117-462: James Hutton FRSE ( / ˈ h ʌ t ən / ; 3 June O.S. 1726 – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist , agriculturalist , chemical manufacturer , naturalist and physician . Often referred to as the "Father of Modern Geology," he played a key role in establishing geology as a modern science. Hutton advanced the idea that the physical world's remote history can be inferred from evidence in present-day rocks. Through his study of features in
234-632: A GPS clock for data logging . Upper air data are of crucial importance for weather forecasting. The most widely used technique is launches of radiosondes . Supplementing the radiosondes a network of aircraft collection is organized by the World Meteorological Organization . Remote sensing , as used in meteorology, is the concept of collecting data from remote weather events and subsequently producing weather information. The common types of remote sensing are Radar , Lidar , and satellites (or photogrammetry ). Each collects data about
351-407: A 1753 letter he wrote that he had "become very fond of studying the surface of the earth, and was looking with anxious curiosity into every pit or ditch or bed of a river that fell in his way". Clearing and draining his farm provided ample opportunities. The mathematician John Playfair described Hutton as having noticed that "a vast proportion of the present rocks are composed of materials afforded by
468-606: A Problem in Mechanics and Physics that it should be possible to forecast weather from calculations based upon natural laws . It was not until later in the 20th century that advances in the understanding of atmospheric physics led to the foundation of modern numerical weather prediction . In 1922, Lewis Fry Richardson published "Weather Prediction By Numerical Process," after finding notes and derivations he worked on as an ambulance driver in World War I. He described how small terms in
585-498: A Roman geographer, formalized the climatic zone system. In 63–64 AD, Seneca wrote Naturales quaestiones . It was a compilation and synthesis of ancient Greek theories. However, theology was of foremost importance to Seneca, and he believed that phenomena such as lightning were tied to fate. The second book(chapter) of Pliny 's Natural History covers meteorology. He states that more than twenty ancient Greek authors studied meteorology. He did not make any personal contributions, and
702-611: A factor to manage this business. Hutton inherited from his father the Berwickshire farms of Slighhouses , a lowland farm which had been in the family since 1713, and the hill farm of Nether Monynut . In the early 1750s he moved to Slighhouses and set about making improvements, introducing farming practices from other parts of Britain and experimenting with plant and animal husbandry. He recorded his ideas and innovations in an unpublished treatise on The Elements of Agriculture . This developed his interest in meteorology and geology. In
819-466: A farmer's potential harvest. In 1450, Leone Battista Alberti developed a swinging-plate anemometer , and was known as the first anemometer . In 1607, Galileo Galilei constructed a thermoscope . In 1611, Johannes Kepler wrote the first scientific treatise on snow crystals: "Strena Seu de Nive Sexangula (A New Year's Gift of Hexagonal Snow)." In 1643, Evangelista Torricelli invented the mercury barometer . In 1662, Sir Christopher Wren invented
936-469: A forest or a meadow". He came to his ideas as the result of experiments in plant and animal breeding , some of which he outlined in an unpublished manuscript, the Elements of Agriculture . He distinguished between heritable variation as the result of breeding, and non-heritable variations caused by environmental differences such as soil and climate. Though he saw his "principle of variation" as explaining
1053-485: A gale was expected. FitzRoy coined the term "weather forecast" and tried to separate scientific approaches from prophetic ones. Over the next 50 years, many countries established national meteorological services. The India Meteorological Department (1875) was established to follow tropical cyclone and monsoon . The Finnish Meteorological Central Office (1881) was formed from part of Magnetic Observatory of Helsinki University . Japan's Tokyo Meteorological Observatory,
1170-621: A group of meteorologists in Norway led by Vilhelm Bjerknes developed the Norwegian cyclone model that explains the generation, intensification and ultimate decay (the life cycle) of mid-latitude cyclones , and introduced the idea of fronts , that is, sharply defined boundaries between air masses . The group included Carl-Gustaf Rossby (who was the first to explain the large scale atmospheric flow in terms of fluid dynamics ), Tor Bergeron (who first determined how rain forms) and Jacob Bjerknes . In
1287-473: A legitimate branch of physics. In the 18th century, the invention of the thermometer and barometer allowed for more accurate measurements of temperature and pressure, leading to a better understanding of atmospheric processes. This century also saw the birth of the first meteorological society, the Societas Meteorologica Palatina in 1780. In the 19th century, advances in technology such as
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#17328452785631404-492: A period up to a year. His system was based on dividing the year by the setting and the rising of the Pleiad, halves into solstices and equinoxes, and the continuity of the weather for those periods. He also divided months into the new moon, fourth day, eighth day and full moon, in likelihood of a change in the weather occurring. The day was divided into sunrise, mid-morning, noon, mid-afternoon and sunset, with corresponding divisions of
1521-640: A red dye made from the roots of the madder plant. He had a house built in 1770 at St John's Hill, Edinburgh, overlooking Salisbury Crags . This later became the Balfour family home and, in 1840, the birthplace of the psychiatrist James Crichton-Browne . Hutton was one of the most influential participants in the Scottish Enlightenment , and fell in with numerous first-class minds in the sciences including mathematician John Playfair , philosopher David Hume and economist Adam Smith . Hutton held no position in
1638-506: A shareholder and as a member of the committee of management, and attended meetings including extended site inspections of all the works. At this time he is listed as living on Bernard Street in Leith . In 1777 he published a pamphlet on Considerations on the Nature, Quality and Distinctions of Coal and Culm which successfully helped to obtain relief from excise duty on carrying small coal. In 1783, he
