Inventing Atmospheric Science: Bjerknes, Rossby, Wexler, and the Foundations of Modern Meteorology (2016)
This big picture history of atmospheric research examines the first six decades of the twentieth century, from the dawn of applied fluid dynamics to the emergence, by 1960, of the interdisciplinary atmospheric sciences. Using newly available archival sources, it documents the work of three interconnected generations of scientists: Vilhelm Bjerknes, Carl-Gustaf Rossby, and Harry Wexler, whose aspirations were fueled by new theoretical insights, pressing societal needs, and expanded technological capabilities. Radio, radar, aviation, nuclear tracers, digital computing, sounding rockets, and satellites provided new ways to measure and study the global atmosphere -- a huge and dauntingly complex system. Bjerknes brought us a fundamental circulation theorem and founded the Bergen school of weather forecasting; Rossby established the graduate schools of meteorology at M.I.T., Chicago, and Stockholm, which focused on upper-air dynamics and, after 1947, on atmospheric environmental issues; and Wexler brought all the new technologies into the U.S. Weather Bureau and, with his colleague Jule Charney, prepared the foundations for the emergence of the interdisciplinary atmospheric sciences. This history weaves together cold war studies, military history, the rise of government research and development, and aviation and aeronautics with a nascent global awareness. It is a fascinating history of something we all experience--the weather --told through compelling historical characters.
...MoreReview Cornelia Lüdecke (2017) Review of "Inventing Atmospheric Science: Bjerknes, Rossby, Wexler, and the Foundations of Modern Meteorology". Metascience: An International Review Journal for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science (pp. 323-324).
Review James Bergman (October 2017) Review of "Inventing Atmospheric Science: Bjerknes, Rossby, Wexler, and the Foundations of Modern Meteorology". Environmental History (pp. 745-747).
Review Carola Dahlke (2016) Review of "Inventing Atmospheric Science: Bjerknes, Rossby, Wexler, and the Foundations of Modern Meteorology". Icon: Journal of the International Committee for the History of Technology (pp. 168-170).
Essay Review Anthony J. Sadar (2018) The Historical Heart of Atmospheric Science. Science and Education (pp. 233-235).
Review Linda Richter (2016) Review of "Inventing Atmospheric Science: Bjerknes, Rossby, Wexler, and the Foundations of Modern Meteorology". British Journal for the History of Science (pp. 652-654).
Review Aitor Anduaga (2017) Review of "Inventing Atmospheric Science: Bjerknes, Rossby, Wexler, and the Foundations of Modern Meteorology". Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 214-215).
Similar Citations
Essay Review
Anthony J. Sadar;
(2018)
The Historical Heart of Atmospheric Science
Book
Ralph Jewell;
(2017)
The Weather's Face: Features of Science in the Story of Vilhelm Bjerknes and the Bergen School of Meteorology
Book
Harper, Kristine;
(2008)
Weather by the Numbers: The Genesis of Modern Meteorology
Article
Harper, Kristine C.;
(2004)
The Scandinavian Tag-Team: Providers of Atmospheric Reality to Numerical Weather Prediction Efforts in the United States (1948--1955)
Book
Friedman, Robert M.;
(1989)
Appropriating the weather: Vilhelm Bjerknes and the construction of a modern meterology
Thesis
Friedman, Robert M.;
(1979)
Vilhelm Bjerknes and the Bergen school of meteorology
Book
James Rodger Fleming;
(2020)
First Woman: Joanne Simpson and the Tropical Atmosphere
Article
Nöbauer;
(2018)
Von der Goldmine zum Gletscher: All Weather Snow als multiples Frontier-Phänomen. (From gold mine to glacier: All Weather Snow as a multiple frontier phenomenon.)
Book
Jerry C. Zee;
(2022)
Continent in Dust: Experiments in a Chinese Weather System
Article
Chen, Zhenghong;
Yang, Guifang;
Wray, Robert A. L.;
(2014)
Shiyan Tao and the History of Indigenous Meteorology in China
Book
Randall, David A.;
(2000)
General circulation model development
Book
Weikinn, Curt;
Börngen, Michael;
Tetzlaff, Gerd;
(2002)
Quellentexte zur Witterungsgeschichte Europas von der Zeitenwende bis zum Jahre 1850
Article
Richter, Linda;
(2019)
The Meteorology and Medicine of the Romantic Era in Context: Henrik Steffens’ Ideas on Medical Meteorology (1811) and Its Reception by the Prussian State
Article
Proverbio, Edoardo;
Buffoni, Letizia;
(2004)
La meteorologia dei fenomeni estremi alla metà del XIX secolo e il contributo di Angelo Secchi allo studio dei rapporti tra fenomeni meteorologici, magnetici e solari
Article
Schröder, Wilfried;
(2001)
Otto Jesse and the Investigation of Noctilucent Clouds 115 Years Ago
Article
Zwier, Karen R.;
(2011)
John Dalton's Puzzles: From Meteorology to Chemistry
Article
Alan Werritty;
(2024)
James Hutton and the measurement of atmospheric moisture
Article
Wallace, Matthew L.;
(2012)
“The Rainmakers”: le Service météorologique du Canada et la recherche sur la modification du temps dans l'après-guerre
Article
Wang, Yumin;
(2008)
The Records of “Er” in Chinese Annals Are Not Solar Prominences
Article
Louis K. McNally, III;
(2005)
Reconstruction of Late-18th Century Upper-air Circulation Using Forensic Synoptic Analysis
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Earth Sciences History: Journal of the History of the Earth Sciences Society
Notes and Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science
NTM: Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Technik und Medizin
Physis: Rivista Internazionale di Storia della Scienza
Be the first to comment!