only be solved by flying apparatus. On )4. February
175h, at a conference of the Academy of Sciences, M. V. Lomonasov
came forth with the announcement regarding his work on a machine
designed to car various meteorological instruments into the upper
~'
ecs of the atmosphere. This "aerodynamic machine{ with two
lay
propellers revolving in opposite directions, had the appearance.
of a model helicopter. (Helicopter -~ a flying machine ascending
by means of an aerial screw co-located on a vertical axis.) HowM
ever M. V. Lomonosov did not succeed in applying his invention.
s
The beginning of the study of the free atmosphere is closely
tied with the appearance of air navigation.
To our native land belongs the construction of the first
aerostat and the first flight in it. In a manuscript among reports
of first flights made in Russia, there is the following description
of a balloon light made in 1731: Ewritten'in old Russian]
"Kryakutnoy, the scribes assistant from Nerekhta, made the furvin
(a bag) like a large ball, filled it with smoke, unclean and
stinking, made a loop, sat in it and* ...'ascended "higher than a
birch tree." In this manner, the French brothers Montgolfier were
able to duplicate the experience of Kryakutnoy only 52 years later
(in 1783).
The invention of the aerostat permitted the beginning of
tions were made incidentally, the methods of observation were in.'.
the study of the fre(atmospher'e, but in the first flights observaw
co fete and the results insignificant. The first flight
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spec.f entif~.c res$a~?ch was made in Russia by
~.~.cally for sc' ~.
une 1841~. In this flight an
Academi.cian Ya. D. Zakharov on 30 Jam was completed:. measurement of
extensi~'e observation progr he air-
e and study of the composition oft ~
pressure and temperatur
cal electrical and magnetic
besidesthat, a study of acousti
.nand others was made. The aerostat
phenomena solar radaatio .. some 2,600 maters. A lowering of tip era
reached an altitude of
to ~.~ degrees at maximum
tuxes from 23.8 degrees at the surface
observatioAll observations made
altitude was established by
presented great scientific value.
e ht there were some research
after Ya. D. Za,kbarov s flag, h the articipation of Gay-Lussac and
ascents made in France wit p ,
ct ortant for the methodology of
Biota who discovered the fa ' ~
ants of the heating of the thermometex?
temperature measurcm ,
through the action of solar radiation.
to note that the problems of aeronautics
It is necessary
to scientific investigations began to
and their application
invite the attention of the leading circles of Russian society
' 818 the progressive social worker V. N.
quite early. Thus an l ,
?n suggested that means be provided for the conduct of
Karaza
ns for investigating various layers
experiments with captive halloo
Still earlier, in 1806, in the first Russian
of the atmosphere...
F. Kruzenshtern, small. balloons
reund..the~world expedition of I ?
filled with heated air were released for the study of air in the
seraations later brought about the
Such ob
After the above
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mentioned flights of Ya. D. Zakharov and other scientists in
investigations aided by aerostats, there was an interval until the
60's of the nineteenth century when flights for scientific pur-
poses were resumed. In this the investigators sought to obtain
results in the study of the atmosphere by way of more systematic
flights, greater altitudes, and improvements in the methods of
measurement.
?In Russia, investigations aided by aerostats were conducted
beginning in 1868 by M. A. Rykachev (later Academician and Director
of the Main physical Observatory). On one of his flights (1873)
to ascertain reliable altitudes for the aerostat, observations by
theodolite were made.
Of great importance in the development of study of the free
atmosphere was the work of the Russian scientific genius D. I.
