METEOROLOGICAl ORGANIZATION

ANUARY 1963 VOL.XII N0.1

NEW WEATHER NETWORK PlANS

0

0 6 ..

"~ !!~ .. A 6

c:J 7

6

A_. .... .. A

C1 dl'f? .. 6 6

6 6

~ L EGE N D

6 New ocean weather ship stations

6 New islan d stations

6 .. 6 ..

.. Existing island stat ions where an increased programme is required

e Existing cont inental stations where an increased programme is required

....

OFFICERS OF THE WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President : Mr. A. VIAUT

First Vice-President : Mr. L. DE AzcARRAGA Second Vice-President : Mr. M. F. TAHA

Regional Association presidents Africa (I) : Mr. RAMANISARIVO Asia (Il) :Mr. S. N. NAQVI South America (Ill) :

Capt. T. FARINA SANCHEZ (acting) North and Central America (IV) :

Dr. F. W. REICHELDERFER South-West Pacific (V) :

Mr. J. L. GIOVANNELLI Europe (VI) : Dr. A. NYBERG

Elected members Mr. F. L. FERNANDEZ Gen. F. GIANSANTI Dr. J. LAMB OR Dr. P. D. McTAGGART-COWAN (acti.ng) Sir GRAHAM SUTTON Dr. KIYOO WADATI Mr. A. A. WAHAB

TECHNICAL COMMISSION PRESIDENTS

Aerology: Dr. G. P. CRESSMAN Aeronautical Meteorology :

Hydrological Meteorology :Mr. M. A. KoHLER Instruments and Methods of Observation :

Mr. A. SILVA DE SousA Agricultural Meteorology :

Dr. L. s. MATHUR Maritime Meteorology :

Mr. L. P. SMITH Climatology: Mr. C. C. BouGHNER

Mr. J. A. VAN DUIJNEN MoNTIJN Synoptic Meteorology: Dr. S. N. SEN

SECRETARIAT Secretary- General : Mr. D. A. DAVIES

Deputy SecretarycGeneral : Mr. J. R. RIVET

Technical Division- Chief : Dr. K. LANGLO Technical Assistance Unit-

- Investigations : Mr. 0. M. AsHFORD Chief : Dr. H. SEBASTIAN

-operations: Mr. N. L. VERANNEMAN Deputy Chief: Mr. P. R. DROUILHET

-Hydrological Meteorology: Dr. P. I. MILJUKOV Special Fund :Mr. K. PARTHASARATHY

Conferences and Publications Division - Chief : Mr. J. M. RUBIATO

THE PURPOSES OF THE WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION

"(a) To facilitate world-wide co-operation in the establishment of networks of stations for the making of meteorologi­cal observations or other geophysical observations related to meteorology and to promote the establishment and maintenance of meteorological centres charged with the provision of meteoro­logical services ;

{b) To promote the establishment and maintenance of systems for the rapid exchange of weather information;

(c) To promote standardization of mete­orological observations and to ensure the uniform publication of observa­tions and statistics ;

(d) To further the application of meteoro­logy to aviation, shipping, agricul­ture, and other human activities; and

(e) To encourage research and training in · meteorology and to assist in co­ordinating the international aspects of such research and training."

From the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization, Article z.

THE CONSTITUENT BODIES OF THE ORGANIZATION

(a) The World Meteorological Congress which meets at least once every four years;

(b) The Executive Committee, which meets at least once annually ;

(c) Regional Associations made up of Members of the Organization the networks of which lie in or extend into

one of the six meteorological Regions of the world. They meet as often as necessary to ensure compliance with the policies of the Organization.

(d) Technical Commissions composed of experts in the various meteorological fields which meet as least once every four years.

THE SECRETARIAT

The Secretariat of the Organization is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE WMO BULLETIN

The second column gives the full title in English I though the abbreviation may derive from the French title) followed by the initials of the parent or sponsoring body (in brackets)

ACC CAe CA eM CA gM CCIR CCITT CCI CCTA CHM CIG CIMO CffiM CMM COSPAR CSA CSAGI CSM ECA ECAFE ECE ECLA ECOSOC EPPO EPTA FAGS FAO FID IAEA IAGA lA MAP IAPO lASH lATA IAU ICAO ICES ICID ICNAF ICSU IF ALP A IFAP IGC IGU IGY IIOE IMCO IMO IOC IQSY ISB ISO ISSS ITU IUGG PAIGH PIOSA SCAR SCOR TAB TAC TAO UN UNESCO UNSCEAR URSI WFUNA WHO WMO WPC

