Mesures en Météorologie

Mesures en Météorologie

BOOK REVIEWS A. lk~L.4~ and &I. PETIT: Mesures en M&$orologie. (:aut,hier-\.illars, Paris, 1961. 393 pp THIS book is one of a series of metero...

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BOOK REVIEWS

A. lk~L.4~ and &I. PETIT:

Mesures

en

M&$orologie.

(:aut,hier-\.illars,

Paris,

1961. 393 pp

THIS book is one of a series of meterological monographs published under the direction of the Its purpose is similar to that of, for IXrector of the French National Meteorological Service. example, the Handbook of Meteorological Instruments of the British Meteorological Officr, though it differs from the Handbook in including also instruments and t,echniques used to in\-est#igate conditions in the atmosphere up to a height of 30 km. Beginning with a discussion of the errors that limit the accuracy of measurement by an instrument, the authors deal with t’he design, installation, operation and maintenance of instruments used to measure temperature, radiation, pressure, surface wind, evaporation, humidity, The treatment is thorough and, visibility, height and movement of clouds and precipitation. where it’ is deemed necessary, the theory underlying the operation of the instrument is given. Many of the instruments described are naturally of French design and of particular interest is t)he account of the titl&m&tre de nuages, which gives a continuous record of the height of the cloud base (up to 1500m) by recording bhe reflection from the cloud base of a pulsed beam of light. b) a method analogous to radar. The second half of the book provides an equally thorough and comprehensive account of met8corological observations using radar, atmospherics, ballons sondes, radiosondes and meteorographs, and captive balloons and kites. There follow valuable chapters on the reduction and accuracy of pressure, temperature and humidity soundings and on methods of measurement of upper winds. The last chapter describes the arrangement of instruments at a meteorological station and the development and use of aut,omatic weather stations. The book is bound in stiff paper covers, is well printed and is copiously illustrated wit,h lint tliagrams and phot,ographs. Though prepared for use in France, it is ccrta,in also likely to be \vidc~ly conslllted elsewhere. J. PATOS

Partial Differential Equations and Continuum Mechanics. Edit’etl of TVisconsin Press, Madison, 1961. xv -t 397 pp., $5.00.

by K. F:. L.~RGER. University

THIS is an account of the Proceedings of an InternaGonal Conference conducted by the U.S. Army Mathematics Research Center at the University of Wisconsin in June 1960. It contains nineteen lect’ures given by invited speakers from ten count.ries, and also abstracts of forty-five short papers contributed during t,he week of the conference. The invited lectures covered a wide field-from eigenvalue problems, elasticity, statistical flllicl mechanics, gas dynamics to the purer realms of existence, uniqueness, differentiabilit? and regularit(y problems for a partial differmt#ial equation. The book provides a valuable account of present-day work in this field. EE. T. COPSON