Project CONDOR: Middle atmosphere wind structure obtained with lightweight inflatable spheres near the equatorial electrojet

Observed correlations between the atmospheric electric field and the neutral wind were studied using additional atmospheric measurements during Project CONDOR. Project CONDOR obtained measurements near the equatorial electrojet (12 S) during March 1983. Neutral atmosphere wind measurements were obtained using lightweight inflatable spheres and temperatures were obtained using a datasonde. The lightweight sphere technology, the wind structure, and temperature structure are described. Results show that the lightweight sphere gives higher vertical resolution of winds below 75 km compared with the standard sphere, but gives little or no improvement above 80 km, and no usable temperature and density data.