Administrative Committee on Co-ordination (ECOSOC) Commission for Aerology (WMO) Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology (WMO) Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (WMO) International Radio Consultative Committee {ITU) International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (ITU) Commission for Climatology (WMO) Commission for Technical Co-operation in Africa Commission for Hydrological Meteorology (WMO) International Geophysical Committee (ICSU) Commission for Instruments and Methods of Observation (WMO) International Radio Maritime Committee Commission for Maritime Meteorology (WMO) Committee for Space Research (ICSU) Scientific Council for Africa South of the Sahara (CCTA) Special Committee for the International Geophysical Year (ICSU) Commission for Synoptic Meteorology (WMO) Economic Commission for Africa (UN) Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (UN) Economic Commission for Europe (UN) Economic Commission for Latin America (UN) Economic and Social Council (UN) European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance (UN) Federation of Astronomical and Geophysical Permanent Services (ICSU) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations International Federation for Documentation International Atomic Energy Agency International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IUGG) International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics (IUGG) International Association of Physical Oceanography (IUGG) International Association of Scientific Hydrology (IUGG) International Air Transport Association International Astronomical Union (JCSU) International Civil Aviation Organization International Council for the Exploration of the Sea International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries International Council of Scientific Unions International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations International Federation of Agricultural Producers International Geophysical Co-operation (ICSU) International Geographical Union (ICSU) International Geophysical Year (ICSU) International Indian Ocean Expedition (SCOR) Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization International Meteorological Organization (predecessor of WMO) Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO) International Years of the Qniet Sun (ICSU) International Society of Biometeorology International Organization for Standardization International Society of Soil Science International Telecommunication Union International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (ICSU) Pan American Institute of Geography and History Pan Indian Ocean Scientific Association Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (ICSU) Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (ICSU) Technical Assistance Board (ECOSOC) Technical Assistance Committee (ECOSOC) Bureau of Technical Assistance Operations (UN) United Nations United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UN) International Scientific Radio Union (ICSU) World Federation of United Nations Associations World Health Organization World Meteorological Organization World Power Conference

