Bulletin American Meteorological Society Force Western Test Range make the rocket hypothesis attrac- The black and white pictures were taken by personnel in tive, but checks with range officials revealed 110 launches that the Vandenberg AFB Information Office and a color photo day. was taken by Thomas C. Hansen, a civilian employee of the The AFCRL suggestion of a natural cause seems to be the J 369th Photo Squadron also at Vandenberg. most logical explanation put forth so far, but the fact that there was only one hole and that it was nearly perfectly round Editor's note: A similar hole-in-cloud photograph was run is disturbing. It would be interesting to hear readers' accounts on the August cover of WEATHERWISE. A number of letters- of similar phenomena and possible explanations of the Cali- to-the-editor were received concerning the unusual photo- fornia hole. graph and will be published in October WEATHERWISE. Associate director of NCAR appointed Dr. Gordon A. Newkirk, Jr., news and notes has been named associate di- rector of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and director of the High Altitude Observatory of NCAR. The appointment was made by the Board of New AFCRL commander named Trustees of the University Colonel Dale J. Flinders as- Corporation for Atmospheric sumed command of the Air Research (UCAR) and was Force Cambridge Research announced by Dr. Walter Laboratories, Bedford, Mass., Orr Roberts, UCAR's presi- on 31 July, succeeding Brig. dent and chief executive offi- Gen. Robert F. Long, who cer. UCAR is the nonprofit corporation of 24 U. S. univer- is now in the Office of the sities that operates NCAR under sponsorship of the National Joint Chiefs of Staff. Col. Science Foundation. Flinders was formerly com- mander of the USAF Envi- Commenting on the appointment, Dr. John W. Firor, direc- ronmental Technical Appli- tor of NCAR, said: "This appointment by the UCAR trustees cations Center (ETAC), Air expresses the confidence we all feel in Gordon Newkirk's Weather Service, W ashing- ability to deal effectively with the challenges and demands ton, D. C. of this position of leadership within NCAR. NCAR is A native of Sutherland, Iowa, Col. Flinders graduated from fortunate to have among its directors this accomplished scien- Morningside College in Sioux City in 1939 with a B.S. in phys- tist, who is the world's leading authority on observations and ics. For the next three years he taught mathematics and gen- structure of the white-light solar corona." eral science and was director of athletics at Kingswood High Dr. Newkirk joined the staff of the High Altitude Observa- School, Kalaw, Burma. The outbreak of World War II tory in 1955, and became an NCAR staff member when the brought him back to the United States and as an Army Air Force cadet he received his meteorological training in 1944 HAO joined NCAR in 1961. He became a member of the at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the Army he re- teaching staff of the University of Colorado in 1956, and since turned to Burma, then Rangoon and China until the end of 1961 has served as a professor adjoint, first in the Department 1946. His other tours of duty in the Air Force included Africa of Astro-Geophysics, and later in the Department of Physics and many posts in the United States. He received his master's and Astrophysics. He has been acting director of the HAO degree in geography at the University of Illinois in 1952. since January 1968. Prior to assignment at ETAC, Col. Flinders was staff Dr. Newkirk's research interests include radio and optical weather officer for the Air Force Satellite Control Facility at measurements of the electron corona of the Sun, scattering of Sunnyvale, Calif. He has worked closely with the AFCRL, sunlight in the Earth's atmosphere, the influx of meteor which is responsible for all environmental research in the particles into the Earth's upper atmosphere, the relation of Air Force and for much of its electronics research. magnetic fields to the structure of the corona, and improve- The Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, with a military and civilian complement of 1243, are the largest of ments in coronagraphs. ten subordinate units assigned to the Office of Aerospace Re- search, which is responsible for all research in the Air Force. (More news and notes on page 1011) 991 Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/05/21 08:59 PM UTC Bulletin American Meteorological Society George S. Benton, Boulder, Colo.; Nicholas Cooper, Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, London, England; at IMS headquarters Christopher Monkhouse, Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, Boston; John Codman, Beacon Hill Civic Association, Boston; Barbara Beckman, San Francisco, Calif.; Daniel Marini and John Molinari, Quincy; A. J. Dyer, CSIRO, Melbourne, Australia; Joseph Balsama, Swampscott Public Schools, Swampscott; John Balsama, Parker House, Boston; Wendell A. Portl, Weather Bureau, Rockford, 111.; Peter