62 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. FEBRUAEY, 1897
~
Paris to a remarkable altitude, as it has done on several pre-
vious occasions, carried a special apparatus which was moved
by clockwork and which allowed a vacuum chamber to he
opened, filled with air, and closed when the balloon was at or near its maximum height. The volume of the reservoir was
about 6 liters, the altitude at which i t was filled was 15,500
meters ; the barometric pressure recorded at the time of
filling was 140 millimeters. The experiment appears to have
been completely successful, every source of trouble in the apparatus having been anticipated and provided for. A com-
plete description of the apparatus and results is given by M. Cailletet in the Comptes Rendw, of the Academy of Sciences, Paris, March 8, 1897, from which we take the following ac-
count of the results of the chemical analysis. This analysis
was entrusted to Muntz, who reported that the volume of
about 6 liters of air secured a t 15,500 meters, at a pressureof
140 milimeters and a probable temperature of about minus
66O, occupied a volume of 1.18581 liter when reduced to the
standard pressure of 760 mm. and a temperature of Oo C.
100 volumes of this air contained 0.033 volume of carbonic
acid gas; after being deprived of its carbonic acid gas, 100
volumes of this air contailled 20.79 of oxygen, 78.27 of nitro-
gen, 0.94 of argon. The ratio of the argon to the sum total
of the nitrogen and argon was 0.01185. M. Miintz adds the
following remarks :
The results of the above analysis show, as waa to have been anticipated, that at the altitude attained in this case, the chemical composition of the air does not differ notably from that of the lower strata, but these figures can only be acce ted with some reserve; it is, in fact, necessary to still further perfect tEe method of securing the specimen of air so as to avoid any possible alteration in its composition. It will be necessary to employ for the lubrication of the stopcock a mineral oil in- capable of absorbing the slightest trace of oxygen or of emitting a trace of carbonic acid as under the conditions that prevail in these experi- ments. It will $80 be necessary to make use of a vacuum chamber whose walls do not absorb a sin le kace of oxygen. In this respect a
reservoir of glaas would be ideaf but a reservoir of gilded copper would seem to me to e ually fulfill the desired object. I n the present case it is possible that t i e small proportion of carbonic acid gas, 0.033 in exces8 over that of normal airl 0.029, is due to the oxidation of the lubricant which could have furnished the tenth of a milligram corresponding to this excess. In the same way the small proportion of oxy en, 20.79, as compared with that of normal air, 20.98, and which for t f e volume of air collected represents 3 milli rams, coiild be due to the absor tion of this gas by the lubricator an!, especially, by the metallic wabs of the tinned copper. After eliminating all possible causes of error in this latest aacen- sion we can decide with certainty whether or not there exist any real differences in the constitution of the 9ir at various altitudes. For the methods of analyees with gases are to-day so perfect, thanks, es eci ally to the labors of 116. T. Schloesing, Jr., that excessively smalfdii ferences would be shownif they existed, but as is eaaily perceived, the air in the regions where it is actually possible to explore the atmoe- phere by means of the sounding balloon is subject to the effect of a stir- ring which renders ita composition sensibly uniform with that of the
lower strata; one ought, therefore, to expect on1 small differences in ita composition, such as a n only be demonstrate1 with certainty when the most minute precautions are taken. It will be easy to take accouni of the errors that are attributable to the retention of the air in its reser. voir by introducing into the latter some air of known composition which can be analyzed at the end of a certain interval.
The Editor hopes that the above cautious remarks by sc
high an authority in science will serve to correct the sensa-
tional paragraphs that have been going the rounds of the
newspapers to the effect that the results of this high ascen.
sion demonstrated that the composition of the atmosphere varies with increased altitude in such a way as to prove thal
a definite limit to the atmosphere exists at no great altitude
above the earth and that this limit is diminishing.
MEFIWOROLOGICAL NOTES BY CBPT. WM. SCORESBY, JR
In his journal of a voyage to the northern whale fisherj
and east coast of West Greenland, 1822, (Edinburgh, 1823)
Scoresby says that he was on the 6th of September off the
Faroe Islands, and remarks :
(A ) STATIONARY CLOUDS ON MOUNTAIN TOPS.
