Central Aerological Observatory

(TsAO), of the Central Board of the Hydrometeorological Service of the USSR, a scientific research institution that conducts research in atmospheric physics. The TsAO was established in 1940 and is located in the city of Dolgoprudnyi, Moscow Oblast.

The TsAO studies the gaseous and aerosol composition of the atmosphere and the distributions of pressure, humidity, winds, and other characteristics of the free atmosphere. It investigates cloud and precipitation formation processes, cloud characteristics and structure, atmospheric turbulence, and the radio and optical properties of the atmosphere, in order to establish scientific principles of weather forecasting and weather modification. It also develops methods of cloud modification for the suppression of hail, the control of precipitation, and other purposes. The observatory develops the technical means for direct and indirect measurements—including measurements based on the use of radio-frequency, optical, and acoustic radiation—of atmospheric parameters up to high altitudes by means of radiosondes, rockets, airplanes, balloons, ships, and spacecraft. The TsAO exercises methodological supervision over the work of the aerological stations and rocket-sounding stations of the hydrometeorological observation network of the USSR. The observatory publishes Trudy TsAO (Transactions of the TsAO).