Chemiluminescent techniques for studying nighttime winds in the upper atmosphere

For the study of large-scale mass-transport processes (wind speed, direction, and shear, diffusion and turbulence), rocket-released smoke trails have been used for altitudes below 80 km, and the twilight sodium trail has been used for higher altitudes [Manring et al., 1962]. However, the latter is restricted to a 20- to 40-minute period at sunset and sunrise, when the cloud is sunlit and the sky background is dark. Two different types of payload for generating persistent, glowing trails under full night conditions have recently been designed and flown by this laboratory, and their effectiveness has been evaluated. Photographs of the trails can be treated by triangulation techniques to obtain mass motion parameters throughout the night.