Columns of ions left by the passage of meteors through the 80- to 100-km altitude region are used as tracers to monitor the wind and density variations of the high atmosphere. Recent equipment development with pulse-interferometers operating in the 20- to 75-MHz band has made it possible to obtain more accurate information on the location of the reflection point on the ionized meteor trail. Analyses of the wind and density data obtained at AFCRL, at Stanford, California, Durham, New Hampshire, and Eglin AFB, Florida are reviewed. Rocket and meteor trail wind observations were obtained at Eglin AFB and, for a separation of 150 km, show reasonable comparisons within one hour. Poor comparisons at larger space and time separations are attributed to large-scale horizontal eddies (gravity waves). (Author Modified Abstract).

The Earth's Middle Atmosphere covers the Proceedings of Symposium C2 and the Topical Meetings of the COSPAR Interdisciplinary Scientific Commissions A and C (Meetings A7 and C4) of the COSPAR 29th Plenary Meeting held in Washington, DC, USA, on August 28-September 5, 1992. The first part covers the impact of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) observations on middle atmosphere science. This topic includes the early results of the validation and the application of the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) data, which is an instrumental approach to the measurement of thermal infrared spectral emission from the atmospheric limb. An overview of the Halogen Occultation Experiment and the use of the UARS data in the NOAA stratospheric monitoring are also discussed in this part. It also includes the observed solar UV irradiance variations of importance to middle atmosphere energetic and photochemistry, as well as the stratospheric and mesospheric observations with the Improved Stratospheric and Mesospheric Sounder. The second part of the book tackles the energetics and chemistry of the middle atmosphere as well as the dynamics and coupling of the middle atmosphere to regions above and below. Results on the validation of the UARS wind and temperature measurements at and above the mesopause comprise the third part of this book. This book will be a great value to geophysicists and atmospheric scientists.