G. I. TAYLOR ON EDDY MOTION IN THE ATMOSPHERE. 



the air entered the portion of the path along which temperature was diminishing 

 it might be expected that the cooling effect of the sea would not spread upwards 

 instantaneously, but that it would make its way gradually into the upper layers. 

 We might expect, therefore, that, if a kite were to be sent up into the air as it was 

 passing over the second part of its path, the temperature would increase up to a 

 certain height ; and that, above that height, it would have the temperature gradient 

 which it had acquired during its passage along the first portion of its path. 



If a curve be drawn to represent the temperature of the atmosphere at different 

 heights a change from heating to cooling along the air's path will give rise to a 

 corresponding bend in this curve. The height of this bend above the surface of the 

 earth will depend partly on the interval which elapsed between the time when the air 

 was passing over the portion of the path where heating stopped and cooling began 



Fig 2 



RELATIVE HUMIDITY PER CENT 



HEIGHT 

 IN METRES 



1000 



600 t c -.. 



% 



T* 



3 / ^ 



TEMPERATURE C 



50 



10 



12 14 



and the time of the ascent, and partly on the eddy conductivity of the atmosphere. 

 If we know two of these quantities we should be able to calculate the third. 



On the right hand side of fig. 2 is shown the temperature distribution at various 

 heights from the surface up to 1100 metres in the case of the air which had blown 

 along the path drawn on the chart shown in fig. 1. It will be seen that there are 

 two bends in the curve. The lowest portion from the surface up to 370 metres 

 evidently corresponds with the cooling of the lowest strata of the atmosphere which 

 had been going on ever since the air turned back from the warm water of the Atlantic 

 towards the cold water of the Great Bank of Newfoundland. 



The air explored in the ascent of August 4th turned towards the west at 8 a.m. on 

 August 3rd and continued blowing on to colder and colder water till the time of the 