Mendeleyev. His theories and direct work in the field of meteor
ology attracted the attention of sciaitific circles and influenced
the development of aerology. Regarding the value of aerological
investigations made in 1870, D. I. Mendeleyev wrote: "Our meteor
ologic conclusions will remain as realistic as judgments of the
crab crawling along the bottom of the 'sea and from them: attempting
to solve the problems of sea storms and changes ... There (above)
is the laboratory of weather, there clouds are formed, there they
move, and there measuring instruments seldom are placed. There
will come a time when an aerostat will be as permanent an instrument
of the meteorologist as the barometer has become," And now we see
how. brilliant has been the scientific forecast of D. I. Mendeleyev,
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inasmuch as aerological, observations have become systematic, and
the greater part of them is based on the utilization of aerostats
of one type or anotherQ
The results of flights made from 1$52 to 1866 by tlelsh
and, especially, by Glesher in England were known to D. I.
Mendeleyev. On one of these flights an altitude of 8a 8L0 meters
was attained, and further ascent nearly cast the lives of Glesher
and his companion Koksvell. Evidently, th.e problem of reaching
great altitude was related to the development of a new schene for
the aerostat 'I't is possible to rise higher in aerostats than
has taken place heretofore," stated D. I.. Mendeleyev; for this
it is necessary to have "...a space enclosed from all sides in
which the observer will remain safe at high altitudes and will
manage the ascent and descent of the balloon and, besides, study
the conditions of the upper layers of the atmosphere." In this
manner, in 1875, D. i. Mendeleyev put forth the idea of a strato?
scat and developed the principle of a hermetically sealed gondola.
D. I. Mendeleyev himself made a successful flight in an aerostat
during the solar eclipse of 1887, which also proves the growth of
interest by wide circles of society in air navigation and study
of the high strata of the atmosphere?
The Czarist government stifled the creative activity of
scientists and inventors, did not permit the full development nor
the realization of. their ideas.. Such were the conditions which
prevailed with the projects of D. I. Mendeleyev, he did not receive
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instruments on small free balloons (which later became radio
meteorograph balloons).
not even able to realize the ,,proposal of sending aloft automatic
the necessary' means for the, construction of an aerostat and was
The Air Navigation Department of the Russian Technical
Society under the chairmanship of M. A. Rykachev, organized in
1880, participated greatly in making flights for the purpose of
investigating the free atmosphere. Especially fntitf'ul was the
work in this direction made by M. M. Pomortsev, one of the
pioneers of Russian aerology. Under the leadership of M. M.
Pomortsev and with his participation, lengthy and systematic
investigations were made. The results of the first forty flight;
were processed and published by him in 1891, and in 1897 his
second work appeared in the form of a scientific report on 80
flights together with a series of original and far-.reaching con--
elusions.
M. M. Pomortsev was at the same time a leading designer
and created a series of meteorological instruments. He also prop
posed to use the theodolite for observations of cloud movements,
proposed the question and supplied the solution for an experimental
verification of a barometric formula, utilizing the original method
of determining the altitude of an aerostat by measuring the angular
diameter of balloons with the micrometer' eyepiece of the theodolite.
Especially interesting was the analysis, made first by him, of
. aerological material in connection with synoptical conditions. He
was the one who'in'l889 wrote the first Russian textbook on synop-
tical meteorology.
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In addition, M. N. Pomortsev, S? I. Savinov, V. V. Kuznetsov,
and others made separate flights on aerostats.
Later than M
?' _ ... _._ a series of aerological flights
on aerostats was made in Germany, beginning with 1$91, by Assnian
Berson and Zyuring; a compendium of the results of their observa.
tions was published only in 1900.
When making observations from aerostats, the principle
tot
difficulties arose , taking temperature measurement
s. The
discovered influence of solar radiation upon thermometer readings
was overcome by way of ventilating the thermometer bulb, The
Russian scientists M. A. Rykachev and M. M. Pomortsev utilized
with success a sling thermometer. Uelsh used in his observations
an aspiration thermometer, and later, Assman, a ventilating
p sychrometer.
In the next phase of the development of aerology, the
beginning of which was at the end of the nineteenth century,
appeared the use of flying apparatus for studying the atmosphere
with instruments which automatically recorded changes in meteoro-
logical elements with altitude.
