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67-745: The headquarters for the Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory and the bulk of its research facilities were established in White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico . Several of ASL’s research facilities were also established at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey . ASL meteorological teams were stationed throughout North America at the following sites: Fort Hunter Liggett, California ; Redstone Arsenal, Alabama ; Fort Belvoir, Virginia ; Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona ; Fort Huachuca, Arizona ; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland ; Dugway Proving Ground, Utah ; Fort Greely, Alaska ; and

134-458: A ) 2 / g h n . {\displaystyle \varepsilon _{n}=(2\Omega a)^{2}/gh_{n}.} Hence, atmospheric tides are eigenoscillations ( eigenmodes )of Earth's atmosphere with eigenfunctions Θ n {\displaystyle \Theta _{n}} , called Hough functions , and eigenvalues ε n {\displaystyle \varepsilon _{n}} . The latter define

201-617: A V-2 rocket returned in May 2004 after restoration. The White Sands Missile Range Hall of Fame inducts members such as the first range commander, Colonel Harold Turner (1945–1947), in 1980. A recreational shooting range just inside the "El Paso gate" on the south is outside of the Post Area. The 1972 DoD Centers for Countermeasures (CCM) evaluates precision guided munitions and other devices in electronic counter- and counter-countermeasures environments. Other operations on WSMR land include

268-509: A broad range of meteorological conditions through the development of new technologies and techniques. Research within ASL consisted of six major areas: atmospheric sensing, microscale and mesoscale meteorology, meteorological satellites, atmospheric modification, physics and chemistry of the atmosphere, and meteorological equipment and techniques. Atmospheric sensing focuses on remote and continuous real-time surveillance of atmospheric parameters and

335-674: A device that made it possible for two-way radiotelephone conversations to occur on a single frequency. By 1959, the White Sands Signal Corps Agency had doubled in size and scope of operations and was redesignated as the U.S. Army Signal Missile Support Agency (SMSA). SMSA was responsible for providing communication-electronic, meteorologic, and other support for the Army's missile and space program as well as conduct research and development in meteorology , electronic warfare , and missile vulnerability. The agency developed

402-492: A given height x = z / H {\displaystyle x=z/H} , the wave maximizes for K n = s λ + α n x − σ t = 0. {\displaystyle K_{n}=s\lambda +\alpha _{n}x-\sigma t=0.} For a fixed longitude λ {\displaystyle \lambda } , this in turn always results in downward phase progression as time progresses, independent of

469-677: A record height of 164,000 feet in 1969. On June 1, 1965, ECOM ultimately made the decision to discontinue the operations of the U.S. Army Electronics Laboratories, which had adopted the duties of the Signal Corps Laboratories. The U.S. Army Electronics Laboratories was subsequently divided into six separate laboratories: the Electronic Components Laboratory (which later became the Electronics Technology and Devices Laboratory ),

536-474: A team of ten men from Fort Monmouth with two modified SCR-584 vans to “A” station at White Sands Proving Ground (later renamed White Sands Missile Range) to perform tests on the captured German V-2 rockets . From these tests, it became increasingly apparent after the war that atmospheric research was vital in predicting the behavior of missiles and where it would impact. On January 1, 1949, the Department of

603-422: Is latent heat release due to deep convection in the tropics . The primary source for the 24-hr tide is in the lower atmosphere where surface effects are important. This is reflected in a relatively large non-migrating component seen in longitudinal differences in tidal amplitudes. Largest amplitudes have been observed over South America , Africa and Australia . Atmospheric tides are also produced through

670-995: Is a positive integer so that positive values for σ {\displaystyle \sigma } correspond to eastward propagating tides and negative values to westward propagating tides. A separation approach of the form Φ ′ ( φ , λ , z , t ) = Φ ^ ( φ , z ) e i ( s λ − σ t ) Φ ^ ( φ , z ) = ∑ n Θ n ( φ ) G n ( z ) {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\Phi '(\varphi ,\lambda ,z,t)&={\hat {\Phi }}(\varphi ,z)\,e^{i(s\lambda -\sigma t)}\\{\hat {\Phi }}(\varphi ,z)&=\sum _{n}\Theta _{n}(\varphi )\,G_{n}(z)\end{aligned}}} and doing some manipulations yields expressions for