W 0 R LD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION

~~~ ~~[[~[~~ JANUARY 1963 EDITOR: 0. M. ASHFORD VOL.XII NO.I

THE PICTURE ON THE COVER

Meteorologists everywhere have greeted

with enthusiasm the observations now being

obtained from weather satellites. Although

they undoubtedly hold great promise for the

advancement of meteorology as a science,

it is perhaps wise to reflect that this progress

can only be realized if satellite observations

are complemented by an adequate network

of conventional observations. Unfortunately,

in spite of some S,ooo synoptic stations

scattered over the earth's surface, there

remain large areas which are virtually

devoid of observations. Some facets of this

problem and the challenge which it presents

are described in the article appearing on

page 2 of this issue.

Recently an Executive Committee working

group made a special study to determine the

most important gaps in the world network.

The locations of the new stations and obser­

vations necessary as a minimum to close

these gaps are shown in the picture oh the

cover. As pointed ant by the President of

WMO on p. g, improvement of the world

network remains "a point of capital import­

ance" ; how to effect this improvement is

surely one of the major challenges facing

Fourth Congress.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

An essay on the technical and economic

aspects of the network problem . . . . . . . . . . 2

WMO and the development of meteorology -

Progress and prospects for the future . . . . 7

Statistical analysis and prognosis in meteoro-

logy- Seminar in Paris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Meeting the challenge- WMO technical as-

sistance since 1952 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Oceanography- A sister science on the move 20

Third session of the Regional Association for

Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

International Geophysical Calendar for 1963. 26

Technical Co-operation ..... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Visit by the President of WMO to the USSR 35

Activities of the technical commissions . . . . 37

A new British precision aneroid barometer 40

Meteorological training in the USSR . . . . . . . 42

Collaboration with other international organi-

zations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Recent visits of the Secretary-General . . . . . 48

Activities of regional associations . . . . . . . . . 50

Membership of'WMO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

News and Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

News from the WMO Secretariat . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Publications of WMO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Members of WMO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Calendar of coming events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

The purpose of the WMO Bulletin is to provide a summary of the work of the World

Meteorological Organization and of developments in international meteorology of interest

to Members of the Organization and others concerned with the application of meteorology

to human activity. The WMO Bulletin is published quarterly in two separate editions: English and French.

The price is I Swiss franc per copy, including postage. Annual subscriptions (4 Swiss francs)

and all other correspondence about the Bulletin should be addressed to the Secretary-General,

World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.

Permission to publish extracts from the WMO Bulletin is granted, provided the customary

acknowledgment is made. Signed contributions do not necessarily represent the views of the Organization.

WMO Bulletin January 1963

AN ESSAY ON THE TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF THE NETWORK PROBLEM*

M OST, if not all meteorologists would agree that they need

more observations of the motions and physical state of the atmosphere. Among practising analysts and fore­casters, it is a frequent complaint that' the few observations that are occa-· sionally missing from a normally dense network often allow critical develop­ments to pass by undetected and, so much the more so, that the general lack of observations over the oceans and unpopulated land areas makes it possible for entire cyclones or typhoons to elude our international network of observations. Moreover, although each nation quite naturally tends to con­centrate its observational resources within its own territorial confines, the meteorologist has become increasingly aware that the weather within his own country one or two days hence often depends on current conditions over regions hundreds or thousands of kilometres away. In short, the fact that most of the earth's population lives on sizeable or large land masses is no longer a logically compelling reason for concentrating almost all of its observational facilities where it lives, to the virtual exclusion of unpopulated areas.

Similarly, the meteorologist who provides weather service to inter­national airlines operations is acutely aware of the desirability of more frequent observations; in most in­stances, in fact, the time spent in plan­ning and carrying out a jet flight is quite short- short enough for ob­servations made only a few hours

* The author of this article was chairman of the former Working Group on Networks of the Commission for Synoptic Meteorology.

2

before take-off to be an adequate basis for predicting the success and efficiency of the entire operation.

To cite yet another need, the research meteorologist is chronically frustrated by the lack of observations in sufficient quantity and frequency - and of suffi­cient quality. Through indirect evi­dence, he has become conscious of the existence of meteorological phenomena that are not described in enough detail by the existing network of direct observations (e.g., micro-jetstream and frontal-wave formations), but which are of obvious concern in weather prediction. It is also worth pointing out that description of meteorological events on smaller than synoptic scale requires a correspondingly higher de­gree of observational accuracy, simply because the gradient of observational error increases as the distance between observations is decreased, and may completely obscure the gradients asso­ciated with smaller scale perturbations.

Economics of weather service

In view of the universally accepted need for more dense, more frequent and more accurate meteorological ob­servations, it is certainly relevant to ask why individual nations or an association of nations acting in inter­national concert have not moved more rapidly to meet this need. The answer, of course, is simply that the cost of observations is fairly high- but probably high only in some narrow and arbitrary sense, related to rather speci­fic and measurable economic gains in a few limited kinds of human activity.

In absolute terms, the cost of a single radiosonde ascent in the United

WMO Bulletin

States is about fifty dollars,* roughly

ten per cent' of the average family

income per month. At first sight this

appears staggering. We must consider,

however, that the number of families in

the United States is of the order of

so,ooo,ooo and that the number of

radiosonde ascents per month is of the

order of 10,000. Hence, the annual

expenditure for all radiosonde ascents

Stores coming ashore on Raoul Island, 400 miles NE of New Zealand. Apart from the staffs of the meteorolo­gical and seismological sta­tions the island is uninhab­itec1. The station is serviced

once a year

in the United States is only about