For this, in 'the practice of aerological observations, the
methods of kite ascents, of sounding balloons and ascents in
The `utilization of these con..
rxnitted the systematic sounding
neoessitating such
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complex and expensive means as free aerostats, the flights of
whichs therefore, could not assure regularity of investigations.
In Russia, systematic aerological observations were
organized by the Main Physical Observatory -~ he central govern-
ment meteorological organi2ation.
The method of sounding balloons developed out of the method
of free aerostats. in the beginning, releases of srfll aerostats
equipped with self-recording instruments without observers were
organ Later9 special balloons heavy enough to lift organized. instruments were designed. Experiments in the use of such light
sounding
balloons began to be conducted in 1692.
Initially, for this purpose, cloth or paper casings were
used of various sues -- having diameters from several meters to
dozens of meters. They were filled mainly with hydrogen. The
first ascent of a sounding balloon in Russia occurred in 1696
near Leningrad at the Aeronautical School. This sounding balloon
was an aerostat (nicknamed "Kobchik") with a volume of 2~O cubic
meters. Systematic ascents of sounding balloons' began to be made
in our country at the Pavlovsk Observatory frc~a 1901.
The widespread use of the sounding balloon method was due
to the appearance of rubber casing (1901), which simplified the
tecbni e'of ascents and increased the altitude of soundings.
The discovery' of the stratosphere made by Teyseran do Boron
Fiance in 1902 is due to he sounding ba13.oon method.
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At the end of the nineteenth century appeared the method
of pilot balloon observations for investigating winds in the free
atmosphere. However, its widespread use was possible also only
after the appearance of rubber casings, 1. e., in the beginning
of the twentieth century.
The use of kites for aerological investigations began
during the nineties of the last century. The technique of building
kites in Russia was at a high level. It is enough to mention the
names of A. F. ? Mozhayskiy (the inventor of the world's first air--
plane), S. S. Nezhdanovskiy and S. A. Ulyanin, who built kites of
great capacity and stability of flight at the end of the nineteenth
century. The first aerological kites were flown in Russia in 1897.
These ascents were organized by the Main Physical Observatory in
Pavlovsk (near Leningrad) with the purpose of determining the
height of clouds. Soon thereafter, meteorological instruments
began to be sent aloft on kites there, and from 1899 kite observa-
tions became the basic means of atmospheric soundings.
V. V. Kuznetsov was engaged in the development of kite
observation methods. The initial period of our aerology and the
development of the first aerological instruments, used in our
country for a long time, were closely linked with his name. These
instruments included the aerological theodolites nephoscope' kite
and sounding meteorographs' wand gust meters and others, as well
as semi-cylindrical kites with excellent flying qualities. In 1902,
under the leadership of V. V. Kuznetsov, a Kite Department at the
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the Main physical Observatory was established;.
Pavlavsk branch of
later (?.n 1,1.2) this was reorganized into the Aerological Observa~
~
Cory.
cal Commission, organized in 1896
An 01og?-
for the coordInternat~or~a1 Aer
erological investigations, established
~.natlon of a
for simultaneous observations at all pointso
international days.
These observations had great value for the development of ideas
the atmosphere. M. A. Rykachev, M. M. pomortsev
on the structure of
and V. V. Kuznetsov were active participants in these internatiar~al
l?nvesta.gatlons and organizers of countless observations at various
points in Russia.
cal observations with the aid of kite and sounding
Aeralagi
to be made in the first years of the twentieth
ascents began
century' at Kazan' , at the Aeradyflamic Institute in Kuchin (near
Moscow), at the yekaterinburg, Tiflis, and Irkutsk Observatories,
and several other points. Local observatories took part in inter
aerological observations. However, regular soundings
rational
were made only at pavlovsk, where the work on methodology of
aerological a.estigatians and dissemination of the results of
~.rsv
observations were concentrated.