737-564: Is a superposition of associated Hough functions (often called tidal modes in the literature) of index n . The nomenclature is such that a negative value of n refers to evanescent modes (no vertical propagation) and a positive value to propagating modes. The equivalent depth h n {\displaystyle h_{n}} is linked to the vertical wavelength λ z , n {\displaystyle \lambda _{z,n}} , since α n / H {\displaystyle \alpha _{n}/H}

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804-444: Is absorbed throughout the atmosphere some of the most significant in this context are water vapor at about 0–15 km in the troposphere , ozone at about 30–60 km in the stratosphere and molecular oxygen and molecular nitrogen at about 120–170 km) in the thermosphere . Variations in the global distribution and density of these species result in changes in the amplitude of the solar tides. The tides are also affected by

871-493: Is conserved . Following this growth with height atmospheric tides have much larger amplitudes in the middle and upper atmosphere than they do at ground level. The largest amplitude atmospheric tides are generated by the periodic heating of the atmosphere by the Sun – the atmosphere is heated during the day and not heated at night. This regular diurnal (daily) cycle in heating generates thermal tides that have periods related to

938-568: Is the vertical wavenumber: λ z , n = 2 π H α n = 2 π H κ H h n − 1 4 . {\displaystyle \lambda _{z,n}={\frac {2\pi \,H}{\alpha _{n}}}={\frac {2\pi \,H}{\sqrt {{\frac {\kappa H}{h_{n}}}-{\frac {1}{4}}}}}.} For propagating solutions ( α n 2 > 0 ) {\displaystyle (\alpha _{n}^{2}>0)} ,

1005-543: The Arcas rocket in 1958. In the first ten months of 1958, the Agency provided communication-electronics support for the firing of more than 2,000 missiles. Within two decades, the organization launched more than 8,000 rockets around the world, of which 5,000 were launched at the nearby White Sands Missile Range. In addition, the White Sands Signal Corps Agency saw a string of successes in multiple areas of weather research. In 1957,

1072-702: The Coriolis force and can only exist for periods greater than 12 hours (or | ν | ≤ 2 ). Tidal waves can be either internal (travelling waves) with positive eigenvalues (or equivalent depth) which have finite vertical wavelengths and can transport wave energy upward, or external (evanescent waves) with negative eigenvalues and infinitely large vertical wavelengths meaning that their phases remain constant with altitude. These external wave modes cannot transport wave energy, and their amplitudes decrease exponentially with height outside their source regions. Even numbers of n correspond to waves symmetric with respect to

1139-885: The Launch Abort Flight Test Complex for the Pad Abort-1 , the White Sands Launch Complex 37 built for Nike Hercules tests, the White Sands Launch Complex 38 built for Nike Zeus tests with Launch Control Building now used for Patriot missile firings, the North Oscura Peak facility of the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate, and the 1963 NASA White Sands Test Facility 's ground station for Tracking and Data Relay Satellites , and

1206-614: The National Register of Historic Places on 15 October 1966. The White Sands Test Center , headquartered at the WSMR post area, has branches for manned tactical systems and electromagnetic radiation, and conducts missile testing and range recovery operations. "WSMR Main Post" includes several smaller areas such as the housing area, golf course, "Navy Area", and "Technical Area" The WSMR Museum offers tours and exhibits including

1273-823: The Panama Canal . The history of the Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory dates back to the creation of the Signal Corps Laboratories in 1929. During the 1930s and 1940s, the Signal Corps directed research on electronics , radar , and communication systems at Fort Monmouth and nearby satellite laboratories. After World War II , several of the laboratories merged to form the Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories (SCEL), which continued research into advancing various Army technologies. On April 2, 1946, SCEL deployed

1340-457: The SDO ground station with two 18 m (59 ft) antennas. Las Cruces Public Schools operates White Sands School on the missile range property. Atmospheric tide Atmospheric tides are global-scale periodic oscillations of the atmosphere . In many ways they are analogous to ocean tides . They can be excited by: The largest-amplitude atmospheric tides are mostly generated in