1j5o,ooo of the annual national (per­

sonal) income- i.e., about 10 cents

per year per family. Curiously enough,

this cost is considerably less than the

annual United States expenditure on

private telephone requests for standard

local forecasts. Although this latter

figure undoubtedly reflects the rela­

tively high cost of telephone communi­

cation,** it is still a clear indication

of the minimum price that a national

populace is willing to pay for general

weather information, without special

regard to its industrial, commercial

and agricultural activities.

* None of the figures in the following

estimate is exact, but the main conclusions

are unafiected. ** No account has been taken of the indirect

costs of weather broadcasts via radio and

television. In these instances, the public

probably regard them as gratis. In fact, the

general public probably do not count the

cost of the weather service.

3

January 1963

Admittedly, the economics of weath­

er service vary widely from one nation

to another. Nevertheless, our conclu­

sions appear to be symptomatic of the

disparity between what governments

ask for and what their people will give.

Despite the incontrovertible results

of such simple numerical exercises, it

is in the nature of national governments

that they are reluctant to depart from

an established and recognized status

quo, until they can at least count the

cost and predict the gains with some

certainty. The real difficulty is that

they have neither counted the cost of

more adequate observations, nor have

they calculated the resulting gains of

increased accuracy in weather analysis

and prediction. Nor are they likely

to make more than a gesture toward

improved meteorological networks as

long as costs and gains are judged in

qualitative terms.

The general problem outlined above

falls logically and naturally into two

distinct and isolable parts. Let us

imagine an hypothetical observing

system that differs from the existing

network in one or more respects, either

with regard to the density and location

of observing stations (possibly moving),

frequency of observation or standard

WMO Bulletin

error of observation. Can we then determine the general level of accuracy of analysis and prediction attainable with this hypothetical network ? This we shall call the technical aspect of the network problem.

Let us next suppose that the tech­nical problem is solved- i.e., that the general level of accuracy and prediction attainable by various hypothetical networks has been determined as a function of station density and loca­tion, frequency of observation and standard error of observation. To each of these hypothetical. observing sys­tems we can, in principle, assign a cost of establishment, operation, and main­tenance.

What, then, is the remaining prob­lem ? Certainly not to m1mmize the cost of the network, for in that event, we could only conclude that operating a network is inherently unprofitable, without regard to any possible gain. Clearly, thP- choice of an optimum observing system depends not only on its cost, but also depends on the gains brought about by increased accuracy of meteorological informa­tion. Thus, the second and equally important part of the problem is that of estimating the gains resulting from meteorological information of increas­ing degrees of accuracy, in terms of increased feasibility or efficiency of industrial, commercial, agricultural and social activity, or perhaps in terms of likelihood of total success or total failure.* This we shall call the economic aspect of the network problem.

In some exceptionally clearcut in­stances- as, for example, in the case of commercial jet aircraft operations or in casting concrete structures -it is possible to estimate directly the gains made possible by more accurate information about wind and tempera-

* It is interesting to reflect that increased accuracy of prediction might well influence the character of human economic activity.

4

January 1963

ture (or, to put it more exactly, the reduction of losses due to abnormally h.igh or low jet fuel consumption, an unplanned fuel stop, or the freezing of a newly-laid concrete roadway). It is quite striking, however, that the uses which weather forecasting serves are much less specific and more ill-defined. Accordingly, it is difficult to judge the value of improved weather service in the same terms as its cost -i.e., money and people- and, for this reason alone, there is an understand­able tendency not to evaluate it. It is apparent, on the other hand, that the total problem of network design can­not be solved without facing this question and giving the best answer possible. In this connexion, it should be pointed out that the main value of a weather service probably does not lie in its application to a limited number of well-defined economic activities, but in its application to a great number and variety of ill-defined human acti­vities. Our earlier example, of course, indicates that the populace of the United States is willing to spend an additional amount (more than the cost of the United States radiosonde net­work) merely to find out if it should carry its umbrella, hang out the washing to dry, or cancel its weekend plans.

Activities of working group

Recognizing the pervasive import­ance of the network problem, the WMO Commission on Synoptic Meteorology created a Working Group on Networks at its first meeting in 1953. Specifically, the Working Group on Networks was charged with studies of the technical aspects of the network problem, in substantially the same broad terms as outlined above. Later, with the realization that the technical problem alone was extremely broad and com­plex, the working group was charged with the more specific task of finding out how the accuracy of analysis of

WMO Bulletin

upper-air observations depends on

their density, location, frequency and

standard error.

At its first meeting in de Bilt in rg57,

under the presidency of Mr. Bessemoulin,

the working group concentrated its

attention on the simplest aspects of

January 1963

indicate that the accuracy of analysis

increases as the station density is

increased and as the standard error

of observation is decreased. A point of

special interest in these studies is the

fact that accuracy of analysis levels

off when the station density is made

large, simply because further increase

Meteorological station established by the Australian National Antarctic

Research Expedition on Macquarie Island (54°3o'S, r58°57'E)

(ANARE photograph by Phillip Law)

the human analyst's art. To a large

extent, the human process of analysis

can be simulated by a combination of

mathematical processes of interpolation

and smoothing, whereby the values of

a variable at all points and a single

time can be constructed objectively

from observations made at a limited

number of discrete points and at the

same time. By considering idealized

networks of uniform density, the work­

ing group succeeded in relating the

RMS error of several objectively defined

types of analysis to the relevant charac­

teristics of the network (in this case,

station density and standard error) in a

simple and rather explicit way. Not

very surprisingly, the results of Kui­

pers, P6ne, de Jonge and Thompson

5

of accuracy is achieved primarily by

averaging several adjacent observations

to reduce nonsystematic errors of

measurement.

The significant feature of such

results is not merely that they are

in qualitative accord with general

expelience, but that they predict

quantitatively the accuracy of analysis