Thanks to the determination and love of they work by the
sc ?sts, notwithstand-ng the difficulty of the work under the
~.enti
nnditions of Czarist Russia, ;Russian aerology attained considerable
c
successes. Several basic methods of aerological investigations
:.. .
(with thea is sounding balloons, kites? and pilot
, ~.d . of aerosta ~
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balloons ) were develop ed' instruments were designed, systematic
?on c in Pav1ovsk and periodic observations at a number
~ a.
observatl
of other points were organized. A stud of the results of
-
observations gave the opportunity of obtaining the first informa-?
t e regime of the lower layer of the free
~.on on the temperatur
atmosphere, on the average distribution of tenperature at various
altitudes, and on the height of the lower limit of the stratosphere
The study of the results of soundings from
for certain paints.
the synoptical point of view ew was continued. A. A. Fri c1man completed
the first work on the theoretical study of the free atmosphere.
ent of Aerolo in the USSR after the Great October
4e ~evel~ m
Socialist Revalution
The development of investigation: in the field of aerology,
as in other fields of science, in prerevolutionary Russia was made
d'ff~. ' cult by the policy of th.e Czarist govermnent;stifled the
~.
creative activity of the investigators by not granting them means
and by not suPPortiflg the initiative of the talented sons of the
.
Russian people. Only the Great October Socialist Revolution
established the necessary conditions and material possibilities for
the flowering of science and technology, and in particular, for
the development of aerology.
Inrelata.an to the important problems confronting Soviet
metearalagy 21, V. I. Lenin signed a decree of the Soviet
in 19 _
of People's Commissars of the RSFSR "On the Organization of Neteora~
logical Service in the RSFSR", determining the mission of the
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meteorological service in serving the national economy of our
country. The acceptance of the national economic plan of the
first 1.ve-x'ear Plan and the consequently increased demands upon
meteorology and hydrology necessitated the unification of the
entire hydro-mmeteorological service of the country. In 1929, the
Soviet government organized the Hydro.41eteora10gical Co .ttee of
~,
the USSR under' the Soviet of Peop1e1` Commissars of the USSR.
In accordance with this, the conditions and the field of meteoro-
logical work embraced were basically changed.
The first successes of Soviet aerology are related to the
activity of the Pavlovsk Aerological Observatory. At the same
time, work in the field of aerology was developing in Moscow,
where in 1929, within the organization of the State Scientific-'
Research Geophysical Institute, the Moscow Aerological Observatory
was established. .
of new designs and a series of other improved equipment created by
the collective of scientific workers of the. observatory. The pro-'
The Pavlovsk observatory was the scientific-methodological
center which developed new methods of aerological investigations
and more advanced designs of instruuments. These included the
widely used instruments for the processing of pilot balloon
observations ~- Molchanov's circle, the sounding meteorograph
without a clock mechanism, the pilot balloon self-recording theodo-
lite kite and airplane meteorographs, kite and captive aerostats
of aerological observations of the observatory was greatly
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expanded. Finally, under its leadership in 192., the first pilot
balloon stations in various points of the Soviet Union were
opened.
The method of airplane soundings of the atmosphere was
proposed by A. A. Fridman as early as 1916, but it was developed
only after the Great October Socialist Revolution. With this
view, an airplane meteorograph was designed at the Pavlovsk
Observatory in 1921-1922.
The wide application and development of the method of airs
plane soundings was attributed to the Moscow Aerological Observa-
tory.
On the initiative of V. I. Vitkevieh, airplane soundings
began in 1921 in Moscow, for which, notwithstanding the difficulties
of the times, the Soviet goverimient assigned an aviation unit to
the observatory. in October 192., an altitude of 8,560 meters was
attained
-- a record for airplane soundings for that period.
Besides airplane ascents, beginning with 1919, kite and pilot
balloon observations and, later, capture aerostats and sounding
balloon flights were organized. In Moscow, the first acoustical
methods of investigating the atmosphere in the USSR were applied
by V. I. Vitkevich.