1407-528: The San Andres National Wildlife Refuge are federally-protected natural areas contained within the borders of WSMR. New Mexico State Road 213 enters the range from the south from Chaparral, New Mexico and terminates at U.S. Highway 70 , which traverses the southern part of the range in a west-northeast direction and is subject to periodic road closures during test firings at the range. U.S. Highway 380 runs east-west along

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1474-559: The equivalent depth h n {\displaystyle h_{n}} which couples the latitudinal structure of the tides with their vertical structure. Longuet-Higgins has completely solved Laplace's equations and has discovered tidal modes with negative eigenvalues ε   s n   (Figure 2). There exist two kinds of waves: class 1 waves, (sometimes called gravity waves), labelled by positive n, and class 2 waves (sometimes called rotational waves), labelled by negative n. Class 2 waves owe their existence to

1541-403: The ionospheric dynamo region with incoherent scatter radars by tracking the tidal motion of ionospheric plasma. The tides form an important mechanism for transporting energy from the lower atmosphere into the upper atmosphere, while dominating the dynamics of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. Therefore, understanding the atmospheric tides is essential in understanding the atmosphere as

1608-427: The thermosphere , mode (1, −2) is the predominant mode reaching diurnal temperature amplitudes at the exosphere of at least 140 K and horizontal winds of the order of 100 m/s and more increasing with geomagnetic activity. It is responsible for the electric Sq currents within the ionospheric dynamo region between about 100 and 200 km altitude. Both diurnal and semidiurnal tides can be observed across

1675-643: The troposphere and stratosphere when the atmosphere is periodically heated, as water vapor and ozone absorb solar radiation during the day. These tides propagate away from the source regions and ascend into the mesosphere and thermosphere . Atmospheric tides can be measured as regular fluctuations in wind , temperature , density and pressure . Although atmospheric tides share much in common with ocean tides they have two key distinguishing features: At ground level, atmospheric tides can be detected as regular but small oscillations in surface pressure with periods of 24 and 12 hours. However, at greater heights,

1742-483: The Army established the SCEL Field Station No. 1 at Fort Bliss, Texas to aid the team at “A” station with signal support functions. The unit at Fort Bliss conducted research in radar tracking and communication systems for the early missile programs at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), which then consisted of only 125 military and civilian personnel. In 1952, Field Station No. 1 was reorganized to form

1809-620: The Army, and providing specialized meteorological support for various Army research and development efforts. As a remnant of its days as part of the Signal Corps Laboratories, ASL headquarters was located at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, but the majority of its meteorological research activities took place at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico. Consequentially, researchers often had to travel back and forth between Fort Monmouth and WSMR until ASL established its headquarters in WSMR in 1969. Shortly afterward, ASL assumed operational control of

1876-435: The Army. Examples of technologies included new radiosondes , mobile hydrogen generators, fast-rise balloons, mobile weather radar, and portable automatic observing stations for collecting weather information in inaccessible areas. The Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory developed many sophisticated technologies as part of its mission. Examples include the following: In addition, ASL participated in hundreds of projects, including

1943-698: The Atmospheric Analysis and Assessment team within BED moved to ARL's Survivability/Lethality Analysis Directorate (SLAD) while the rest of BED was folded into the Information Science and Technology Directorate (later called the Computational and Information Sciences Directorate) in 1996. The Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory sought to enhance Army capabilities and operation, such as artillery fire and chemical detection operations, under

2010-892: The Communications/ADP Laboratory, the Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory, the Electronic Warfare Laboratory (part of which later became the Vulnerability Assessment Laboratory ), the Avionics Laboratory, and the Combat Surveillance and Target Acquisition Laboratory. This event marked the beginning of the Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory and its role as a corporate laboratory for the Army. ASL was responsible for conducting meteorological research, developing meteorological equipment for

2077-490: The SOTIM (Sonic Observation of Trajectory and Impact of Missiles) System, which provided acoustic information on missiles upon re-entry and impact. These stations were installed at 16 different points at WSMR and were also equipped to measure wind speed, temperature, and humidity. SMSA also built meteorological rockets that could carry a 70-pound instrument package as high as 600,000 feet in order to obtain upper atmospheric data. At