1755-950: A snapshot of a variety of weather conditions at one single location and are usually at a weather station , a ship or a weather buoy . The measurements taken at a weather station can include any number of atmospheric observables. Usually, temperature, pressure , wind measurements, and humidity are the variables that are measured by a thermometer, barometer, anemometer, and hygrometer, respectively. Professional stations may also include air quality sensors ( carbon monoxide , carbon dioxide , methane , ozone , dust , and smoke ), ceilometer (cloud ceiling), falling precipitation sensor, flood sensor , lightning sensor , microphone ( explosions , sonic booms , thunder ), pyranometer / pyrheliometer / spectroradiometer (IR/Vis/UV photodiodes ), rain gauge / snow gauge , scintillation counter ( background radiation , fallout , radon ), seismometer ( earthquakes and tremors), transmissometer (visibility), and
1872-598: Is also responsible for twilight in Opticae thesaurus ; he estimated that twilight begins when the sun is 19 degrees below the horizon , and also used a geometric determination based on this to estimate the maximum possible height of the Earth's atmosphere as 52,000 passim (about 49 miles, or 79 km). Adelard of Bath was one of the early translators of the classics. He also discussed meteorological topics in his Quaestiones naturales . He thought dense air produced propulsion in
1989-633: Is believed that James Hutton returned to Britain shortly after his promotion. After his degree Hutton went to London, then in mid-1750 returned to Edinburgh and resumed chemical experiments with close friend, John Davie. Their work on production of sal ammoniac from soot led to their partnership in a profitable chemical works, manufacturing the crystalline salt which was used for dyeing, metalworking and as smelling salts and had been available only from natural sources and had to be imported from Egypt . Hutton owned and rented out properties in Edinburgh, employing
2106-487: Is not mandatory to be hired by the media. Each science has its own unique sets of laboratory equipment. In the atmosphere, there are many things or qualities of the atmosphere that can be measured. Rain, which can be observed, or seen anywhere and anytime was one of the first atmospheric qualities measured historically. Also, two other accurately measured qualities are wind and humidity. Neither of these can be seen but can be felt. The devices to measure these three sprang up in
2223-454: The 22° and 46° halos . The ancient Greeks were the first to make theories about the weather. Many natural philosophers studied the weather. However, as meteorological instruments did not exist, the inquiry was largely qualitative, and could only be judged by more general theoretical speculations. Herodotus states that Thales predicted the solar eclipse of 585 BC. He studied Babylonian equinox tables. According to Seneca, he gave
2340-413: The Earth's magnetic field lines. In 1494, Christopher Columbus experienced a tropical cyclone, which led to the first written European account of a hurricane. In 1686, Edmund Halley presented a systematic study of the trade winds and monsoons and identified solar heating as the cause of atmospheric motions. In 1735, an ideal explanation of global circulation through study of the trade winds
2457-506: The Isle of Arran in 1787. The existence of angular unconformities had been noted by Nicolas Steno and by French geologists including Horace-Bénédict de Saussure , who interpreted them in terms of Neptunism as "primary formations". Hutton wanted to examine such formations himself to see "particular marks" of the relationship between the rock layers. On the 1787 trip to the Isle of Arran he found his first example of Hutton's Unconformity to
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#17328452785632574-628: The Kitab al-Nabat (Book of Plants), in which he deals with the application of meteorology to agriculture during the Arab Agricultural Revolution . He describes the meteorological character of the sky, the planets and constellations , the sun and moon , the lunar phases indicating seasons and rain, the anwa ( heavenly bodies of rain), and atmospheric phenomena such as winds, thunder, lightning, snow, floods, valleys, rivers, lakes. In 1021, Alhazen showed that atmospheric refraction
2691-474: The Scottish Enlightenment concept which David Hume had put in 1777 as "all inferences from experience suppose ... that the future will resemble the past", and Charles Lyell memorably rephrased in the 1830s as "the present is the key to the past". Hutton's 1788 paper concludes; "The result, therefore, of our present enquiry is, that we find no vestige of a beginning,–no prospect of an end." His memorably phrased closing statement has long been celebrated. (It
2808-618: The Scottish Highlands , Hutton found granite penetrating metamorphic schists , in a way which indicated that the granite had been molten at the time. This was Hutton's first geological field trip and he was invited by the Duke of Atholl to his hunting lodge, Forest Lodge. The exposures at the Dail-an-eas Bridge demonstrated to him that granite formed from the cooling of molten rock rather than it precipitating out of water as others at
2925-607: The Smithsonian Institution began to establish an observation network across the United States under the leadership of Joseph Henry . Similar observation networks were established in Europe at this time. The Reverend William Clement Ley was key in understanding of cirrus clouds and early understandings of Jet Streams . Charles Kenneth Mackinnon Douglas , known as 'CKM' Douglas read Ley's papers after his death and carried on
3042-571: The atmospheric sciences . Meteorology and hydrology compose the interdisciplinary field of hydrometeorology . The interactions between Earth's atmosphere and its oceans are part of a coupled ocean-atmosphere system. Meteorology has application in many diverse fields such as the military, energy production, transport, agriculture, and construction. The word meteorology is from the Ancient Greek μετέωρος metéōros ( meteor ) and -λογία -logia ( -(o)logy ), meaning "the study of things high in
3159-417: The heat capacity of gases varies inversely with atomic weight . In 1824, Sadi Carnot analyzed the efficiency of steam engines using caloric theory; he developed the notion of a reversible process and, in postulating that no such thing exists in nature, laid the foundation for the second law of thermodynamics . In 1716, Edmund Halley suggested that aurorae are caused by "magnetic effluvia" moving along
3276-632: The phlogiston theory . In 1777, Antoine Lavoisier discovered oxygen and developed an explanation for combustion. In 1783, in Lavoisier's essay "Reflexions sur le phlogistique," he deprecates the phlogiston theory and proposes a caloric theory . In 1804, John Leslie observed that a matte black surface radiates heat more effectively than a polished surface, suggesting the importance of black-body radiation . In 1808, John Dalton defended caloric theory in A New System of Chemistry and described how it combines with matter, especially gases; he proposed that