to be expected under conditions that

are quite different from the existing

one- i.e., with networks of different

density and observations of greater

or less error.

At its second and third meetings,

held at Stockholm in I959 and at

Geneva in rg6z, the working group

WMO Bulletin

extended these results to the analysis of different variables at higher and lower elevations and at low latitudes. At the same time, it recognized that the human analyst's art contains some element of prediction, in that his reconstruction of the current weather situation (particularly in regions of poor data coverage) depends on his predictions or expectations based on earlier data. To simulate this aspect of the process of human analysis, Thompson has proposed a numerical process of combined analysis and prediction, whereby the meteorological state in an isolated hole (a region from which no data are received) can gra­dually be reconstructed from a sequence of observations in surrounding areas. By investigating the properties of the prediction system, it has been found that the general level of accuracy in such a hole approaches a definite upper limit, determined primarily by the dimensions and shape of the hole, the average rate of flow across its boundaries and the error inherent in the prediction system itself. Again, this result is not significant for its conformity with general intuition, but because it predicts the accuracy of analysis attainable if we divided the largest holes (e.g. the Arctic or the North Atlantic) into a number of smaller holes:

Thus far, the working group has dealt with the technical aspects of the network problem in only a few idealized cases - notably, in cases where the density of data is great enough for the process of analysis to be essentially one of interpolation and smoothing of a single set of observations at a more or less evenly spaced net of stations. The other case, also idealized to sim­plify mathematical analysis, is that of predicting conditions in a hole from observations over a region that com­pletely surrounds the hole. Neither of these hypothetical situations, of course, exactly simulates the true state of affairs.

6

January 1963

During its third meeting in rg62, the working group became acutely aware of the limitations of purely analytical treatment of the network problem, and concluded that a definitive treatment would require studies of hypothetical networks whose characteristics are not uniform. It was also noted, however, that numerical methods and high-speed computing techniques had been devel­oped to the point where it is now fea­sible to carry out controlled numerical experiments with simulated networks having any specified characteristics. Such experiments would not only show how the accuracy of analysis depends on the density and location of stations, frequency of observation and standard error, but would also isolate its effect on the accuracy of prediction under ex­tremely general conditions. Numerical experiments of this type have now been designed and will be carried out · over the next year.

Conclusion

In summary, we are already in a position to give an interim answer to the technical aspect of the network problem, and the way is clear to a definitive answer within the foreseeable future. It is safe to say, in fact, that we will be able to estimate the accuracy of analysis and prediction attainable with any irregular network of stations, for any frequency of observation and for any standard error of observation.

Oddly enough, no concerted effort has been made to deal with the economic aspects of this problem. As pointed out earlier, this aspect is of critical import­ance and must be solved in· order to give a complete answer to the network problem. It is a challenge to the individual national weather services to solve it.

PHILIP DuNCAN THOMPSON Associate Director

National C enter for Atmospheric Research Boulder, Colorado

WMO Bulletin January 1963

WMO AND THE DEVElOPMENT OF METEOROlOGY

PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE

THE year 1963, which will see the opening of the Fourth Congress

of WMO, will be another milestone in the history of our Organization. There is no need to recall the distance we have travelled since 1950, the year in which the Organization came into being. Nor is it sufficient to mention that this body, established after painstaking preparations, then had 30 Members and now has n8. We must also consi­der the harmonious development which has accompanied this extraordinary growth.

Although, to be sure, the framework provided by the Convention, which was carefully prepared by the pioneers

and signed at Washington in 1947, was solid and presaged a brilliant future for the new specialized agency of the United Nations, the hopes based on it were, it soon transpired, greatly surpassed by reality.

There is no doubt that this must to a considerable extent be ascribed to the rapid development, along scien­tific and technical lines, of meteorology. But it should also be recalled that this development was solely due to Mem­bers' universal and unceasing colla­boration, for which the Secretariat has unfailingly provided inspiration.

This collaboration called for con­stant effort and hard work on both sides. It is enough to point out that, during each finandal period of four years, the Executive Committee holds four sessions and that each of the six regional associations and eight technical commissions meets thanks to the generous invitation of Members, as well as many of their working groups,

7

of which there are over a hundred, all

composed of competent and devoted

experts.

The Secretariat, whose task grows bigger all the time with the increase in

the number of Members and the

expansion in the varied applications of meteorology, co-ordinates this work

with the greatest dedication under the vigorous leadership of Mr. D. A. Davies,

ably seconded by Mr. J. R. Rivet.

New headquarters

The Secretariat stood greatly in need of suitable premises for its work.

The construction of the headquarters was finished during the present finan­cial period (1960-1963). This building, which was formally opened on 12 July 1960, that is about two years after

the placing of the first stone (14 May

1958), also housed, thanks to its excellently equipped conference rooms, the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth

sessions of the Executive Committee, as well as many sessions of working

groups. Furthermore, the negotiations with the Canton of Geneva on the

renting of the building led to an

agreement on 12 May 1961.

The new premises enabled the IGY Meteorological Data Centre to be

rehoused with the rest of the Secreta­riat. It will be recalled that this

Centre collected the meteorological data for the IGC (1959) in addition to

those of the IGY (July 1957 to Decem­ber 1958). The vast scope of the work carried out by the Centre with a limited

staff can easily be seen in the fact that

more than 20,000 Microcards were prepared for synoptic data alone,

WMO Bulletin

which had been supplied by more than roo countries, not to mention radia­tion and ozone data. When this task had been completed, the Centre, after five years of life, was closed on 3I De­cember rg6r, bequeathing to research workers of all countries documents of inestimable value.

At the same time, the Organization was developing its publications pro­gramme ; this can be seen particularly in the Technical Notes, which comprise studies in all fields of meteorology, and in the Guides, which are destined for operational use. Mention must also be made of the recent publication of CLINOS (climatological normals per­taining to CLIMAT and CLIMAT SHIP stations) for rg3r-rg6o.