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2144-575: The Sun. Changes in the tide observed from a stationary viewpoint on the Earth's surface are caused by the rotation of the Earth with respect to this fixed pattern. Seasonal variations of the tides also occur as the Earth tilts relative to the Sun and so relative to the pattern of excitation. The migrating solar tides have been extensively studied both through observations and mechanistic models. Non-migrating tides can be thought of as global-scale waves with

2211-447: The Sun. It is an external mode of class 2 and has the eigenvalue of ε   1 −2   = −12.56 . Its maximum pressure amplitude on the ground is about 60 Pa. The largest solar semidiurnal wave is mode (2, 2) with maximum pressure amplitudes at the ground of 120 Pa. It is an internal class 1 wave. Its amplitude increases exponentially with altitude. Although its solar excitation is half of that of mode (1, −2), its amplitude on

2278-479: The Technical Services, which included the Signal Corps, and reorganized its operations. The material development and procurement functions of the Signal Corps were transferred to the newly created Army Materiel Command (AMC), and the U.S. Army Electronics Command (ECOM) was created as a subordinate element of AMC to continue the Signal Corps' research and development endeavors. Assigned under ECOM, USASRDL

2345-680: The White Sands Signal Corps Agency, a class II activity under the command of the Chief Signal Officer . In 1954, the group expanded to form three teams, one at Yuma Proving Ground, one Dugway Proving Ground, and one at the Canal Zone in Panama. The organization was mainly tasked with conducting high altitude and upper atmosphere research using various rockets from the Nike-Cajun rocket to the Army tactical Loki rocket in 1957 and

2412-541: The ability to obtain meteorological information at any time and place. ASL evaluated various sensors for this purpose, such as lasers, radars, radiometers, microwave radars, and acoustic systems. Research in the laboratory included studying atmospheric transmissivity, the effects of atmospheric particulates on laser propagation, and the use of LIDAR to determine the distribution, size, and composition of atmospheric particles. ASL scientists also investigated how light behaves and responds when it interacts with different particles in

2479-478: The air. Microscale and mesoscale meteorology focus on understanding the small-scale atmospheric processes in the lower atmosphere. For ASL, the primary objective was to examine the properties of the lower atmosphere within the battlefield area. This task was performed by developing models that described mesoscale systems, boundary layer phenomena, and the effects of terrain on atmospheric structure. ASL researchers were especially interested in how terrain influenced

2546-702: The airport. Regularly scheduled commercial flights are also available at the Albuquerque International Sunport , which is located 200 miles north of White Sands Missile Range's main base, but is closer to the northern test ranges than El Paso. On 21 December 1965, the Trinity Site , selected in November 1944 for the Trinity nuclear test conducted on 16 July 1945 , was designated a National Historic Landmark district, and added to

2613-400: The amplitudes of the tides can become very large. In the mesosphere (heights of about 50–100 km (30–60 mi; 200,000–300,000 ft)) atmospheric tides can reach amplitudes of more than 50 m/s and are often the most significant part of the motion of the atmosphere. The reason for this dramatic growth in amplitude from tiny fluctuations near the ground to oscillations that dominate

2680-409: The atmosphere refer to research on the chemical and dynamic processes that governed atmospheric structure and behavior. Many of ASL's studies in this realm focused on investigating the atmospheric effects on artillery and unguided rockets. Research was also conducted on the meteorological processes occurring in high-altitude regions. In addition, ASL was involved in studying the effects of an eclipse on

2747-515: The behavior of clouds, fog, and rain. ASL researchers were keen on studying warm fogs and developed numerical models that described their life cycle. Since fog significantly degrades the effectiveness of visible and infrared systems, ASL was interested in determining what kind of fog conditions hindered the fielding of different weapons systems that relied on electro-optical sensors. Field studies were also conducted to analyze how helicopter downwash could disperse warm fogs. The physics and chemistry of