The tops of the higher cliffs of Kalsoc and Ostroe, it was remarked, were capped with clouds, which remained in a state of apparently calm repose upon the summits, while a breeze, little short of a gale of wind, mried all other clouds along with great velocity. This is a circum- itance so common in these islands, and, indeed, in all mountainous :ountries, that it would scarcely have merited observation had it not formerly suggested to me an ex lanation of the phenomenon of 4he iuspension of clouds, which, aa far MI I know, is new.’ The force act-
mg against the suspension of clouds is gravity, which, on account of ;he resistance that ver minute substances, such aa the almost invisible particles of vapor in &ads, meet with in their descent from the air, xn be productive of no great velocity; but the force acting against tbe retention of clouds on the tops of mountains in boisterous weather is the wind, which may have a velocity of 50 milerJ an hour or u wards. Hence, whatever cause is sufficient for the retention of cloufs u n mountains against the action of the wind must be sufficient (all ot%r :ircumstances being the same) for the suspenclion of clouds inthe air, where the tendency to quit their position is induced by a force perhaps not one-tenth so great aa the former. In the case of the retention of :louds upon mountains, it might be objected that, notwithstanding a
:ale may be blowing in the lower psrta of the atmosphere, the air on the tops of the mountains map be calm. It must be admitted that the various currente known to exlet in the atmosphere at the same time in iifferent strata mi ht justify this supposition were there no facta that :ould be brought grward to prove the prevalence of the wind aloft as well as below in instances where the clouds were retained. These facts, indeed, being so much within every person’s observation who bas visited mountainous countries, scarcely requirea an example. Two instances, however may be given: On a former voya e, when the highest summit of 6stroe was observed to be covered wit% a stationary cloud during a stron gale, the lower atmosphere was full of those acat€ ered clouds callei by the sailors “scud,” whose flight in storms is
30 striking and rapid. Some of these patches of cloud were evidentl at tlie same level as that of the highest land because in a large patd passing across the summit it was sometimes observed that a rtion of it coalesced with the cloud reposing thereon, and the rest E w away, with undiminished velocit , to leeward. The other example that I have to mention relates to s e n Lomond. I ascended this mountain on
D fine, clear day, in tlie month of October. There were, indeed, some flying clouds in the air, the wind bein high, but these were small and few. The sunimit of Ben Lomond, Rowever, was capped with a sta- tionary cloud. This cloud proved to be of the nature of mist of the densest kind. The particles of vapor were remarkably small and were flying rapidly paat me by the action of the wind. At the very top, indeed, the gale was so strong that I could scarcely keep my feet: yet the cloud steadily maintained ita pcsition for several hours. Now, as the cloud could not possibly remain stationary on the mountain without moving to windward with a velocity equal to that of the gale, a notion which I t would be absurd to entertain, ita apparent fixedness can only be attributed to rogressive deposition of aqueous vapor, or forma- tion, on the one Xand, and to equal solution and dispersion, on the other. It is, therefore, absolutely certain that the stationary appear- ance of the cloud, in this instance, wag the effect of condensation pro- duced on the air as it approached the mountain and absorption as it receded from it, so that while the cloud seemed to a distant observer to be the same mass of vapour, neither varying in size nor form for a quarter of an hour together, it was in reality changing the whole of the particlee of which it consisted perhaps every minute.
(B ) GALES WITH RIPINQ BAROMETER.
The strongest winds that are experienced in the United States may, perhaps, he classified as follows :
(a) Very local gusts attending thunderstorms and torna-
does ; these are generally believed to be whirling and ascend-
ing winds, but this is not invariably the case, since for every
descending mass of air there must be a corresponding ascend- ing mass ; at or near the surface of the earth the destructive gusts are more likely to be descending.
(b) Severe whirlwinds, which are certainly revolving winds,
and on a much larger scale than in the tornado.
(c) Local straight-line winds, which Hinrichs calls “ dere- chos ; ” these usually attend cyclonic storms, and, apparently,
consist of denser cool or dry air descending to the ground.