In the organization and development of the work in the field
of aerology in the Moscow Observatory, large roles were played by
S. L. Bastanov and V. A. Khanevskiy.
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tensified growth of investigations of the free atmosphere in the
The . demands of the national econoxy, the development of
aviation, the needs of the weather service all required an in
USSR.
One of the missions of the Hydro~Meteorological Committee
organized in 1929, was the organization of.a net of aerological
stations, in a great measure due to the development of the weather
servic e, which by that tame was
using new. ideas in synoptical
thought, requiring data on the conditions of the free atmosphere
for the analysis of weather forecasts. The existing network of
pilot balloon observations was not able to satisfy these require-
ments. Information on the distribution of temperature and hunddity
was necessary. This problem could not be solved by the method of
airplane soundings because of the dependence of flights on the
weather and their considerable cost.
The study of polar regions, the conquest of the stratosphere,
the increased requir~nents of the quickly developing Soviet aviation
all these called forth the necessity of. establishing new operational
methods of soundings which satisfied recent requirements.
Having in mind the satisfaction of these non-postponable
requirements and the general development of the study of the
atmosphere, the collective of the Pavlovsk aerological observatory
under the direction of P. A. Molchanov, worked out a new method of
investigating the free atmosphere -- the method of radio soundings.
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The first radio sounding in the world, made on 30 January 1930 at
Pavlovsks affirms the leadership of our motherland in this most .
i ortant contemporary sounding of the atmosphere, beginning a
new phase in the development of aerology. 'rerequlsa to
to this invention were the grit successes of Soviet radio technology.
Only after the beginning of regular ascents of radio soundings.
in the USSR, did the first radio soundings appear in France and
Germarr~r and considerably later in the United States.
The first period of the work of the Pavlovsk aerological
observatory ending with the invention of radio soundings is.
characterized also by a series of other important works in the field
of observational methodology, as well as in the field of physics of
the free atmosphere. From the methodological works, it is desirable
to point to the experimental research on the influence of turbulence
on the vertical velocity of pilot balloons, the development of a
method for measuring wind gusts in the free atmosphere, and the
introduction of systematic pilot balloon observations.
The materials of observations allowed further development
in the work of determining more precisely the structure of the
free atmosphere. A series of new factors were established, such
asa spring inversion, types of distributions of gusts; icing on
kites and conditions of cumulus cloud formations were studied; de-
tailed `characteristics of the changes of wind with altitude, etc,
were obtained.
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The radio sounding method provided the possibility of
establ ical stations for temperature sounds
?
~.s1~-~ a net . of aerolog
ings, which was organized by the dro-meteorological Service of
~'
the USSR beginning ?ng in 1934. The development of.he;.ret of aero-
logical points ~. of temperature and wind soundings and their regular
.
work perms development and introduction of adiabatic
-tied, the
into the practice of the weather service.
charts and altitude charts
This resulted assuring the successful development of new
in synaptical methods ~. in particular the advective?dyx~amic analysis
as worked out by Kh. P. Pagasyan and N. L. Taborovskiy, and the
c method of weather prediction established by N. E.
hydrodTharrn.
Kochin and I. A. Kibel.
Cher, the work of the Pavlovsk aerological observatory
entered the field of perf ecting radio soundings, the establishment
of new types of meteorographs, the adaptation of radio location
for the measurement of wind when there is an absence Of visibility,
the solution of problenis on the precision of aerological methods
in the measurement of ' ~-nd, t omperatur e, and pressure. The result
of the work was the appearance of a series of, newly designed in.
a commutator radio sounder, a stratostatic
struments such as
eteorograph' and others. In 1933, for the first tames an automatic
m.
meteorological station was built,
At the same time, the Pavlovsk observatory was responsible
r the direction of the, established network of aerological stations,
fo ,
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observatory plays an important role in the preparation
This
of aerology personnel. Over a number of years, special courses at
the observatory prepared aerologists for work in the network of
Here students of the Moscow (later Leningrad)
aerological stata.ons.
institutions preparing specialists in the field of
educational
aerology had their practical training.