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2814-708: The classical tidal theory assumes that atmospheric wave motions can be considered as linear perturbations of an initially motionless zonal mean state that is horizontally stratified and isothermal . The two major results of the classical theory are The primitive equations lead to the linearized equations for perturbations (primed variables) in a spherical isothermal atmosphere: with the definitions The set of equations can be solved for atmospheric tides , i.e., longitudinally propagating waves of zonal wavenumber s {\displaystyle s} and frequency σ {\displaystyle \sigma } . Zonal wavenumber s {\displaystyle s}

2881-1029: The definitions α n 2 = κ H h n − 1 4 x = z H G n ⋆ = G n ϱ o 1 2 N − 1 F n ( x ) = − ϱ o − 1 2 i σ N ∂ ∂ x ( ϱ o J n ) . {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\alpha _{n}^{2}&={\frac {\kappa H}{h_{n}}}-{\frac {1}{4}}\\x&={\frac {z}{H}}\\G_{n}^{\star }&=G_{n}\,\varrho _{o}^{\frac {1}{2}}\,N^{-1}\\F_{n}(x)&=-{\frac {\varrho _{o}^{-{\frac {1}{2}}}}{i\sigma N}}\,{\frac {\partial }{\partial x}}(\varrho _{o}J_{n}).\end{aligned}}} Therefore, each wavenumber/frequency pair (a tidal component )

2948-426: The east; and WSMR borders the 600,000-acre (2,400 km ) McGregor Range Complex at Fort Bliss to the south (southeast Tularosa Basin and on Otero Mesa ) making them contiguous areas for military testing. WSMR is located between Las Cruces, New Mexico to the west, Alamogordo, New Mexico 40 miles to the east, and Chaparral, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas to the south. White Sands National Park and

3015-416: The environment through which they travel. Solar tides can be separated into two components: migrating and non-migrating . Migrating tides are Sun synchronous – from the point of view of a stationary observer on the ground they propagate westwards with the apparent motion of the Sun. As the migrating tides stay fixed relative to the Sun a pattern of excitation is formed that is also fixed relative to

3082-513: The equator, and odd numbers corresponding to antisymmetric waves. The transition from internal to external waves appears at ε ≃ ε c , or at the vertical wavenumber k z = 0 , and λ z ⇒ ∞ , respectively. The fundamental solar diurnal tidal mode which optimally matches the solar heat input configuration and thus is most strongly excited is the Hough mode (1, −2) (Figure 3). It depends on local time and travels westward with

3149-532: The gravitational effects of the Moon. Lunar (gravitational) tides are much weaker than solar thermal tides and are generated by the motion of the Earth's oceans (caused by the Moon) and to a lesser extent the effect of the Moon's gravitational attraction on the atmosphere. The basic characteristics of the atmospheric tides are described by the classical tidal theory . By neglecting mechanical forcing and dissipation ,

3216-1775: The ground is larger by a factor of two. This indicates the effect of suppression of external waves, in this case by a factor of four. For bounded solutions and at altitudes above the forcing region, the vertical structure equation in its canonical form is: ∂ 2 G n ⋆ ∂ x 2 + α n 2 G n ⋆ = F n ( x ) {\displaystyle {\frac {\partial ^{2}G_{n}^{\star }}{\partial x^{2}}}\,+\,\alpha _{n}^{2}\,G_{n}^{\star }=F_{n}(x)} with solution G n ⋆ ( x ) ∼ { e − | α n | x : α n 2 < 0 ,  evanescent or trapped e i α n x : α n 2 > 0 ,  propagating e ( κ − 1 2 ) x : h n = H / ( 1 − κ ) , F n ( x ) = 0 ∀ x ,  Lamb waves (free solutions) {\displaystyle G_{n}^{\star }(x)\sim {\begin{cases}e^{-|\alpha _{n}|x}&{\text{:}}\,\alpha _{n}^{2}<0,\,{\text{ evanescent or trapped}}\\e^{i\alpha _{n}x}&{\text{:}}\,\alpha _{n}^{2}>0,\,{\text{ propagating}}\\e^{\left(\kappa -{\frac {1}{2}}\right)x}&{\text{:}}\,h_{n}=H/(1-\kappa ),F_{n}(x)=0\,\forall x,\,{\text{ Lamb waves (free solutions)}}\end{cases}}} using