3393-707: The post-nominal letters FRSE, Honorary Fellows HonFRSE, and Corresponding Fellows CorrFRSE. The Fellowship is split into four broad sectors, covering the full range of physical and life sciences, arts, humanities, social sciences, education, professions, industry, business and public life. Examples of current fellows include Peter Higgs and Jocelyn Bell Burnell . Previous fellows have included Melvin Calvin , Benjamin Franklin , James Clerk Maxwell , James Watt , Thomas Reid , and Andrew Lawrence . A comprehensive biographical list of Fellows from 1783–2002 has been published by
3510-550: The 1830s became known as uniformitarianism , the science which explains features of the Earth's crust as the outcome of continuing natural processes over the long geologic time scale . Hutton also put forward a thesis for a 'system of the habitable Earth' proposed as a deistic mechanism designed to keep the world eternally suitable for humans, an early attempt to formulate what today might be called one kind of anthropic principle . Some reflections similar to those of Hutton can be found in publications of his contemporaries, such as
3627-747: The 19th century. Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ( FRSE ) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh , Scotland's national academy of science and letters , judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This society received a royal charter in 1783, allowing for its expansion. Around 50 new fellows are elected each year in March. As of 2016 there are around 1,650 Fellows, including 71 Honorary Fellows and 76 Corresponding Fellows. Fellows are entitled to use
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3744-516: The Aristotelian method. The work of Theophrastus remained a dominant influence in weather forecasting for nearly 2,000 years. Meteorology continued to be studied and developed over the centuries, but it was not until the Renaissance in the 14th to 17th centuries that significant advancements were made in the field. Scientists such as Galileo and Descartes introduced new methods and ideas, leading to
3861-554: The Covenanter's Prison. Hutton did not marry and had no legitimate children. Around 1747, he had a son by a Miss Edington, and though he gave his child, James Smeaton Hutton, financial assistance, he had little to do with the boy, who went on to become a post-office clerk in London. Hutton developed several hypotheses to explain the rock formations he saw around him, but according to Playfair he "was in no haste to publish his theory; for he
3978-563: The Earth needed to be ancient, to allow time for the changes. Contemporary investigations had shown that the geologic record required vast time, but no good way of assigning actual years was found for over a century (Rudwick, Bursting the Limits of Time ). Hutton's idea of infinite cycles with humans present throughout is quite different from modern geology, with a definite time of formation and directional change through time, but his supporting evidence for
4095-625: The French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon , but it is chiefly Hutton's pioneering work that established the field. Hutton was born in Edinburgh on 3 June O.S. 1726, as one of five children of Sarah Balfour and William Hutton, a merchant who was Edinburgh City Treasurer. Hutton's father died in 1729, when he was three. He was educated at the High School of Edinburgh where he was particularly interested in mathematics and chemistry , then when he
4212-516: The Great was the first to propose that each drop of falling rain had the form of a small sphere, and that this form meant that the rainbow was produced by light interacting with each raindrop. Roger Bacon was the first to calculate the angular size of the rainbow. He stated that a rainbow summit cannot appear higher than 42 degrees above the horizon. In the late 13th century and early 14th century, Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī and Theodoric of Freiberg were
4329-524: The Modification of Clouds , in which he assigns cloud types Latin names. In 1806, Francis Beaufort introduced his system for classifying wind speeds . Near the end of the 19th century the first cloud atlases were published, including the International Cloud Atlas , which has remained in print ever since. The April 1960 launch of the first successful weather satellite , TIROS-1 , marked
4446-561: The Society. Meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting . The study of meteorology dates back millennia , though significant progress in meteorology did not begin until the 18th century. The 19th century saw modest progress in the field after weather observation networks were formed across broad regions. Prior attempts at prediction of weather depended on historical data. It
4563-571: The Spring of 1788 he set off with John Playfair to the Berwickshire coast and found more examples of this sequence in the valleys of the Tour and Pease Burns near Cockburnspath . They then took a boat trip from Dunglass Burn east along the coast with the geologist Sir James Hall of Dunglass . They found the sequence in the cliff below St. Helens, then just to the east at Siccar Point found what Hutton called "a beautiful picture of this junction washed bare by
4680-516: The Stadholder. The Latin manuscript of Hutton's dissertation also contained 92 theses, two of which were successfully defended in public by James Hutton on 3 September 1749. On 12 September 1749, James Hutton obtained his doctorate in medicine from Leiden University with a physico-medical thesis entitled Sanguine et Circulatione Microcosmi. The thesis was printed by Wilhelmus Boot, book printer in Leiden. It
4797-577: The University of Edinburgh and communicated his scientific findings through the Royal Society of Edinburgh . He was particularly friendly with physician and chemist Joseph Black , and together with Adam Smith they founded the Oyster Club for weekly meetings. Between 1767 and 1774 Hutton had close involvement with the construction of the Forth and Clyde canal , making full use of his geological knowledge, both as
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4914-455: The University of Leiden on 14 August 1749, at the home of the then rector magnificus Joachim Schwartz to obtain a doctorate in medicine. He stayed with the widow Van der Tas (née Judith Bouvat) at the Langebrug, which corresponds to the current address Langebrug 101 in Leiden. His supervisor was Professor Frederik Winter, who was not only a professor at Leiden University, but also court physician to