The Technical Regulations, the new edition of which was adopted by Third Congress, will henceforth be a stable and complete document which will only call for amendments arising from the development of science or tech­nology.

WMO has also continued to devote effort to the extension and improve­ment of the networks of observation stations. To this end, a Fact-findt:ng and implementation unit was estab­lished in the Secretariat in rg6o ; its task is to study in detail the networks problems throughout the world. More­over, regional maps of networks have been continually kept up to date.

Regarding assistance to aviation, the previous financial period (rg56-r959) coincided with the progressive intro­duction of commercial jet aircraft and the necessary meteorological studies were accordingly carried out at that time. In the course of the current period, these studies resulted in the publication, in rg6r, of the final version of the Technical Note Techniques for High-Level Analysis and Forecasting

8

January 1963

of Wind and Temperature Fields, which is a compendium of methods used throughout the world for meeting the meteorological requirements of jet air­craft. Several regional seminars, in collaboration with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and within the framework of the technical assistance programme, were organized for this purpose.

To conclude this list of recent achievements of a permanent nature, the negotiations carried out by WMO with other international organizations resulted, in the course of rg6o, in working arrangements, firstly, with the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) and, secondly, with two specialized agencies of the United Nations: the International Telecom­munication Union (ITU) and the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consul­tative Organization (IMCO).

New tendencies

Many other important tasks have been undertaken since Third Congress and progress should be made in them in the coming years.

Mention should first be made of those tasks arising from recent deci­sions by the United Nations, the main one (Resolution I72I (Part C) of the sixteenth session of the General Assembly (December rg6r)) bearing on Intemational Co-operation in the Peace­ful Uses of Ottter Space.

With the assistance of the Secreta­riat, the Executive Committee Panel of Experts on Artificial Satellites put the finishing touches in a very short time to a draft report which was submitted to the fourteenth session of the Executive Committee (May­June rg6z). The Organization was thus able, only six months after the United Nations decision, to submit

WMO Bulletin

a First Report on the Advancement of

Atmospheric Sciences and their Applica­

tion in the Light of Developments in

Outer Space.

This report is, in effect, the logical

outcome of the experience acquired

in observation through satellites since

the first successful launching of a

meteorological satellite by the United

States in October 1959, only a few

months after Third Congress. The

report contains a plan of action cover­

ing a period of about ten years.

Without prejudging future decisions

on the subject, both by the General

Assembly of the United Nations and

by the coming Congress, it can be

stated that this plan will have major

repercussions in coming years. It gives

an almost complete survey of the

objectives which can reasonably be

expected to be attained through the

new techniques and of the means of

achieving these objectives. Besides

being a basis for discussion, it is

also a basis for action oriented in two

directions : research and operation.

The first will call for close collaboration

with other international scientific agen­

cies such as ICSU ; the second will

require co-operation between Members

of WMO to improve the world-w1de

collection and exchange of data.

However, the authors of the report

did not lose sight of a point of capital

importance stressed at the beginning

of the WMO Convention, namely that

work must be continued on the

improvement of world networks of

stations. Whatever the hopes based

on observations by satellite, the latter

will only serve as a complement to

basic observations by stations ; the

data from both these sources will

enable us to study more thoroughly

the working of the atmosphere.

Following on decisions by Third

Congress, the Organization has also

9

Jan ua1·y 1963

been studying the applications of

meteorology to hydrology. The crea­tion of a Commission for I-I ydrological

Meteorology was a first step. In addi­

tion, several seminars were held in

collaboration with other international

organizations. The coming Congress

will decide within what bounds this

activity should be limited or, alter­

natively, to what extent it should be

reoriented. But the question must be

studied now, for the United Nations

are becoming more and more cons­cious of the importance of scientific

hydrology in the economic develop­

ment of countries. Even if meteorology

cannot deal with the problem in its

entirety, it has a part to play in any

international scientific undertaking in

the field of hydrology.

The same holds good for the peaceful

uses of atomic energy ; in this field the

role of meteorology is, however, more

clearly defined. Meteorological services

are already collaborating in the study of the International Atomic Energy

Agency (IAEA) on the distribution of

hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in

rainwater. We must expect the United

Nations to request widened particip­ation in regard to the transmission by

meteorological channels of atmospheric

radioactivity measurements.

Turning now to oceanography,

an Intergovernmental Oceanographic

Commission was created in 1960 under

the aegis of UNESCO. WMO has

already made a contribution to its

work, if only by participating in the

International Indian Ocean Expedi­tion. The entente between meteoro­

logists and oceanographers ought to

become even stronger.

Aside from the above fields, which

are more or less directly related to

meteorology, many other tasks, already

begun, must be continued. These

include: climatic atlases, the Interna­

tional Meteorological Vocabulary (a

WMO Bulletin

provisional version will, after several years of preparation, be appearing), and also certain Guides, such as those for synoptic meteorology and agri­cultural meteorology.

Efforts must also be made to raise the ceiling of meteorological measure­ments in the 1:1pper air : the zone lying between 30 km and rsojr8o km, which is part of our planet's atmosphere, must be explored by means of rockets. This will be one of several tasks for meteorologists during the International Years of the Quiet Sun (rg64-rg65), for which preparations are currently being made.

Similarly, meteorological exploration must be intensified in certain regions, such as the Antarctic. In this con­nexion, the Executive Committee wise­ly decided to set up a panel of experts whose co-ordinating role bears some resemblance to that of a regional asso­ciation.

Finally, and this is perhaps one of the essential tasks undertaken during the current financial period, the training of meteorological personnel will at last be guided and co-ordinated by the Organization. This need arose through two basic factors : firstly, the recent accession to independence of a large number of countries, notably in Africa, and secondly, the rapid development of technology. A report on this question has already been prepared by Professor Van Mieghem, who reviews present possibilities and makes proposals for future action. More than ever before, technical co-operation must play a role in this field under the aegis of WMO which, for its part, should pre­pare Guides to achieve greater uniform­ity in professional training.

