Air Currents Investigated in Pacific

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 212, 26 November 1927, Page 12

Air Currents Investigated in Pacific

Work Done at Apia Observatory Andrew Thomson, director of tho I Apia Observatory, Western Samoa, hi been in London on his way to Pragn-, where he represented New Zealand u the International Congress or* Geode ! and Geophysics, says an America i paper. Describing some of the work iteu ; has been done at the observatory, fc« ; said that in the South Pacific betwre Australia and South Amrica there wa» | a large area of ocean where, excql at Samoa, little had been dene to i? vestigate the currents of the npw « air. Observations of this kind important in the interests of flight ki tween Australia and New Zealand an Honolulu or South America. So ft no airplane had succeeded in fly® 2 from Honolulu to Australia. Air Current* Traced At the Apia Observatory the wo::f of investigating the upper air te'j been going on for four years and Cff-; siderable progress has been made a adding to the knowledge of the aircu: rents. The observations were nsac< by sending balloons into the Upperg and following the course they toe* In this way a knowledge had be?: obtained of currents to a height « nine miles. It appears that the south-east trade winds are Woe ing below, strong and rapid winds JJ blowing above the altitude of feet in the opposite direction. To S’ complete information about th ® rents the number of stations at wnK observations can be taken should rincreased to four or five. For * area as big as Europe there is only one centre at Apia. Humidity and Temperature Careful records have been mad l ? 1 variations of humidity and ture. Samoa is singularly free local disturbances. It has ** shown by Sir Gilbert alker when the height of the Nile fiool above the average the temperatcr? Samoa during the following six moi ; is below normal. In the last five years arrange®*’ I for wireless weather reports have I made at 12 stations in the South * ; fic, with Apia as the centre, i information from these stations is lated at Apia, and the result broa-. •„ twice a day for the benefit ■©** ' whose course is through the * , 1 Part of the work of the observe - j consists in making seismologica 1 servations. It occupies an position for this purpose. bdMJf uated near a part of the earth s that is a frequent starting P oin . , earthquake shocks recorded at a stage at stations in other parts world. The New Zealand ! ment bears the greater part of_thj* of the Apia Observatory, contnou • £ 2.000 annually, while the Bntisr miraltv contributes £4OO and tne I negie Institution £250.