5031-472: The advancement in weather forecasting and satellite technology, meteorology has become an integral part of everyday life, and is used for many purposes such as aviation, agriculture, and disaster management. In 1441, King Sejong 's son, Prince Munjong of Korea, invented the first standardized rain gauge . These were sent throughout the Joseon dynasty of Korea as an official tool to assess land taxes based upon
5148-408: The air can retain in solution increases with temperature, and, therefore, that on the mixture of two masses of air of different temperatures a portion of the moisture must be condensed and appear in visible form. He investigated the available data regarding rainfall and climate in different regions of the globe, and came to the conclusion that the rainfall is regulated by the humidity of the air on
5265-962: The air". Early attempts at predicting weather were often related to prophecy and divining , and were sometimes based on astrological ideas. Ancient religions believed meteorological phenomena to be under the control of the gods. The ability to predict rains and floods based on annual cycles was evidently used by humans at least from the time of agricultural settlement if not earlier. Early approaches to predicting weather were based on astrology and were practiced by priests. The Egyptians had rain-making rituals as early as 3500 BC. Ancient Indian Upanishads contain mentions of clouds and seasons . The Samaveda mentions sacrifices to be performed when certain phenomena were noticed. Varāhamihira 's classical work Brihatsamhita , written about 500 AD, provides evidence of weather observation. Cuneiform inscriptions on Babylonian tablets included associations between thunder and rain. The Chaldeans differentiated
5382-498: The appendix Les Meteores , he applied these principles to meteorology. He discussed terrestrial bodies and vapors which arise from them, proceeding to explain the formation of clouds from drops of water, and winds, clouds then dissolving into rain, hail and snow. He also discussed the effects of light on the rainbow. Descartes hypothesized that all bodies were composed of small particles of different shapes and interwovenness. All of his theories were based on this hypothesis. He explained
5499-412: The atmosphere can be divided into distinct areas that depend on both time and spatial scales. At one extreme of this scale is climatology. In the timescales of hours to days, meteorology separates into micro-, meso-, and synoptic scale meteorology. Respectively, the geospatial size of each of these three scales relates directly with the appropriate timescale. Other subclassifications are used to describe
5616-456: The atmosphere from a remote location and, usually, stores the data where the instrument is located. Radar and Lidar are not passive because both use EM radiation to illuminate a specific portion of the atmosphere. Weather satellites along with more general-purpose Earth-observing satellites circling the earth at various altitudes have become an indispensable tool for studying a wide range of phenomena from forest fires to El Niño . The study of
5733-666: The beginning of the age where weather information became available globally. In 1648, Blaise Pascal rediscovered that atmospheric pressure decreases with height, and deduced that there is a vacuum above the atmosphere. In 1738, Daniel Bernoulli published Hydrodynamics , initiating the Kinetic theory of gases and established the basic laws for the theory of gases. In 1761, Joseph Black discovered that ice absorbs heat without changing its temperature when melting. In 1772, Black's student Daniel Rutherford discovered nitrogen , which he called phlogisticated air , and together they developed
5850-460: The best known products of meteorologists for the public, weather presenters on radio and television are not necessarily professional meteorologists. They are most often reporters with little formal meteorological training, using unregulated titles such as weather specialist or weatherman . The American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association issue "Seals of Approval" to weather broadcasters who meet certain requirements but this
5967-470: The book, and the obscurity which may justly be objected to many parts of it, have probably prevented it from being received as it deserves." His new theories placed him into opposition with the then-popular Neptunist theories of the German geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner , that all rocks had precipitated out of a single enormous flood. Hutton proposed that the interior of the Earth was hot, and that this heat
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#17328452785636084-401: The calculations led to unrealistic results. Though numerical analysis later found that this was due to numerical instability . Starting in the 1950s, numerical forecasts with computers became feasible. The first weather forecasts derived this way used barotropic (single-vertical-level) models, and could successfully predict the large-scale movement of midlatitude Rossby waves , that is,
6201-444: The chaotic nature of the atmosphere. Mathematical models used to predict the long term weather of the Earth ( climate models ), have been developed that have a resolution today that are as coarse as the older weather prediction models. These climate models are used to investigate long-term climate shifts, such as what effects might be caused by human emission of greenhouse gases . Meteorologists are scientists who study and work in
6318-413: The church and princes. This was supported by scientists like Johannes Muller , Leonard Digges , and Johannes Kepler . However, there were skeptics. In the 14th century, Nicole Oresme believed that weather forecasting was possible, but that the rules for it were unknown at the time. Astrological influence in meteorology persisted until the eighteenth century. Gerolamo Cardano 's De Subilitate (1550)
6435-613: The climate with public health. During the Age of Enlightenment meteorology tried to rationalise traditional weather lore, including astrological meteorology. But there were also attempts to establish a theoretical understanding of weather phenomena. Edmond Halley and George Hadley tried to explain trade winds . They reasoned that the rising mass of heated equator air is replaced by an inflow of cooler air from high latitudes. A flow of warm air at high altitude from equator to poles in turn established an early picture of circulation. Frustration with
6552-422: The clouds and winds extended up to 111 miles, but Posidonius thought that they reached up to five miles, after which the air is clear, liquid and luminous. He closely followed Aristotle's theories. By the end of the second century BC, the center of science shifted from Athens to Alexandria , home to the ancient Library of Alexandria . In the 2nd century AD, Ptolemy 's Almagest dealt with meteorology, because it