The future

It was not possible, within the modest scope of this article, to mention

10

Januar·y 1963

more than a few salient items among past achievements and present under­takings of WMO. It would appear ambitious - every meteorologist will readily agree - to make forecasts on the future of meteorology. There is, however, no doubt that, from now on, a rapid and inexorable evolution will be drawing this science to new hori­zons, be it progress in understanding meteorological phenomena or the ap­plication of meteorology to other fields. Past years have demonstrated this, and those to come will bear it out even further. This development can to a large extent be guided through international planning, the respon­sibility for which will fall to the lot of WMO.

It would appear that, during the next few years, the main objective will be the implementation of a pro­gramme based on research in atmo­spheric sciences. This is to be inferred from the decisions of the fourteenth session of the Executive Committee, which considered that intensified re­search alone would enable us to take. full advantage of the new possibilities opened up by artificial satellites, notably as regards the improvement of forecasting.

Among international projects carried out with a view to obtaining special data for research purposes, the IGY was the most spectacular and the most successful. Since the IGY, numer­ous instruments and new methods of observation make it possible to explore the upper layers of the atmosphere, and so to study more deeply the com­plex processes involved in the problem of general circulation.

A first step envisaged by WMO is the creation of an Advisory Committee consisting of a limited number of specialists in atmospheric sciences, who would not necessarily be on the

WMO Bulletin

staff of meteorological services. If such a committee should come into being, the wishes expressed by Dr. Sutcliffe in his presidential opening speech at the third session of the Commission for Aerology (Rome, September rg6r) would, as a beginning, be on the way to realization. This committee could "sur­vey international research activity and requirements and arrange for co-opera­tion between Members and with other international bodies, as desirable". Based on the advisory committee's ideas and subject to the approval of the Executive Committee or of Con­gress, WMO would then have no diffi­culty in the preparation of a proper research programme which WMO would permanently supervise and implement.

This new orientation towards re­search will in no wise prevent the

January 1963

Organization from carrying out its normal tasks, as defined in the Con­vention. On the contrary, the new orientation could be the best stimulus for improving networks or methods of observation, and for developing the various applications of meteorology.

WMO, the promoter and co-ordi­nator of all international action in this field, must of course receive suitable assistance from the Member countries ; this assistance must comprise, not merely the contribution of men of good will, but also material resources, and we conclude by expressing the hope that, from the next financial period onward, WMO will receive a budget worthy of the task which it has been called upon to discharge.

A. VIAUT

President of WMO

STATISTICAL ANAL VS IS AND PROGNOSIS IN METEOROLOGY

SEMINAR IN PARIS

A seminar on statistical analysis and prognosis in meteorology was

held in Paris, France, from 8 to 20 October rg62 as part of the WMO technical assistance programme. Pro­fessor C. L. Godske (Norway) was technical director and the consultants were Mr. B. Eriksson (Sweden) and Dr. R. G. Miller (U.S.A.). There were 39 participants from 25 countries.

Lectures by Professor Godske

Immediately after the official open­ing ceremony, Professor Godske gave an introductory talk about the informa­tion problem in meteorology. In ana­logy to what occurs within an electronic

11

data processing machine, a meteoro­logical institute acts as a transformer of information, changing the vast flow of total incoming information into useful outgoing information -useful for cer­tain specified problems. The total incoming information can be divided into present information and past information, which can never replace each other. The present information is the basis for synoptic meteorology ; for other branches of meteorology, say climatology, a certain amount of past information is also necessary. An improvement of the past network is impossible. For that reason, the clima­tologist, especially in regions with few old-established stations, needs the most

WMO Bulletin

advanced statistical tools ; only then may he be able, from the scanty amount of total information, to squeeze out the · maximum of useful information.

In his following lectures, Prof. Godske talked about methods in statistics and their applicability in meteorology. He started with more fundamental things, such as the collection, checking, representation and concentration of meteorological information by tables, diagrams and descriptive parameters. A large number of statistical models were described : the binomial, the Poisson, the chi-square distribution, etc. One lecture was devoted to the interpretation of statistical data in meteorology (test methods, etc.) and one lecture to statistical methods in climatology. Prof. Godske pointed out that the classical definition of climate as the average weather is far from satisfactory, even when we specify the averaging period (30 years for instance). He preferred a more general definition which considers the climate as the probability distribution of the weather, i.e. as a synthesis of the probability distributions of all weather elements. Statistical weather forecast­ing can be considered as a special type of climatological synthesis.

Lectures by consultants

Various methods for statistical pro­gnoses were described in a series of lectures given by Mr. Eriksson. In his introductory lecture he pointed out that the sequence of climatological data represents, from the theoretical point of view, solutions of the atmospheric differential equations. If a similar solu­tion could be achieved theoretically, starting with an initial state (today's weather map) we would have solved the problem of mathematical weather prediction. Although considerable pro­gress has been made in the last decade,

12

January 1963

the mathematical methods can still only be applied to some selected atmospheric variables, and this ought to .be supplemented by statistical methods, making it possible to extract some of the information that is hidden in the vast amount of data constituting our climatological time series. The forecast methods described by Mr. Eriks­son included the graphical regression and the graphical discriminant tech­niques, both of which are mainly used for local forecasts at aerodromes and do not require the use of electronic computers ; he also dealt with the method of using contingency or mul­tiple correlation tables. Another sub­ject treated by Mr. Eriksson was the complicated problem of forecast veri­fication. He pointed out that a general method of forecast evaluation, applic­able to all kinds of prognoses, can probably never be found; different statistics must be used for different purposes. He also gave a word of warning against over-estimating the value of verification :figures obtained by formal mathematical methods.