A. Barclay, Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology, On 1 August Executive Director Spengler was in Chicago Melbourne, Australia; James Giraytys, Weather Bureau, attending the annual meeting of the Council of Engineering Washington, D. C.; Susan Scully, Framingham; Ina May and Scientific Societies' Secretaries. On the 2nd he attended Greer, Boston; Roger L. Ross, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, a luncheon meeting of the CESSS Board of Directors and in Seattle, Wash.; Jane C. Husic, Minneapolis, Minn.; Luis de the afternoon and evening, a meeting of the AMS Executive la Canal, Argentine Navy, Beccar, Argentina; Dr. and Mrs. Committee. He returned to Boston on the 3rd. Ronald E. Rinehart, Illinois State Water Survey, with Barry AMS President Suomi and President-Elect Benton were at and Mike Rinehart, Urbana, 111.; Norman C. Frost, Dewey AMS headquarters on 8 August to review the financial rec- and Almy, Cambridge; Mary S. Hajemian, Berkshire Press, ords involved with auditing differences with the National Cambridge; William A. Earnshaw, Huntsville, Ala.; Winston Science Foundation. K. Crandall, Del Rio, Tex.; Ralph J. Donaldson, Lyndhurst, Mr. Spengler went to Washington, D. C., on the 14th for Ohio; Mrs. Ralph Donaldson, Jr., Sudbury; Mr. and Mrs. S. a conference with Dr. Robert M. White, chairman of the AMS Schor, Kingston, Pa.; Roslyn Schor, Cambridge; Mr. and Mrs. Planning Commission, and with Richard Belknap, publishing Peter G. Black, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111. and communications counsel to the AMS headquarters. On the 15th he conferred with Dr. Fred White, head of the Na- tional Science Foundation's Atmospheric Science Section, and with representatives of other NSF offices concerned with AMS (Continued from news and notes, page'991) affairs. He then visited the American Geophysical Union to ESSA 7 launch successful discuss plans for the spring meeting. He returned to Boston ESSA 7 was launched by the National Aeronautics and Space that night. Administration from the Western Test Range at Lompoc, On the 19th Mr. Spengler was in Toronto to attend the Calif., on 16 August, achieving an excellent orbit. Dr. Clifford dedication ceremony for McGill University's new Weather A. Spohn, director of the Office of Operations, National En- Radar Observatory, returning to Boston in the evening. From vironmental Satellite Center, said that "All indications seem the 21st to the 23rd, he was in Montreal for the Radar Me- to point to the best orbit we've had so far." The orbit is teorology Conference and a meeting of the AMS Weather nearly circular, with an apogee of 792 n mi (1468 km) and Radar Committee. a perigee of 772 n mi (1431 km). Early calculations indicated Back in Toronto from the 26th to the 30th, Mr. Spengler that the drift rate is 3.6 min yr~\ Previous satellites drifted attended the International Conference on Cloud Physics and the same amount in one month. ESSA 7's cameras were turned four AMS committee meetings: Committee on Severe Storms, three days after launch and are working well. Committee on Cloud Physics, Committee on Weather Modi- Like its predecessors in the TOS system, ESSA 7 is a cart- fication, and Committee on Water Resources. wheel satellite of the TIROS type. It rolls along in orbit like An open house for the participants of the Fifth Session of a wheel, and each of the two cameras looking out through the World Meteorological Organization's Commission on the rim point directly toward Earth once during every revo- Marine Meteorology, held at the University of Rhode Island lution. Pictures taken during each orbit are stored in the sat- on 19-31 August, was held on the 31st. Present were Capt. ellite on magnetic tape for readout by ESSA's Command and J. D. Booth, DMOS (N), MOD, London, England; J. H. Data Acquisition (CDA) stations at Fairbanks, Alaska, and Brazell, Meteorological Office, Bracknell, Berks., England; Wallops Station, Va. From the CDA stations the pictures are Dr. S. Gadish, Haifa, Israel; James K. McConica, Centre of transmitted immediately to the National Environmental Sat- Mediaeval Studies, University of Toronto, Canada; Dr. and ellite Center at Suitland, Md. Mrs. E. A. Bernard, United Nations Development Program, Since the operational system began in February 1966, United Nations, New York. ESSA's NESC has sent more than 3000 warnings based on sat- Other visitors in August included: Dr. Fred Spilhaus, ellite photographs to nations threatened by dangerous storms. American Geophysical Union, Washington, D. C.; Jack C. In addition to locating tropical storms, hurricanes, typhoons, Rae, Information Management, Inc., Waltham; Peter E. and cyclones, the pictures are used to estimate the intensity Romo, Litton Systems, Beverly Hills, Calif.; Anne Ford and of storms. These estimates have proved to be reasonably ac- Anne H. Roland, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston; Vera curate and are especially valuable in areas where no other Ruth Filby, Department of Defense, Ft.