6669-411: The concept of an infinitely repeating cycle, though Lyell tended to dismiss Hutton's views as giving too much credence to catastrophic changes. It was not merely the earth to which Hutton directed his attention. He had long studied the changes of the atmosphere . The same volume in which his Theory of the Earth appeared contained also a Theory of Rain . He contended that the amount of moisture which
6786-491: The description of what is now known as the hydrologic cycle . His work would remain an authority on meteorology for nearly 2,000 years. The book De Mundo (composed before 250 BC or between 350 and 200 BC) noted: After Aristotle, progress in meteorology stalled for a long time. Theophrastus compiled a book on weather forecasting, called the Book of Signs , as well as On Winds . He gave hundreds of signs for weather phenomena for
6903-523: The destruction of bodies, animal, vegetable and mineral, of more ancient formation". His theoretical ideas began to come together in 1760. While his farming activities continued, in 1764 he went on a geological tour of the north of Scotland with George Maxwell-Clerk, ancestor of the famous James Clerk Maxwell . In 1768, Hutton returned to Edinburgh, letting his farms to tenants but continuing to take an interest in farm improvements and research which included experiments carried out at Slighhouses . He developed
7020-434: The development of varieties, Hutton rejected the idea that evolution might originate species as a "romantic fantasy", according to palaeoclimatologist Paul Pearson. Influenced by deism , Hutton thought the mechanism allowed species to form varieties better adapted to particular conditions and provided evidence of benevolent design in nature. Studies of Charles Darwin 's notebooks have shown that Darwin arrived separately at
7137-626: The early study of weather systems. Nineteenth century researchers in meteorology were drawn from military or medical backgrounds, rather than trained as dedicated scientists. In 1854, the United Kingdom government appointed Robert FitzRoy to the new office of Meteorological Statist to the Board of Trade with the task of gathering weather observations at sea. FitzRoy's office became the United Kingdom Meteorological Office in 1854,
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#17328452785637254-442: The earth was no more than a few thousand years old, he maintained that the Earth must be much older , with a history extending indefinitely into the distant past. His main line of argument was that the tremendous displacements and changes he was seeing did not happen in a short period of time by means of catastrophe, but that processes still happening on the Earth in the present day had caused them. As these processes were very gradual,
7371-482: The existence of a circulation cell in the mid-latitudes, and the air within deflected by the Coriolis force resulting in the prevailing westerly winds. Late in the 19th century, the motion of air masses along isobars was understood to be the result of the large-scale interaction of the pressure gradient force and the deflecting force. By 1912, this deflecting force was named the Coriolis effect. Just after World War I,
7488-467: The explanation that the cause of the Nile 's annual floods was due to northerly winds hindering its descent by the sea. Anaximander and Anaximenes thought that thunder and lightning was caused by air smashing against the cloud, thus kindling the flame. Early meteorological theories generally considered that there was a fire-like substance in the atmosphere. Anaximander defined wind as a flowing of air, but this
7605-402: The extent of erosion of the strata, and said of this that "we never should have dreamed of meeting with what we now perceived". Hutton reasoned that there must have been innumerable cycles, each involving deposition on the seabed , uplift with tilting and erosion then undersea again for further layers to be deposited. On the belief that this was due to the same geological forces operating in
7722-443: The field of meteorology. The American Meteorological Society publishes and continually updates an authoritative electronic Meteorology Glossary . Meteorologists work in government agencies , private consulting and research services, industrial enterprises, utilities, radio and television stations , and in education . In the United States, meteorologists held about 10,000 jobs in 2018. Although weather forecasts and warnings are
7839-597: The first weather observing network, that consisted of meteorological stations in Florence , Cutigliano , Vallombrosa , Bologna , Parma , Milan , Innsbruck , Osnabrück , Paris and Warsaw . The collected data were sent to Florence at regular time intervals. In the 1660s Robert Hooke of the Royal Society of London sponsored networks of weather observers. Hippocrates ' treatise Airs, Waters, and Places had linked weather to disease. Thus early meteorologists attempted to correlate weather patterns with epidemic outbreaks, and
7956-400: The first time, a practical method for quickly gathering surface weather observations from a wide area. This data could be used to produce maps of the state of the atmosphere for a region near the Earth's surface and to study how these states evolved through time. To make frequent weather forecasts based on these data required a reliable network of observations, but it was not until 1849 that
8073-407: The first to give the correct explanations for the primary rainbow phenomenon. Theoderic went further and also explained the secondary rainbow. By the middle of the sixteenth century, meteorology had developed along two lines: theoretical science based on Meteorologica , and astrological weather forecasting. The pseudoscientific prediction by natural signs became popular and enjoyed protection of
8190-633: The first weather forecasts and temperature predictions. In the 20th and 21st centuries, with the advent of computer models and big data, meteorology has become increasingly dependent on numerical methods and computer simulations. This has greatly improved weather forecasting and climate predictions. Additionally, meteorology has expanded to include other areas such as air quality, atmospheric chemistry, and climatology. The advancement in observational, theoretical and computational technologies has enabled ever more accurate weather predictions and understanding of weather pattern and air pollution. In current time, with
8307-582: The forerunner of the Japan Meteorological Agency , began constructing surface weather maps in 1883. The United States Weather Bureau (1890) was established under the United States Department of Agriculture . The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (1906) was established by a Meteorology Act to unify existing state meteorological services. In 1904, Norwegian scientist Vilhelm Bjerknes first argued in his paper Weather Forecasting as