(a ) Straight-line winds on a larger scale, known as
“northers,” ‘( northwesters,” or L‘ blizzards,” which are also
cold, dry, heavy air pushing outward and especially sonth-
ward from an area of high pressure, and, probably, also slowly descending.
Faroe Island6 in a gale of wind. The the0 of the 6nn nsion bf o l o n ~~i k suggested by It wa6 flrst communicated to% LiverpooPe80cIety of Trawlers Into Foreign Countries about two years ago.
’The flrst obeervation of tbI6 olrcumstance oocnrred in 1IBO while
FEBRUARY, 1897. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 63
Lake Superlor: Port Arthur .............................. Bt. Marys River: Sault Ste. Made ........................ St. Claire River: Llarnia. ................................ Lake Erie: Port Colhorne ................................ a k e Ontario: Burlington Bay ........................... LakeOntario: Toronto ................................... Lake Ontario: Klngston ................................. 9t. Lawrence Rlver: Montreal ..........................
When gales of this latter class reach any station the baro-
metric pressure generally rises rapidly, whereas in gales of
the class (b ) the pressure first falls rapidly and then rises. Whirlwinds, viz, gales attending low pressures, had long heen
known to navigators throughout the tropical and equatorin1
regions, but northwesters, with rising barometer, were not well recognized by English navigators until the present century.
The younger Bcoresby, in his journal of a voyage on the eastern
coast of west Greenland (Edinburgh, 1823, p. 353), says :
It is observable that the barometer (September 3, 1822), which had been at 95.35 for upwards of thirty hours before the commencement of the gale, began to rise the moment the gale attained its height. It rose about .4 of an inch in a very short interval. This rising of the mercury at the commencement of a storm is n circuinstance that I have fre- quently observed. It is not indicative, however, either o f a short ilu- ration or an approaching cessation of the @e, for after such a rise 1 have known many galee to continue for thirty or forty hours unabated.
Mar. 113 May I A r. 8 May 19 d r . 7 May 8 Apr. 15 May 0
Mar. 1 Apr. 23
Feb. 18 Apr. 25
Mar. 6 Apr. !A Mar. illl May 6
OPENING OF NAVIGATION IN CANADA.
The following table, showing the average date of the open-
ing of navigation a t Canadian ports during the past twenty
years, is published by Prof. R. F. Stupart on “The Monthly
Weather Map ” for February, 1897 :
I Dates.of opening.
Canadian Ports.
A
-
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. I Division of Venetable Phvsiolom and Patholom.
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY,
Was?hinglOn, D. C., Marc?r 33, 1897.
To the Chief8of the8cientififiwiaioiisof the
Dr. Charles W. Dnbney, Jr., of Tennessee, has this da been appointed as ‘I Special Agent in charge of Scientific and StatisticaPInvestigo~s l 1
in this Department. It will be t-he duty of this special a ent to consider, for the infor1n.z- tion of the Secretary of Agriculture, &e scientific and technical work of the divisions of this Department s cified below, to supervise the same under his direction, and to m a g recommendations respecting their scientific work reports, The following divl’sions and?%cea are hereby directed to report to the Secretary through this special agent: Division of Forestry. Division of Botany.
6. Depctrtmanlo~d~~~Lll~rr8:
rs, etc., for his action.
Average.
A p . 28 Apr. 81 Apr. 6 Apr. % Apr. 11 Mar. 28 Apr. 5 Apr. 21
-.
-- -- Division of A$bstology. ”
Division of Pomology. Division of Ghemistr . Division of Biologicai‘survey. Division of Soils. Division of Entomolo y. Office of Experimenthations. Office of Fiber Investigations. Section of Foreign Markets and Special Statistical Investigations, Cotton, and Tobacco. All questions and official correspondence involving the scientific and technical work of said divisions and otlices will be submitted to this special agent for approval and signature, unless such correspondence involves adminiKtrative policy, in which case it will be signed by the Secretary. Jams WILSON, h t m y of Ag&?~Mure.
METEOROLOGICAL TABLES.
By A. J. HENBY, Chlef of Dlvislon of Reoords and Meteorolodcal Data:
For text descriptive of tables a d charts gee page 20 of REVIEW for January, 1897.