Abstract

Upper archives of radiosonde data collected during the weather reconnaissance by the US Air Force (Ptarmigan Program) in 1950-1961 and at the former Soviet North Pole drifting stations in approximately the same areas in 1950-1954 were used to analyze the temperature structure of the lower troposphere (from the surface to 3-5 km) over the western Arctic Ocean. Low-temperature inversions inherent to the Arctic climate were analyzed. The inversion characteristics obtained from Ptarmigan planes and drifting stations made in nearly the same place and at approximately the same time are compared.