The Moscow aerologicai observatory also successfully carried
on investigations of the free atmosphere by all types of aerological
soundings. Amon the new instruments developed by this observatory,
.
the self recurding theodolite with constant registration of angles
and the first rocket eteoro aph should be mentioned, The work on
m ~' ~
the attainment of high altitudes of sounding was brought to success
ful ascents of balloon soundings up to an altitude surpassing 30
kilometers.
rolonical institute, the Leningrad University, and other .
Hydr o.nlet eo ~
Graduall the role of local observatories (Sverdlovsk,
Tbilisi, Odessa, Kiev and Minsk) increased,
~?ng to the accumulation of material on aerological
ccorc~.
'servations at the pavlovsk and the Moscow aerological observa-
00
tories, as well as in geophysical observatories, the problems of
the physics of the free atmosphere are being more thoroughly in-
vesta.gated. There, a series of problems is being solved with the.
aid of especially developed methods of observation.
rom year to year, the?role of aerology in the fulfillment
F
of requirements and problems of the national economy is steadily
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Soviet aerologists are participating greatly in the study
of the stratosphere. Scientists began to give special attention
to this question from the beginning of the thirties; at this
time the work on the study of the troposphere and the lower
atmosphere first appeared.
The great rise of Soviet science and technology and the
heroism of the Soviet people were dauonstrated by the successful.
flight of the stratostat "SSSR?l" and the "Osoaviakhim"l". The
~,
first flight (Stratostat "SSSR l") took place on 30 September 1933.
Aerial navigators G. A. prvkoftyev, K. D. Godunov, and
E. K. Birnbaum attained altitudes of 19 kilometers. The second
the stratostat "0soaviakhimal't) 'was held in 193L. with
flight (on
consisting of P. F. Fedoseyenko, A. Be Basenko' and N. D.
a crew
the stratostat attained the record altitude of 22 1dlo~
U syskt.n,
meters.
These lights9 like those that followed' added greatly to
the know/edge of the stratosphere' their results surpassing foreign
investigations.
The development of methodology of investigations and the
successful construction of scientific instruments were achieved
by the collective of the Main Geophysical Observatory (S. i. Savinov'
N. N. Kalitins P. N. Tver skoy'. and others).
nvestig'ations of the stratosphere were not limited by work
T
r'
on.the basis ofaerologkcal Observations and flights of stratostats.
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As was pointed out, the study of upper layers was being
carried on by x ?nda.r ect ? methods. V. G. Fesenkov in 1923 proposed
of observations of the brightness of twilight;
the utilization
thy? .s work was further developed by N. M. Shtaube, and in recent
years being conducted by a series of astrophysical observa-
it is b
tories of this country.
Since 1932 M. Aa Bonch-Bruny'evich and P. N. Tversk~-y have
successfully conducted investigations by the method of radio wave
v
distribution. In recent years, while investigating the distri'
but~on of radio o wavess a series of basic conclusions on the
?
.
physical ropaches of the ionosphere were made by V. L. Ginsburg
and ya.L. Al p ert.
Observations of silver clouds, meteors, and the contents
of the ozone also gave rich materials for the study of the
stratosphere. A considerable contribution to the study of upper
1
layers was niade by N. A. Khvostikov on the basis of observations
of the illurnina.tion of the nocturfal sky and results of projector
A conference on the study of the stratosphere, held in
193L under the direction of S. I. Vavilov, snmrned up the work in
the field of study of upper layers of the atmosphere, showing the
fruitfulness of the. extensive investigation of the
value and
R
problems of the stratosphere conducted by Soviet scientists.
meteorology by the detailed
and processes'demanded,the organization
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in 1939 and 19L O of special soundings' more frequent in time and
space. These soundings gave valuable material for use in the
construction of synoptic-aerological cross sections of the
Such work and other investigations in the application
atmosphere.
of aerological f aerolo 'cal data in synoptical practice represented the develop
merit of aerological work begun as early as the twenties at the
'n Geophysical Observatory (by S. T. Troitskiy and others).
