Meteorology

Meteorology

Meteorology is a science that studies the processes and phenomena of the atmosphere. Accordingly, a person who studies the atmosphere is called a meteorologist. Meteorology consists of many areas: physical meteorology, dealing with physical aspects of the atmosphere such as rain or cloud formation, or rainbows and mirages; synoptic meteorology, the analysis and forecast of large-scale weather systems; dynamic meteorology, which is based on the laws of theoretical physics ; climatology, the study of the climate of an area ; aviation meteorology, researching weather information for aviation; atmospheric chemistry , examining the chemical composition and processes in the atmosphere; atmospheric optics, analyzing the optical phenomena of the atmosphere such as halos or rainbows; or agricultural meteorology, studying the relationship between weather and vegetation. While meteorology usually refers to the study of the earth's atmosphere, atmospheric science includes the study of the atmospheres of all the planets in the solar system .

Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle (384–322 b.c..) is considered the father of meteorology, because he was the first one to use the word meteorology in his book Meteorologica around 340 b.c., summarizing the knowledge of that time about atmospheric phenomena. He speculatively wrote about clouds, rain, snow, wind , and climatic changes, and although many of his findings later proved to be incorrect, many of them were insightful. The title of the book refers to all the things being in the sky or falling from there, which at that time was called a meteor.

Although systematic weather data recording began about the fourteenth century, the lack of weather measuring instruments made only some visual observations possible at that time. The real scientific study of atmospheric phenomena started later with the invention of devices to measure weather data: the thermometer in about 1600 for measuring temperature , the barometer for measuring atmospheric pressure in 1643, the anemometer for measuring wind speed in 1667, and the hair hygrometer for measuring humidity in 1780. In 1802, the first cloud classification system was formulated, and in 1805, a wind scale was first introduced. These measuring instruments and new ideas made possible gathering of actual data from the atmosphere giving the basis for scientific theories for properties of the atmosphere (pressure, temperature, humidity, etc.) and its governing physical laws.

In the early 1840s, the first weather forecasting services started with the invention of the telegraph transporting meteorological information. At that time, meteorology was still in the descriptive phase, still on an empirical basis with little scientific theories and calculations involved, although weather maps could be drawn, and storm systems and surface wind patterns were being recognized.

Meteorology became more scientific only around World War One, when Norwegian physicist Vilhelm Bjerknes (1862–1951) introduced a modern meteorological theory stating that weather patterns in the temperate middle latitudes are the results of the interaction between warm and cold air masses. His description of atmospheric phenomena and fore-casting techniques were based on the laws of physics, exploring the science of dynamic meteorology, assuming that knowing about the atmospheric conditions now, and knowing the governing physical laws for its movements, predictions for the future are possible.

By the 1940s, upper-level measurements of pressure, temperature, wind, and humidity clarified more about the vertical properties of the atmosphere. In 1946, the process of cloud seeding was invented which made possible some weather modification experiments. In the 1950s, radar became important for detecting precipitation of a remote area. Also in the 1950s, with the invention of the computer, weather forecasting became not only quicker but also more reliable, because the computers could solve the mathematical equations of the atmospheric models much faster than manually before. In 1960, the first meteorological satellite was launched to provide 24-hour monitoring of weather events worldwide.

These satellites now give three-dimensional data to high-speed computers for faster and more precise weather predictions. These days the computers are capable of plotting the observation data, and solving huge models not only for short-time weather forecasting, but also climatic models on time scales of centuries, for climate change studies. Meteorology has come a long way since Aristotle. Even so, the computers still have their capacity limits, the models are still with many uncertainties, and the effects of the atmosphere on our complex society and environment can be serious. Many complicated issues remain at the forefront of meteorology—including air pollution, global warming , El Niño events, climate change, the ozone hole, acid rain—making meteorology today a scientific area still riddled with many challenges and unanswered questions.

See also Air masses and fronts; Atmospheric circulation; Atmospheric composition and structure; Atmospheric inversion layers; Atmospheric lapse rate; Atmospheric pollution; Clouds and cloud types; El Niño and La Niña phenomena; Greenhouse gases and greenhouse effect; Isobars; Scientific data management in Earth Sciences; Weather balloon; Weather forecasting methods; Weather radar; Weather satellite; Weathering and weathering series; Wind chill; Wind shear