3283-1745: The latitudinal and vertical structure of the tides. The latitudinal structure of the tides is described by the horizontal structure equation which is also called Laplace's tidal equation : L Θ n + ε n Θ n = 0 {\displaystyle {L}{\Theta }_{n}+\varepsilon _{n}{\Theta }_{n}=0} with Laplace operator L = ∂ ∂ μ [ ( 1 − μ 2 ) ( η 2 − μ 2 ) ∂ ∂ μ ] − 1 η 2 − μ 2 [ − s η ( η 2 + μ 2 ) ( η 2 − μ 2 ) + s 2 1 − μ 2 ] {\displaystyle {L}={\frac {\partial }{\partial \mu }}\left[{\frac {(1-\mu ^{2})}{(\eta ^{2}-\mu ^{2})}}\,{\frac {\partial }{\partial \mu }}\right]-{\frac {1}{\eta ^{2}-\mu ^{2}}}\,\left[-{\frac {s}{\eta }}\,{\frac {(\eta ^{2}+\mu ^{2})}{(\eta ^{2}-\mu ^{2})}}+{\frac {s^{2}}{1-\mu ^{2}}}\right]} using μ = sin ⁡ φ {\displaystyle \mu =\sin \varphi } , η = σ / ( 2 Ω ) {\displaystyle \eta =\sigma /(2\Omega )} and eigenvalue ε n = ( 2 Ω

3350-472: The lower thermosphere region, and may be caused by turbulence from breaking gravity waves . A similar phenomenon to ocean waves breaking on a beach , the energy dissipates into the background atmosphere. Molecular diffusion also becomes increasingly important at higher levels in the lower thermosphere as the mean free path increases in the rarefied atmosphere. At thermospheric heights, attenuation of atmospheric waves, mainly due to collisions between

3417-569: The meteorological efforts conducted at Fort Huachuca. By 1974, the laboratory grew to a staff of more than 700 people with 90,000 square feet of meteorological operating facilities at WSMR, $ 30 million worth of equipment, and an annual budget of around $ 9 million. In 1976, meteorological research conducted at the Ballistic Research Laboratory (then known as the Ballistic Research Laboratories)

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3484-404: The motion of the mesosphere lies in the fact that the density of the atmosphere decreases with increasing height. As tides or waves propagate upwards, they move into regions of lower and lower density. If the tide or wave is not dissipating, then its kinetic energy density must be conserved. Since the density is decreasing, the amplitude of the tide or wave increases correspondingly so that energy

3551-408: The neutral gas and the ionospheric plasma, becomes significant so that at above about 150 km altitude, all wave modes gradually become external waves, and the Hough functions degenerate to spherical functions ; e.g., mode (1, −2) develops to the spherical function P   1 1   ( θ ) , mode (2, 2) becomes P   2 2   ( θ ) , with θ the co-latitude, etc. Within

3618-648: The northern edge of WSMR between San Antonio and Carrizozo , and is also subject to periodic closures during test firings. New Mexico State Road 525 provides access from U.S. Highway 380 to the north end of WSMR near Stallion Army Airfield . El Paso International Airport is the nearest airport with regularly scheduled commercial flights. There have been no regularly scheduled commercial passenger flights from Las Cruces International Airport since 25 July 2005, when Westward Airways ceased operations; general aviation, New Mexico Army National Guard (4 UH-72 Lakota Helicopters), private charters and CAP, among others, still use

3685-541: The processes of atmospheric transport and diffusion. Studies in this area also coincided with research related to reducing air pollution . Meteorological satellites refer to advanced weather satellites and other technologies that allow researchers to collect real-time weather information for the battlefield area. ASL researchers developed methods to improve the monitoring of mesoscale phenomena and collect meteorological data in inaccessible areas. Atmospheric modification focuses on physical atmospheric processes that influence

3752-428: The propagation direction. This is an important result for the interpretation of observations: downward phase progression in time means an upward propagation of energy and therefore a tidal forcing lower in the atmosphere. Amplitude increases with height ∝ e z / 2 H {\displaystyle \propto e^{z/2H}} , as density decreases. Damping of the tides occurs primarily in

