Abstract
THERE is a real danger that some meteorologists, resenting the accusation frequently made against them of accumulating masses of data without making any real use of them, may be tempted to apply the processes of mathematical analysis to any and every set of observations, regardless of the considerations which limit the suitability of the method for the particular data proposed for analysis. This may easily be the case when hunting for periodicity. There is a great temptation, especially for anyone accustomed to the regularity of so many cosmic phenomena, such as eclipses, comets, planets, etc., to expect to find such periods recurring in the weather, but the work before us, consisting of the essential portions of a dissertation by Dr. Ryd, fortunately thought worthy by Capt. Ryder, director of the Danish Meteorological Institute, of a wider publication, and so included in the Communications of the Institute and done into intelligible English, should be studied before much time is spent in the search.
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B., W. Pitfalls of Meteorological Periodicities1. Nature 100, 246–247 (1917). https://doi.org/10.1038/100246a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/100246a0