THE UPPER AIR.¢ 
By E. Goip and W. A. Harwoop. 
The past decade has been very fruitful in the investigation of the 
upper air. By the use of kites sufficient results have been obtained 
to furnish a tolerably complete knowledge of the variation in the 
meteorological elements up to a height of 2 kilometers, while register- 
ing balloons have furnished information regarding the distribution 
of temperature up to heights of 15 to 20 kilometers. The results 
of the Berlin manned balloon ascents were arranged and discussed 
very fully ten years ago, but no such comprehensive discussion of the 
much more numerous kite and registering balloon ascents has yet 
been attempted. The present report deals with the instruments and 
methods of investigation, and with the results for temperature and 
for wind.? 
The most important series of the earlier ascents with manned 
balloons was that made by Glaisher in 1860-1870. Unfortunately he 
was led to believe that artificial ventilation of the thermometers was 
unnecessary, with the result that his observations at great altitudes 
are untrustworthy. In the series of ascents made from Berlin in 
1888-1895 observations made with careful ventilation proved beyond 
doubt that large errors would arise in the absence of proper ventila- 
tion, and that Glaisher’s results were almost certainly affected by 
such errors. 
7 Report on the present state of our knowledge of the upper atmosphere as 
obtained by the use of kites, balloons, and pilot balloons. Report of the com- 
niittee, consisting of Messrs. E.-Gold and W. A. Harwood, presented at the 
Winnipeg meeting of the British Association, 1909. Reprinted by permission 
from Nature, London, No. 2089, vol. 82, Nov. 11, 1909. 
>The full report of the committee is printed in an octavo pamphlet of 54 
pages, with diagrams and tabulated observations, and gives an interesting his- 
torical review of the upper atmosphere investigations since 1784. 
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