8424-516: The form of wind. He explained thunder by saying that it was due to ice colliding in clouds, and in Summer it melted. In the thirteenth century, Aristotelian theories reestablished dominance in meteorology. For the next four centuries, meteorological work by and large was mostly commentary . It has been estimated over 156 commentaries on the Meteorologica were written before 1650. Experimental evidence
8541-452: The idea of natural selection which he set out in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species , but it has been speculated that he had some half-forgotten memory from his time as a student in Edinburgh of ideas of selection in nature as set out by Hutton, and by William Charles Wells and Patrick Matthew who had both been associated with the city before publishing their ideas on the topic early in
8658-433: The intense reductionism among 19th-century scientists. Hutton also advocated uniformitarianism for living creatures – evolution , in a sense – and even suggested natural selection as a possible mechanism affecting them: Hutton gave the example that where dogs survived through "swiftness of foot and quickness of sight... the most defective in respect of those necessary qualities, would be
8775-413: The lack of discipline among weather observers, and the poor quality of the instruments, led the early modern nation states to organise large observation networks. Thus, by the end of the 18th century, meteorologists had access to large quantities of reliable weather data. In 1832, an electromagnetic telegraph was created by Baron Schilling . The arrival of the electrical telegraph in 1837 afforded, for
8892-500: The lakes and the Nile. Hippocrates inquired into the effect of weather on health. Eudoxus claimed that bad weather followed four-year periods, according to Pliny. These early observations would form the basis for Aristotle 's Meteorology , written in 350 BC. Aristotle is considered the founder of meteorology. One of the most impressive achievements described in the Meteorology is
9009-409: The landscape and coastlines of his native Scottish lowlands , such as Salisbury Crags or Siccar Point , he developed the theory that geological features could not be static but underwent continuing transformation over indefinitely long periods of time. From this he argued, in agreement with many other early geologists, that the Earth could not be young. He was one of the earliest proponents of what in
9126-437: The late 16th century and first half of the 17th century a range of meteorological instruments were invented – the thermometer , barometer , hydrometer , as well as wind and rain gauges. In the 1650s natural philosophers started using these instruments to systematically record weather observations. Scientific academies established weather diaries and organised observational networks. In 1654, Ferdinando II de Medici established
9243-404: The long-term effects of geological processes was valuable in the development of historical geology. It has been claimed that the prose of Principles of Knowledge was so obscure that it also impeded the acceptance of Hutton's geological theories. Restatements of his geological ideas (though not his thoughts on evolution) by John Playfair in 1802 and then Charles Lyell in the 1830s popularised
9360-443: The mechanical, self-emptying, tipping bucket rain gauge. In 1714, Gabriel Fahrenheit created a reliable scale for measuring temperature with a mercury-type thermometer . In 1742, Anders Celsius , a Swedish astronomer, proposed the "centigrade" temperature scale, the predecessor of the current Celsius scale. In 1783, the first hair hygrometer was demonstrated by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure . In 1802–1803, Luke Howard wrote On
9477-448: The mid-15th century and were respectively the rain gauge , the anemometer, and the hygrometer. Many attempts had been made prior to the 15th century to construct adequate equipment to measure the many atmospheric variables. Many were faulty in some way or were simply not reliable. Even Aristotle noted this in some of his work as the difficulty to measure the air. Sets of surface measurements are important data to meteorologists. They give
9594-521: The most subject to perish, and that those who employed them in greatest perfection... would be those who would remain, to preserve themselves, and to continue the race". Equally, if an acute sense of smell became "more necessary to the sustenance of the animal... the same principle [would] change the qualities of the animal, and.. produce a race of well scented hounds, instead of those who catch their prey by swiftness". The same "principle of variation" would influence "every species of plant, whether growing in
9711-549: The night, with change being likely at one of these divisions. Applying the divisions and a principle of balance in the yearly weather, he came up with forecasts like that if a lot of rain falls in the winter, the spring is usually dry. Rules based on actions of animals are also present in his work, like that if a dog rolls on the ground, it is a sign of a storm. Shooting stars and the Moon were also considered significant. However, he made no attempt to explain these phenomena, referring only to
9828-468: The north of Newton Point near Lochranza , but the limited view meant that the condition of the underlying strata was not clear enough for him, and he incorrectly thought that the strata were conformable at a depth below the exposed outcrop. Later in 1787 Hutton noted what is now known as the Hutton or "Great" Unconformity at Inchbonny, Jedburgh , in layers of sedimentary rock . As shown in the illustrations to
9945-459: The one hand, and mixing of different air currents in the higher atmosphere on the other. Hutton taught that biological and geological processes are interlinked. James Lovelock , who developed the Gaia hypothesis in the 1970s, cites Hutton as saying that the Earth was a superorganism and that its proper study should be physiology. Lovelock writes that Hutton's view of the Earth was rejected because of
10062-507: The opposite effect. Rene Descartes 's Discourse on the Method (1637) typifies the beginning of the scientific revolution in meteorology. His scientific method had four principles: to never accept anything unless one clearly knew it to be true; to divide every difficult problem into small problems to tackle; to proceed from the simple to the complex, always seeking relationships; to be as complete and thorough as possible with no prejudice. In
10179-508: The origin of granite. It included a review of alternative theories, such as those of Thomas Burnet and Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon . The whole was entitled An Investigation of the Principles of Knowledge and of the Progress of Reason, from Sense to Science and Philosophy when the third volume was completed in 1794. Its 2,138 pages prompted Playfair to remark that "The great size of
