Comparisons between primrose lake (54°N, 110°W) ROCOB winds (20–60 km) and Saskatoon (52°N, 107°W) M. F. radar winds (60–110 km): 1978–1982

The development of the new CIRA will require the combination of winds from many sources, e.g. rockets (ROCOB) up to ～60 km, and radar winds ～60–110 km. Difficulties are that such rocket data have larger errors at 60–65 km, and tidal effects may become significant. Radar data for 60–80 km may also have tidal contamination, due to ? 16h of data per day: from 80–110 km tidal corrections are usually reliable.Comparisons are made between the unique Saskatoon MF radar set, which is continuous from mid 1978–1983, and the ROCOB data from Primrose Lake, which is only 340 km northwest. While the agreement is satisfactory, special care is required when matching the two regions: particular problems are the low rocket sampling rate, and the unexpectedly large amplitude of the diurnal tide. Important differences from the zonal winds of CIRA-72 emerge, especially in winter months. Meridional cross-sections differ from previous data models in the extent of the summer equatorward flow.