3819-503: The researchers launched Loki II rockets into the air and tracked the drift of the metallic chaff that was released at designated altitudes using radar, obtaining new knowledge of high altitude winds in the process. Later that same year, the WSMR team saw the first successful firing of a rocket capable of being launched by a two-man team. The Agency also perfected the Voice Operated Device for Automatic Transmission (VODAT),

3886-399: The same periods as the migrating tides. However, non-migrating tides do not follow the apparent motion of the Sun. Either they do not propagate horizontally, they propagate eastwards or they propagate westwards at a different speed to the Sun. These non-migrating tides may be generated by differences in topography with longitude, land-sea contrast, and surface interactions. An important source

3953-429: The solar day. It might initially be expected that this diurnal heating would give rise to tides with a period of 24 hours, corresponding to the heating's periodicity. However, observations reveal that large amplitude tides are generated with periods of 24 and 12 hours. Tides have also been observed with periods of 8 and 6 hours, although these latter tides generally have smaller amplitudes. This set of periods occurs because

4020-530: The solar heating of the atmosphere occurs in an approximate square wave profile and so is rich in harmonics. When this pattern is decomposed into separate frequency components using a Fourier transform , as well as the mean and daily (24-hour) variation, significant oscillations with periods of 12, 8 and 6 hours are produced. Tides generated by the gravitational effect of the Sun are very much smaller than those generated by solar heating. Solar tides will refer to only thermal solar tides from this point. Solar energy

4087-642: The support of the following technologies: White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range ( WSMR ) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico . The range was originally established in 1941 as the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range , where the Trinity test site lay at the northern end of the Range, in Socorro County near

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4154-491: The time, the meteorological activities at WSMR were under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Electronics Research and Development Activity (ERDA) as well as the Atmospheric Sciences Office, an organization under the operational control of SCEL at Fort Monmouth. In 1958, the U.S. Army redesignated SCEL as the U.S. Army Signal Research and Development Laboratory (USASRDL). In 1962, the U.S. Army disbanded

4221-617: The towns of Carrizozo and San Antonio . It then became the White Sands Proving Ground on 9   July 1945. White Sands National Park founded in the 1930s is located within the range. As the largest military installation in the United States , WSMR encompasses almost 3,200 sq mi (8,300 km ) including parts of Doña Ana , Otero , Socorro , Sierra , and Lincoln counties in southern New Mexico . Holloman Air Force Base borders WSMR to

4288-612: The upper atmosphere of the earth and the outer atmosphere of the sun. During the 1979 solar eclipse, ASL performed experiments with the National Research Council of Canada , the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory , and NASA to measure various atmospheric properties during the eclipse by launching 17 sounding rockets into the upper atmosphere. One of ASL's main priorities was the development and evaluation of new meteorological equipment for

4355-730: The vertical group velocity c g z , n = H ∂ σ ∂ α n {\displaystyle c_{gz,n}=H{\frac {\partial \sigma }{\partial \alpha _{n}}}} becomes positive (upward energy propagation) only if α n > 0 {\displaystyle \alpha _{n}>0} for westward ( σ < 0 ) {\displaystyle (\sigma <0)} or if α n < 0 {\displaystyle \alpha _{n}<0} for eastward ( σ > 0 ) {\displaystyle (\sigma >0)} propagating waves. At

4422-578: Was consolidated into ASL, resulting in ASL making up approximately 95 percent of the total Army program in meteorology. In 1992, ASL was one of the seven Army laboratories that were consolidated to form the U.S. Army Research Laboratory as part of a $ 115 million project following the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) in 1988. Under ARL, ASL became part of the Battlefield Environment Directorate (BED). In 1995,

4489-446: Was renamed as the U.S. Army Electronics Research and Development Laboratory but was soon renamed again to the U.S. Army Electronics Laboratories. During this time, SMSA also became consolidated as part of ERDA. In 1964, ERDA researchers at WSMR became the first to observe upper atmosphere tidal waves . The group later launched the world's largest balloon holding atmospheric sensing equipment in 1968 and an even larger balloon that reached

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