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Historical Essays on Meteorology 1919–1995
Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 110 (2002) 327–328
Book review Historical Essays on Meteorology 1919–1995 James Fleming (Ed.), American Meteorological Society, 1996, 617 pp., ISBN 1-878220-17-9 Meteorology has ancient roots, with Aristotle’s Meteorologica often cited as one of the seminal attempts to understand the weather. Although of ancient interest, meteorology is a very modern science, with tremendous advances in the last 75 years. Many of these advances have centered on remote observing systems, perhaps most notably radar and satellites, and the advent and maturity in capability of the computer. As part of the American Meteorological Society’s 75th anniversary, the Society undertook a history of the key developments in meteorology during this important period. The significance of this period is illustrated in many ways. For example, it was less than two decades before this period when 6000 people lost their lives during a single hurricane event. Today, it is not unusual for a year to pass without a single loss of life from a hurricane. The economic impact of improved weather services is no less dramatic. This volume largely succeeds in its attempt to recount the key points in the maturing of meteorology during this period. The book is organized into eight sections: 1. Dynamical Meteorology and Numerical Weather Prediction 2. Observational Tools and Computational Devices 3. Cloud Microphysics and Dynamics 4. Hurricanes, Convective Storms, and Lightning 5. Climatology and Hydrology 6. The Private Sector 7. Education 8. Special Essays
representing the diverse domain of meteorology, with about three chapters in each section. Each chapter covers a particular aspect of each section. It is always a challenge for a book that is a collection of contributions from different authors to possess uniformity in expression as well as breadth and depth. Few succeed, and this is probably this book’s greatest weakness. Having said that, the author list is indeed a list of experts in the discipline on which they write and there is plenty of good material that makes it both easy and important reading for any student of meteorology, or of science history. A book could be devoted to each chapter, and in some instances, books have been written on chapter topics. The editor, James Fleming, authored a nice Annotated Bibliography in Chapter 20 of this collection, which can help the interested reader to find additional material. As an overview, this volume nicely fills a niche. The book starts impressively, with the first two chapters, The Evolution of Dynamic Meteorology by Edward Lorenz, and The Origin and Rise of Numerical Weather Prediction by George Cressman, both enticing the reader to continue, and in setting high expectations for the following chapters. Although there are numerous interesting historical “tidbits” and some fascinating history, the section on Observational Tools and Computational Devices could have been more complete, and more accurate in accounting for key developments. As is the case in other chapters, the historical accounting is sometimes biased toward the author’s (or reviewer’s) convenient knowledge rather than a systematic accounting of the history of key developments. As important as modern observations are to meteorology, this is a section that would have benefited expansion as well as greater attention to historical accuracy. There are striking numerical simulations of cloud system that replicate important naturally occurring
0168-1923/02/$ – see front matter © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
328
Book review
systems. Artfully displayed, these would have been exciting and meaningful presentations in Chapter 8, which is about cloud dynamics. Such material would powerfully illustrate our growth in understanding and our ability to simulate different storm types, e.g. supercell, air-mass thunderstorm, squall lines. Such a chapter could have resulted in efficiencies by being combined with Chapter 10, A Brief History of Science and Practice (of Severe Convective Storms). In an overview such as this, a well written contribution such as the chapter, Lightning Discharge, authored by one of the worlds leading experts, Philip Krider, would have benefited with the addition of a map of the frequency of lightning in the US and in around the world. Surely meteorology meant climatology (of winds, rainfall, etc.) to our ancestors. The chapters on applied climatology, hydrology and the private sector (maybe combined with broadcast meteorology) could have contained more “beef”, e.g. What is the role of teleconnections between oceans and atmosphere, human activity, etc.? What is the essence of a modern hydrological model? How much has the role of the private sector increased in time, in dollars?