Ma1
In 191O the Moscow aerological observatory was e,ttac}led to
~
the Central Forecasting Institute. As a result of this, its
work took on a definite synoptical direction. The strengthening.
of the technical base of the observatory was a great achievement.
The observatory obtained control of a fleet of free aerostats and
qualified air navigators. Utilization of these means made it
possible to conduct a variety of experimental investigations in
the free atmosphere.
The great fatherland war placed new problems before the
dcowmeteorological service of the USSR, and before aerology
particularly.
With self-negating labor, Soviet aerologists fulfilled
their missions at the front and in the interior, zone. The work
of the aerological observatories of the GGO and TsIP continued
on the preparation of aerological instructions, on the investigation
of the accuracy of aerological methods, on the improvement of
direction finding of radio pilot balloons, as well as the methodolog-
.
ical mamagement of production of radio soundings, casings, etc.
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During these years, a series of new methods and instruments
was also developed. Thus, in the Moscow Aerological Observatory,
-
the world's first regular observations of the wind in the free
atmosphere with the aid of a radio locator (the so-called radio-
pilot observations) were established. The Central Design Bureau
(TsKB) of the Main Administration of the Hyd~?o-Meteorological
Service worked out a new airplane meteorograph, Sm-L3, and a
new radio-sounder, "Volna".
The reconstruction and development of socialist economy in
thepost~~-.ar period raised greater practical problems and demanded
more intense effort on the part of workers of the hydro-zneteoro
logical service, especiall aerologists. 'The re-estab1i.sbment of
~'
the aerological network and its development in connection with the
application cation of new methods of synoptical meteorology, the.
cienta.fic?methadological direction of the increased network of
s
aexolog'.ca1 stationss the development and broadening of investi-
gative ~ work a. 'n the field of methodology of aerological observations
of the free atmosphere -~ all of this posed the problem
and physics
of independent direction by the aerological center, Accordingly,
the Moscow Observator in 19b.3 was redesignated as the Central
~'
erological Observatory (TsAO). It was strongly fortified and de-
A
veloped in succeeding years, and at the present time is a large
scn.ent fie institution of the syst~n of the Hydro-Neteorologieal
i
Servic e,
We are Indebted to (the activity of the TsAO for the further
the aerological network, for the introduction of
development of
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ra ervations, for the working out of the methodology
c.o-pilot obs
of soundi ?ngs on highspeed aircraft and captive balloons, for the
.
basic improvements of aerial navigation applicable to the problems
IeStigatians in the most important
of aerology, and others.
problems of cantempoxary aeroloY demanded the development of the
ethodological aspect and a broader physical study of the results.
m
tions of the stratosphere brought large
Special investa.ga
successes and received high praise from the government. For in-
xel
vest~. 'gata. ' ons in the field of cosmic rays, the Stalin prize was
awarded to S. N Very .; for the development of aerological in?
. ~'~
the Director of the TsAO, G. I. Golyshev; for the
strument' to
development of new methods of investigating the upper layers of
the atmosphere, to I. A. Khvostikov, B. L. DzerzeyevskiY, and
other scia~tists.
