DISREGARD OF SOVIET METEOROLOGISTS' INVENTIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600370378-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 27, 2011
• Sequence Number: 378
• Publication Date: January 15, 1951
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/27: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600370378-2
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CLASSIFICATION SECBEP SECRET
`
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
COUNTRY 'USSR DATE OF '
INFORMATION 1948
SUBJECT Scientific m Geophysics, meteorology,
instruments
HOW
PUBLISHED Bimonthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Leningrad
DATE
PUBLISHED Mar 1948
LANGUAGE
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING OF ESPIONAGE ACT B0
U. 5. C.. Sl AND 32. AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR THE REYELATIOR
OF ITS CONTENTS IN AN'' MANNER TO AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS PRO-
HIBITED By LAW. REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PROHIBITED.
DATE DIST. / S Jan 195'1
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
SOURCE Meteozologiya i Gidrologiya, No 2, 1948, pp 43-46.
N. M. Topol?nitskiy
(Soviet Editor?s Note: The editors of this periodical do not agree with
the author?s treatment of the examples cited, although the problems discussed
are timely and well-founded. The editors request that the readers take part
in discussions of. these specific problems and similar problems in other fields
of geophysics; meteorology, and hydrology.)
Among Soviet meteorologists, there are still those who disregard Soviet
accomplishments in meteorology and are subject to foreign influence. The in-
fluence of these meteorologists is reflected in the following examples:
Of the two heliographs which were used in the Soviet Union, the helio-
graph designed by the Soviet scientist Velichko was removed for no reason
whatever from station equipment and was replaced by the British Campbell
heliogz--ph. The latter, which is expensive (2,500 rubles), difficult to
put into domestic production (the large glass globe was imported up to World
War II), and complex in exploitation, soon became the only heliograph in the
USSR The Velichko heliograph, which is simple and easy to produce and use,
was not only forgotten, but was destroyed.
There are technical defects in both instruments, but the defects in the
British instrument are considerably more serious, the main one being that its
operating, principle is static, while the photographic principle upon which
the Soviet instrument is based, considering the accomplishments of photochem-
istry, has a great future. It is also much easier to supply the proper paper
for the Velichko instrument than to supply tape for the British instrument;
The'British instrument should be used only in remote and high-mountain sta-
tions where light-sensitive paper cannot be supplied regularly. At present,
the Soviet instrument is not operating because it has been removed from the
equipment of stations, while the British instrument has not operated for many
years because of the lack of tape.
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Another example is the introduction into the network of stations of rain
gauges with a Nifer shield without any consideration for the climatic charac-
tieristics of the USSR. Useless but harmless in the case of liquid precipita-
tion, the Nifer shield becomes harmful in winter, since it does not prevent
snow from being blown out of the rain-gauge bucket. Because of thia, the be-
lief that precipitation has a definite yearly behavior with a summer maximum
and a winter minimum has been strengthened.
The Soviet meteorologist, A. S. Skipskiy, worked for many years on the
study of precipitation and in 1932 proposed an original improved design of
a rain-gauge instrument which prevented snow from being blown out of the
bucket. Parallel observations on snow-cover depth and snow surveys made by
Skipskiy led him to propose that the "winter minimum" of precipitation was
a mistaken conclusion caused by the use of data irom rain gauges with the
Pifer shield. This sudden reversal of ideas on the precipitation regime
was received skeptically, and also prejudiced the attitude towards the in-
strument itself. The network of stations continued to be supplied with the
obviously useless foreign model with the Nifer shield, while Skipskiy's in-
vention was forgotten. The shield proposed by B. D. Tret'yakov was not ap-
proved for a long came; now that it is approved, mass replacement of the
Nifer shield is still not being carried out and, moreover, the Nifer shield
is still being produced at plants of the Hydrometeorological Service and sent
to stations.
The Hellman pluviograph is being produced by plants and distributed to
the network of stations of the Soviet Union. The single merit of this in-
strument is large-scale recording, but it also has many important defects.
Up to this time, the Berg pluviograph has not been given the application which
it deserves, although it could successfully replace the foreign model.
The Central Construction Bureau of the Main Administration of the Hydro-
meteorological Service is working to improve the foreign Dines pluviograph,
which is even more complex than the Hellman model. 4
The simple and original V. A. Mikhel'son actinometer has found world-
wide use, but the Soviet Hydrometeorological Service, strangely enough, im-
ports copies of this instrument since production of it has stopped in our
plants.
Another example is the psychrometric booth designed by the Soviet me-
teorologist V. V. Kuznetsov.. Comparison of thermometer readings in this
booth with an Assmann psychrometer and other booths gave good results, but
it has not obtained wide usage, and the British Stevenson booth continues
to be distributed to the network to this time. The only reason for leaving
the British booth in our network would be standardization of equipment
throughout the world, but since each country supports its own system there
is no basis .'or disregarding the Kuznetsov booth.
Kuznetsov also designed'a nephoscope which is very simple and has a
wide range for obervations, but this instrument has also been disregarded.
The comb nephoscope is used in the network inatead of the Soviet instrument
in the interest of economy, but at the expense of quality. Excuses regard-
ing the expense of the Kuznetsov instrument are not quite convincing, inas-
much as the very expensive Campbell heliograph was introduced into the net-
work.
There ie no doubt that the instruments designed by Velichko, Berg, Skip-
skiy, etc., require improvements and additions since they were proposed many
years ago, but such improvements can be made if the Hydrometeorological Serv-
ice. fulfills its primary task, i.e., reconsideration of the technical pop-,
sibilities of.Soviet meteorolFigy and encouragement of the work of Soviet sci -
END
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SECRET
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