Search

The stratosphere above McMurdo Station, Antarctica (77°53′S, 166°44′E), as determined from the first systematic meteorological rocket probes on that continent, is described briefly. These probes were made with Areas rockets equipped with modified AN/AMT-4 transmitters and associated temperature-sensing and calibration instrumentation. Winds were determined by a triangulation procedure in which two ground meteorological detector systems were used. The data, taken from early winter through early summer, 1962, demonstrate the slow, then rapid, buildup of the wintertime westerlies, their subsequent destruction, and the accompanying stratospheric warming. A strong reversal of the meridional winds is evident at the time of the warming, and the wintertime westerlies are replaced by weak and erratic easterlies. These easterlies appear to begin at the top and descend through the stratosphere. There is no indication that the wintertime circulation is disrupted by a period of stormy, erratic winds, as occurs in the northern hemisphere.

A method is described for separating lymphocytes by using heparinized venous blood. The platelets are eliminated by means of aggregation with ADP, and the lymphocytes are separated from the red cells and granulocytes by a variant of Thorsby's modification of the Boyum method. Our method is very rapid; pure lymphocyte suspensions are obtained in less than an hour. This technique ensures the elimination of platelets which could give rise to inhibition phenomena in the lymphotoxicity reaction. The platelets are eliminated without the need to defibrinate the blood.