“Search teams did not find re-entry debris at the predicted location until they recalculated where that location would be based upon data indicating ‘a stratospheric warming’ (my emphasis) event had been in progress during re-entry.”
The stratospheric warming was first documented by the US Army Meteorological Rocket Network station at Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks, Alaska."
https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/science/en/educational-resources/history-geological-survey-canada-175-objects/123-operation-morning-light-1978
Side note: Canada has an excellent inventory of natural resources and not just in its far north.
A Lawrence Livermore Laboratory connection?