As can be seen from this short review, the development of
Soviet aerolotY proceeded along a completely independent route,
in many" Instances earl'? than abroad. The results of aerological
invesUgat?ons always answered to practical necessities and require'
~.
mants a of the national economy and aided the development of
meteorology.
ccesses of Sovi-et aerology once more affirm those
The su
wide 05bi11 ?ttes for the flowering and development of science
s~.
in aux country which our Soviet government and the Communist party
the Soviet people toward new achiev~nents in all
gave, inspiring
fields of peaceful constructive labor.
gin a{. ~'~ ~l~;~f
)~~11~t'~~dt 11 ,i .j' i
~Y1Y14~Y+d Pohim~d
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Kedrolivansic y, V. N. Meteorological Instruments. Gidrometeo-
izdat, 19L7.
2, Nolchanov, P. A. Methods of Investigating the Free Atmosphere.
Voyenmorizdat, 1911.
Molchanov, P. A. Aerology, 1939.
Transactions of the Aerological Observatory in Pavlovsk (Slutsk).
;. Transactions of the Central Aerological Observatory, No. 1
(1947), No. 2 (1917), No. 3 (1945), No. 1 (1949)?
6. Transactions of the Conference on the study of the stratosphere.
Published by AN SSSR, 193g.
7. Problems of the Methodology of Aerological Observations. Trans-
actions of the NIU GUGMS, series I, No 19, 1916.
S. Instructions to hydrometeorological stations and posts, No 1,
Part i. -~ Pilot Balloon Observations from one point, Gidrometeoizdat,
19Li1; No 1, Part II -r Base Pilot Balloon Observations, Gidrometeo
izdat, 194,; No , Part III - Temperature Sounding of the Atmosphere,
Gidrorneteoizdat, 1917.
9. Instructions on the Testing of Meteorological and Aerological
Instruments, Gidrometeoizdat, 191.8.
10. Kleinechmidt, E. Handbuch der meteorologischen Instrumente.
VII ... Aerologische Messmethoden, Berlin, 193g.
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To Cbapter I
1. Gaygerov, S. S. The First Scientific Flight. Meteorology and
Hydrology, No 5, 19L9.
2. Zakharov, Academician. Report to the Imperial Academy of
Sciences on the Results of the Aerial Flight Made in June the 30th
day of the Year 180LC.. Technological Journal, Vol. IV, Part 2,
pp 132-153, Saint Petersburg, 1807.
3. Konstantinovsk Observatory (Pavlovsk). Investigations of the
Atmosphere, No 29 Saint Petersburg, 1907.
14.. Mendeleyev, D. I. On the temperature of the upper layers of
the earth1s atmosphere. Journal of the Russian Chemical Society
and the Physical Society, Vol 7, No 8, physics part No 19 1875.
5. Mendeleyev, D. I. An aerial flight from Klin during an
eclipse. Severnyy Vestnik -~ Northc?n Courier -~ No 11 and 129
1887.
6, Pomortsev, N. M. Scientific results of hO aerial flights made
in Russia. Engineering Journal, No 5, 1891.
7. Pomortsev, M. M. Investigating the atmosphere with the aid of
aerial balloons. Aerial Navigation and. Investigations of the
Atmosphere, No 3, 1897.
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SUPPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY
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8. Rodnykh, A. A. Pilot Balloons. Climate and Weather, No , 1931..
9. Rodnykh, A. A. Balloon Sounders. Climate and Weather, No 6,
1931.; No 1, 193g?
10. Rykachev, M. M. A survey of our literature on the distribution,
velocity and direction of wind at various layers of the atmosphere.
Natural Productive Powers of Russia, Vol I, part 1, 1919.
11. Savinov, S. I. An outline of the activity of.the magnetic-
meteorological observatory at Slutsk (Pavlovsk) during 50 years
(18781927). Published by the GGO, 1927.
12. Selezneva, Ye. S. The role of the Main Geophysical Observatory
in the development of aerology in the USSR. Meteorology and Hydrology,
No , 1949.
13. Tikhomirov, Ye. I. from the history of the study of the
atmosphere. Climate and Weather, No 3 4, 1932.
]J4.. Assman, R. and Berson, B. Wisserschaftliche Luftfahrten. Bd 1,
Braunschweig, 1900.
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