Abstract
American Meteorological Journal, May.—The following are the principal meteorological articles:—Meteorology as the physics of the atmosphere, by Prof. W. v. Bezold. This is a translation by Prof. C. Abbe of the first part of an important paper from Himmel und Erde. It describes the problems which at present are the subject of theoretical investigation, and points out what new problems have grown from looking at observational meteorology from a theoretical point of view. During the last decade attention has been chiefly devoted to the development of the so-called convection theory, which is principally based on observations at the earth's surface, but which, at higher elevations, is found to have defects. It has therefore become necessary to try and connect this theory with that of the old trade-wind theory, which for several decades has been entirely set aside. More attention is required to observations made in the higher regions of the atmosphere, together with the application to them of the principles of general mechanics, as well as of thermo-dynamics.—Charts of storm frequency, by Prof. Abbe. The author has plotted in a tabular form the number of storm centres that pass over each quadrangular degree between lat. 20° and 49° N., and long. 99° and 63° W., deduced from the tridaily Signal Service charts, from March, 1871, to February, 1873. He states that the chart from which the table is prepared clearly shows that the storm tracks, which move from Alberta and Assinniboin south-eastward over the United States and then north-eastward towards the gulf of St. Lawrence, describe a system of parabolic curves whose tendency is to have a common point of intersection, and therefore a region of maximum storm frequency, in, or to the north-west of Nebraska.—Six and seven day weather periodicities, by H. H. Clayton. The author, who has studied the subjects of periodicities for several years, found a striking regularity between the intervals of many of the temperature maxima of the Blue Hill observations, and that almost all the maxima could be arranged in such a way that they followed each other at intervals of six or seven days. He thinks that, for a large part of the year, forecasts of temperature, on the assumption of regular rhythmic oscillations, and a knowledge of the time of their beginning and ending, may be made for a week or two in advance with nearly as much accuracy as they are now made by the Weather Bureau for thirty-six hours.
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Scientific Serials. Nature 48, 140–141 (1893). https://doi.org/10.1038/048140b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/048140b0