10296-561: The past as the very slow geological forces seen operating at the present day, the thicknesses of exposed rock layers implied to him enormous stretches of time. Though Hutton circulated privately a printed version of the abstract of his Theory ( Concerning the System of the Earth, its Duration, and Stability ) which he read at a meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh on 4 July 1785; the full account of his theory as read at 7 March 1785 and 4 April 1785 meetings did not appear in print until 1788. It
10413-516: The pattern of atmospheric lows and highs . In 1959, the UK Meteorological Office received its first computer, a Ferranti Mercury . In the 1960s, the chaotic nature of the atmosphere was first observed and mathematically described by Edward Lorenz , founding the field of chaos theory . These advances have led to the current use of ensemble forecasting in most major forecasting centers, to take into account uncertainty arising from
10530-413: The present land was forming at the bottom of the ocean, the former land maintained plants and animals; at least the sea was then inhabited by animals, in a similar manner as it is at present. Hence we are led to conclude, that the greater part of our land, if not the whole had been produced by operations natural to this globe; but that in order to make this land a permanent body, resisting the operations of
10647-415: The prognostic fluid dynamics equations that govern atmospheric flow could be neglected, and a numerical calculation scheme that could be devised to allow predictions. Richardson envisioned a large auditorium of thousands of people performing the calculations. However, the sheer number of calculations required was too large to complete without electronic computers, and the size of the grid and time steps used in
10764-521: The rain as caused by clouds becoming too large for the air to hold, and that clouds became snow if the air was not warm enough to melt them, or hail if they met colder wind. Like his predecessors, Descartes's method was deductive, as meteorological instruments were not developed and extensively used yet. He introduced the Cartesian coordinate system to meteorology and stressed the importance of mathematics in natural science. His work established meteorology as
10881-489: The right, layers of greywacke in the lower layers of the cliff face are tilted almost vertically, and above an intervening layer of conglomerate lie horizontal layers of Old Red Sandstone . He later wrote of how he "rejoiced at my good fortune in stumbling upon an object so interesting in the natural history of the earth, and which I had been long looking for in vain." That year, he found the same sequence in Teviotdale . In
10998-475: The science of meteorology. Meteorological phenomena are described and quantified by the variables of Earth's atmosphere: temperature, air pressure, water vapour , mass flow , and the variations and interactions of these variables, and how they change over time. Different spatial scales are used to describe and predict weather on local, regional, and global levels. Meteorology, climatology , atmospheric physics , and atmospheric chemistry are sub-disciplines of
11115-442: The scientific revolution in meteorology. Speculation on the cause of the flooding of the Nile ended when Eratosthenes , according to Proclus , stated that it was known that man had gone to the sources of the Nile and observed the rains, although interest in its implications continued. During the era of Roman Greece and Europe, scientific interest in meteorology waned. In the 1st century BC, most natural philosophers claimed that
11232-440: The sea". Playfair later commented about the experience, "the mind seemed to grow giddy by looking so far into the abyss of time". Continuing along the coast, they made more discoveries including sections of the vertical beds showing strong ripple marks which gave Hutton "great satisfaction" as a confirmation of his supposition that these beds had been laid horizontally in water. He also found conglomerate at altitudes that demonstrated
11349-440: The seasons. He believed that fire and water opposed each other in the atmosphere, and when fire gained the upper hand, the result was summer, and when water did, it was winter. Democritus also wrote about the flooding of the Nile. He said that during the summer solstice, snow in northern parts of the world melted. This would cause vapors to form clouds, which would cause storms when driven to the Nile by northerly winds, thus filling
11466-449: The second by himself on 4 April 1785. Hutton subsequently read an abstract of his dissertation Concerning the System of the Earth, its Duration and Stability to Society meeting on 4 July 1785, which he had printed and circulated privately. In it, he outlined his theory as follows; The solid parts of the present land appear in general, to have been composed of the productions of the sea, and of other materials similar to those now found upon
11583-578: The second oldest national meteorological service in the world (the Central Institution for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) in Austria was founded in 1851 and is the oldest weather service in the world). The first daily weather forecasts made by FitzRoy's Office were published in The Times newspaper in 1860. The following year a system was introduced of hoisting storm warning cones at principal ports when
11700-423: The shores. Hence we find reason to conclude: 1st, That the land on which we rest is not simple and original, but that it is a composition, and had been formed by the operation of second causes. 2nd, That before the present land was made, there had subsisted a world composed of sea and land, in which were tides and currents, with such operations at the bottom of the sea as now take place. And, Lastly, That while
11817-427: The telegraph and photography led to the creation of weather observing networks and the ability to track storms. Additionally, scientists began to use mathematical models to make predictions about the weather. The 20th century saw the development of radar and satellite technology, which greatly improved the ability to observe and track weather systems. In addition, meteorologists and atmospheric scientists started to create
11934-547: The time believed, and therefore the granite must be younger than the schists. Hutton presented his theory of the earth on 4 March and 7 April 1785, at the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He went on to find a similar penetration of volcanic rock through sedimentary rock in Edinburgh , at Salisbury Crags , adjoining Arthur's Seat – this area of the Crags is now known as Hutton's Section. He found other examples in Galloway in 1786, and on