The level of presentation makes the book readable to an interested layman. It is a difficult balance to find, for, even modest mathematics could add to the appeal to the scientist or engineer, but if presented in too much mathematical detail, it certainly would be a deterrent to others. Appreciating that dilemma, more carefully selected (and dramatic) examples would have increased the interest and therefore the value. As a document on the growth of meteorology during its diamond age, the Historical Essays on Meteorology 1919–1995 is not only useful, it is important, particularly for the next generation of meteorologists to understand the growth of science. Knowing so, they will be better prepared to both extend our understanding, and add to the quality of life in a weather sensitive economy. As a bonus, this book is interesting. Peter S. Ray The Florida State University Professor of Meteorology, 404 Love Building Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA E-mail address: [email protected] (P.S. Ray) PII: S 0 1 6 8 - 1 9 2 3 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 2 9 7 - 0
Book review Historical Essays on Meteorology 1919–1995 James Fleming (Ed.), American Meteorological Society, 1996, 617 pp., ISBN 1-878220-17-9 Meteorology has ancient roots, with Aristotle’s Meteorologica often cited as one of the seminal attempts to understand the weather. Although of ancient interest, meteorology is a very modern science, with tremendous advances in the last 75 years. Many of these advances have centered on remote observing systems, perhaps most notably radar and satellites, and the advent and maturity in capability of the computer. As part of the American Meteorological Society’s 75th anniversary, the Society undertook a history of the key developments in meteorology during this important period. The significance of this period is illustrated in many ways. For example, it was less than two decades before this period when 6000 people lost their lives during a single hurricane event. Today, it is not unusual for a year to pass without a single loss of life from a hurricane. The economic impact of improved weather services is no less dramatic. This volume largely succeeds in its attempt to recount the key points in the maturing of meteorology during this period. The book is organized into eight sections: 1. Dynamical Meteorology and Numerical Weather Prediction 2. Observational Tools and Computational Devices 3. Cloud Microphysics and Dynamics 4. Hurricanes, Convective Storms, and Lightning 5. Climatology and Hydrology 6. The Private Sector 7. Education 8. Special Essays
representing the diverse domain of meteorology, with about three chapters in each section. Each chapter covers a particular aspect of each section. It is always a challenge for a book that is a collection of contributions from different authors to possess uniformity in expression as well as breadth and depth. Few succeed, and this is probably this book’s greatest weakness. Having said that, the author list is indeed a list of experts in the discipline on which they write and there is plenty of good material that makes it both easy and important reading for any student of meteorology, or of science history. A book could be devoted to each chapter, and in some instances, books have been written on chapter topics. The editor, James Fleming, authored a nice Annotated Bibliography in Chapter 20 of this collection, which can help the interested reader to find additional material. As an overview, this volume nicely fills a niche. The book starts impressively, with the first two chapters, The Evolution of Dynamic Meteorology by Edward Lorenz, and The Origin and Rise of Numerical Weather Prediction by George Cressman, both enticing the reader to continue, and in setting high expectations for the following chapters. Although there are numerous interesting historical “tidbits” and some fascinating history, the section on Observational Tools and Computational Devices could have been more complete, and more accurate in accounting for key developments. As is the case in other chapters, the historical accounting is sometimes biased toward the author’s (or reviewer’s) convenient knowledge rather than a systematic accounting of the history of key developments. As important as modern observations are to meteorology, this is a section that would have benefited expansion as well as greater attention to historical accuracy. There are striking numerical simulations of cloud system that replicate important naturally occurring
0168-1923/02/$ – see front matter © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
328
Book review
systems. Artfully displayed, these would have been exciting and meaningful presentations in Chapter 8, which is about cloud dynamics. Such material would powerfully illustrate our growth in understanding and our ability to simulate different storm types, e.g. supercell, air-mass thunderstorm, squall lines. Such a chapter could have resulted in efficiencies by being combined with Chapter 10, A Brief History of Science and Practice (of Severe Convective Storms). In an overview such as this, a well written contribution such as the chapter, Lightning Discharge, authored by one of the worlds leading experts, Philip Krider, would have benefited with the addition of a map of the frequency of lightning in the US and in around the world. Surely meteorology meant climatology (of winds, rainfall, etc.) to our ancestors. The chapters on applied climatology, hydrology and the private sector (maybe combined with broadcast meteorology) could have contained more “beef”, e.g. What is the role of teleconnections between oceans and atmosphere, human activity, etc.? What is the essence of a modern hydrological model? How much has the role of the private sector increased in time, in dollars?
The level of presentation makes the book readable to an interested layman. It is a difficult balance to find, for, even modest mathematics could add to the appeal to the scientist or engineer, but if presented in too much mathematical detail, it certainly would be a deterrent to others. Appreciating that dilemma, more carefully selected (and dramatic) examples would have increased the interest and therefore the value. As a document on the growth of meteorology during its diamond age, the Historical Essays on Meteorology 1919–1995 is not only useful, it is important, particularly for the next generation of meteorologists to understand the growth of science. Knowing so, they will be better prepared to both extend our understanding, and add to the quality of life in a weather sensitive economy. As a bonus, this book is interesting. Peter S. Ray The Florida State University Professor of Meteorology, 404 Love Building Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA E-mail address: [email protected] (P.S. Ray) PII: S 0 1 6 8 - 1 9 2 3 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 2 9 7 - 0