Start Date
28-10-2017 10:15 AM
End Date
28-10-2017 10:30 AM
Abstract
A thermal wake occurs when a high altitude balloon (HAB) influences and changes the surrounding ambient atmospheric temperature of the air through which it passes. This effect warms the air below the balloon to greater than ambient temperatures during daytime flights, and cooler than ambient temperatures during nighttime flights. The total solar eclipse of August 21st 2017, provided us with an opportunity to study these balloon induced temperature transitions from daytime, to eclipsed induced night conditions over the time scale of a single flight. To measure these transitions, St. Catherine University and the University of Minnesota, Morris, flew over 40 temperature sensors suspended beneath weather balloons ascending within the path of totality. Stratospheric temperature data collected during the eclipse show evidence of both daytime and nighttime wake temperature profiles.
Presentation slides
Thermal wake studies during the August 21st 2017 total solar eclipse
A thermal wake occurs when a high altitude balloon (HAB) influences and changes the surrounding ambient atmospheric temperature of the air through which it passes. This effect warms the air below the balloon to greater than ambient temperatures during daytime flights, and cooler than ambient temperatures during nighttime flights. The total solar eclipse of August 21st 2017, provided us with an opportunity to study these balloon induced temperature transitions from daytime, to eclipsed induced night conditions over the time scale of a single flight. To measure these transitions, St. Catherine University and the University of Minnesota, Morris, flew over 40 temperature sensors suspended beneath weather balloons ascending within the path of totality. Stratospheric temperature data collected during the eclipse show evidence of both daytime and nighttime wake temperature profiles.