IAGA-IAMAP Resolution No.1 (1963): Studies of lunar tidal effects

The Joint Committee

1. noting Professor Chapman's intention to devote himself again to lunar tidal studies, and
2. recognising that the moon's tidal action (mainly but not entirely semi-diurnal) slightly perturbs the Earth's atmosphere - a dynamical system whose distribution and motions are complex, changing, and not fully known, affecting not only such meteorological variables as pressure, wind and temperature, but also geomagnetic, ionospheric and cosmic ray variables,
3. considers that these various phenomena deserve enhanced study, and that such study would produce valuable and interesting results, especially because the field of lunar tidal acceleration acting on the atmosphere is completely known, and simpler in its operation that the similarly large scale solar actions upon the atmosphere,
4. considers that a theoretical and computational study of the dynamical aspects of the lunar atmospheric tide, and comparison with the observed meteorological effects, would add to our factual knowledge of the properties of the atmosphere,
5. recommends such a dynamical study, and also, for comparison with theoretical and computed predictions of lunar tidal meteorological effects, a comprehensive effort to improve our observational knowledge of them by use of all suitable existing series of meteorological data,
6. likewise recommends that the associated lunar geophysical effects be comprehensively studied by means of all suitable existing series of geomagnetic, ionospheric, earth-current and cosmic ray data, according to a systematic plan determined after careful examination of the most appropriate methods and tools of computation,
7. further recommends global studies of these lunar geophysical variations, including the determination of the ionospheric electric current system that is associated with the lunar daily geomagnetic and earth-current variations.