12051-572: The value of his work is in preserving earlier speculation, much like Seneca's work. From 400 to 1100, scientific learning in Europe was preserved by the clergy. Isidore of Seville devoted a considerable attention to meteorology in Etymologiae , De ordine creaturum and De natura rerum . Bede the Venerable was the first Englishman to write about the weather in De Natura Rerum in 703. The work
12168-460: The waters, two things had been required; 1st, The consolidation of masses formed by collections of loose or incoherent materials; 2ndly, The elevation of those consolidated masses from the bottom of the sea, the place where they were collected, to the stations in which they now remain above the level of the ocean. In the summer of 1785 at Glen Tilt and other sites in the Cairngorm mountains in
12285-549: Was 14 he attended the University of Edinburgh as a "student of humanity", studying the classics . He was apprenticed to the lawyer George Chalmers WS when he was 17, but took more interest in chemical experiments than legal work. At the age of 18, he became a physician's assistant, and attended lectures in medicine at the University of Edinburgh. After a two-year stay in Paris, James Hutton arrived in Leiden in 1749, where he enrolled at
12402-464: Was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . From 1791 Hutton suffered extreme pain from stones in the bladder and gave up field work to concentrate on finishing his books. A dangerous and painful operation failed to resolve his illness. He died in Edinburgh and was buried in the vault of Andrew Balfour, opposite the vault of his friend Joseph Black , in the now sealed south-west section of Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh, commonly known as
12519-417: Was a summary of then extant classical sources. However, Aristotle's works were largely lost until the twelfth century, including Meteorologica . Isidore and Bede were scientifically minded, but they adhered to the letter of Scripture . Islamic civilization translated many ancient works into Arabic which were transmitted and translated in western Europe to Latin. In the 9th century, Al-Dinawari wrote
12636-468: Was considered a subset of astronomy. He gave several astrological weather predictions. He constructed a map of the world divided into climatic zones by their illumination, in which the length of the Summer solstice increased by half an hour per zone between the equator and the Arctic. Ptolemy wrote on the atmospheric refraction of light in the context of astronomical observations. In 25 AD, Pomponius Mela ,
12753-428: Was less important than appeal to the classics and authority in medieval thought. In the thirteenth century, Roger Bacon advocated experimentation and the mathematical approach. In his Opus majus , he followed Aristotle's theory on the atmosphere being composed of water, air, and fire, supplemented by optics and geometric proofs. He noted that Ptolemy's climatic zones had to be adjusted for topography . St. Albert
12870-406: Was not generally accepted for centuries. A theory to explain summer hail was first proposed by Anaxagoras . He observed that air temperature decreased with increasing height and that clouds contain moisture. He also noted that heat caused objects to rise, and therefore the heat on a summer day would drive clouds to an altitude where the moisture would freeze. Empedocles theorized on the change of
12987-589: Was not until after the elucidation of the laws of physics, and more particularly in the latter half of the 20th century, the development of the computer (allowing for the automated solution of a great many modelling equations) that significant breakthroughs in weather forecasting were achieved. An important branch of weather forecasting is marine weather forecasting as it relates to maritime and coastal safety, in which weather effects also include atmospheric interactions with large bodies of water. Meteorological phenomena are observable weather events that are explained by
13104-577: Was one of those who are much more delighted with the contemplation of truth, than with the praise of having discovered it". After some 25 years of work, his Theory of the Earth ; or an Investigation of the Laws observable in the Composition, Dissolution, and Restoration of Land upon the Globe was read to meetings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in two parts, the first by his friend Joseph Black on 7 March 1785, and
13221-458: Was quoted in the 1989 song " No Control " by songwriter and professor Greg Graffin .) Following criticism, especially the arguments from Richard Kirwan who thought Hutton's ideas were atheistic and not logical, Hutton published a two volume version of his theory in 1795, consisting of the 1788 version of his theory (with slight additions) along with a lot of material drawn from shorter papers Hutton already had to hand on various subjects such as
13338-495: Was the engine which drove the creation of new rock: land was eroded by air and water and deposited as layers in the sea; heat then consolidated the sediment into stone, and uplifted it into new lands. This theory was dubbed " Plutonist " in contrast to the flood-oriented theory. As well as combating the Neptunists, he also accepted the growing consensus on the concept of deep time for scientific purposes. Rather than accepting that
13455-399: Was the first work to challenge fundamental aspects of Aristotelian theory. Cardano maintained that there were only three basic elements- earth, air, and water. He discounted fire because it needed material to spread and produced nothing. Cardano thought there were two kinds of air: free air and enclosed air. The former destroyed inanimate things and preserved animate things, while the latter had
13572-491: Was titled Theory of the Earth ; or an Investigation of the Laws observable in the Composition, Dissolution, and Restoration of Land upon the Globe and appeared in Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh , vol. I, Part II, pp. 209–304, plates I and II, published 1788. He put forward the view that "from what has actually been, we have data for concluding with regard to that which is to happen thereafter." This restated
13689-480: Was written by George Hadley . In 1743, when Benjamin Franklin was prevented from seeing a lunar eclipse by a hurricane , he decided that cyclones move in a contrary manner to the winds at their periphery. Understanding the kinematics of how exactly the rotation of the Earth affects airflow was partial at first. Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis published a paper in 1835 on the energy yield of machines with rotating parts, such as waterwheels. In 1856, William Ferrel proposed
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