A series of lectures on advanced topics of statistical prediction in me­teorology was given by Dr. Miller. His lectures dealt, inter alia, with ortho­gonal polynomials, the screening pro­cedure in multiple regression analysis, and multiple discriminant analysis.

Other lectures and discussions

Some of the participants also pre­sented papers, many of which gave interesting examples of statistical me­thods used in various countries. The lectures and the presentations of papers were followed by discussions which were often very stimulating.

One whole morning session was devoted to a general discussion on long­range weather forecasting. . As an

WMO Bulletin

introduction, participants from Bul­garia, Finland, France, the Federal Republic of Germany and Yugoslavia gave short accounts of meth8ds used in their respective countries for long­range forecasting. It seemed from

Dr. C. L. Godske (centre) addressingtheopeningmeet­

ing of the seminar

these accounts and from the discussion that analogy methods are of great importance. The phenomenon of per­sistence and its geographical partition, the use of orthogonal polynomials, etc. were also discussed. The extremely complicated nature of the problem of long-range forecasting was stressed and it was generally agreed that this prob­lem should be tackled on a broad basis with various methods adapted to local circumstances and the predictand used.

The particular interests of the parti­cipants varied considerably and, in order to have discussions in which everybody could participate actively, they were divided into three groups, one dealing with advanced statistical forecasting, one with elementary sta­tistical forecasting and one with cli­matology. These groups met simulta­neously from time to time during the seminar. On these occasions the par­ticipants themselves brought up sub­jects to be discussed and put questions to the group leader.

13

January 1963

On the last day some informal re­commendations to WMO were adopted. These include the importance of arrang­ing seminars of a similar nature every three years ; the need for closer co­operation between statisticians and

meteorologists ; the need for informa­tion on the accuracy of observations; a wish to have long-term time series which are already published system­atically subjected to suitable tests ; and the importance of studies of relative climates.

Visits were made to the headquarters of the Meteorologie Nationale and to the European Scientific Computation Institute of the IBM establishment. Both visits were highly appreciated.

A warm tribute goes to Dr. Godske, Mr. Eriksson and Dr. Miller. Their enthusiasm for the subject of the seminar was infectious. The invaluable organizational assistance provided by the Meteorologie Nationale and the excellent interpretation facilities also contributed substantially to the success of the seminar. A dangerous competitor to the seminar, on the other hand, was the city of Paris which showed its most charming face - not a single raindrop was observed.

B. T.

WMO Bulletin January 1963

MEETING THE CHALLENGE WMO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SINCE 1952

J\ LTHOUGH the national meteoro­fi logical services in some countries have now been in existence for more than roo years, when the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) took over the reins from the Interna­tional Meteorological Organization (IMO) in rgsr there were still several countries with no ·meteorological service whatsoever, many more in which the service was very rudimentary and still more in which some branches of meteorology, of importance to the national economy, were sadly neglect­ed. Since .rgsr there has been a marked improvement in the world picture and the purpose of this article is to show how WMO has contributed to this improvement.

One of the main advantages resulting from the change of IMO as a non­governmental organization to WMO as a governmental organization and spe­cialized agency of the United Nations, is that WMO is able to participate in the various United Nations programmes of technical co-operation. This was realized in rgsr when First Congress adopted a resolution instructing the Secretary-General to seek participa­tion in the United Nations Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance for Economic Development of Under­Developed Countries (EPTA). Prompt action was taken on this directive and WMO's participation in that pro­gramme commenced the following year (1952). These activities have since increased from year to year and now constitute one of the most important factors in the work of the Organiza­tion.

The main objectives of WMO tech­nical assistance are to assist countries

14

in the development or improvement of their meteorological services or of particular sections thereof, to provide professional training and to promulgate the latest technical knowledge and experience. Such assistance has been given by WMO to more than 70 coun­tries since rgsr ; this has been doli.e mainly by expert missions, by the award of fellowships and by the organization of training seminars.

Expert missions

More than 120 expert missions have been organized so far under EPT A. The purpose of these missions is not so much to carry out tasks which fall within the responsibility of recipient countries but to show the local meteoro­logists how to do the job and to train them up to the point that they are able to carry on the work themselves.

In many cases a project begins with a visit by an expert to survey the requirements. Depending on the results of this survey, the next step may be to send to the country concerned one or more meteorologists for several years to advise on and assist in the organization and development of the national meteorological service. The director of one of the services set on its feet with help in this way from WMO writes :

The establishment of a central meteoro­logical authority and its development into a semi-independent division now composed of four sections, the construction of a modern headquarters of the service, 30 climatological stations, one pilot-balloon station and preparatory work for a radio­sonde station to be established in rg6z are only some of the organizational steps taken upon the advice of the WMO expert and carried out with his most active co-oper­ation and assistance.

The establishment of a meteorological training school in I959 with a technical

WMO Bulletin

and a scientific class, in addition to infor­mal training of personnel engaged in cli­matology and in the repair of meteorological instruments and equipment, and the train­ing of non-professional observers for the

January 1963

The WMO experts need to be diplo­mats as well as good meteorologists. They should be able to adjust them­selves to the environment in which they

A WMO expert gives instruction to a class of meteorological observers

various climatological stations carried out by the expert will always be gratefully remembered.

In addition he taught myself and two of my colleagues daily about analysing sur­face and upper-air maps, modern forecast­ing techniques and briefing and document­ation practice. With his help we developed a Main Meteorological Office (MMO) and a Dependent Meteorological Office (DMO). Weather forecasts for the public were introduced soon after the arrival of the expert as a permanent part of the national broadcasting programme and in the local newspapers.

The publishing and, later, the printing of a climatological monthly bulletin was also initiated by the expert.

His services in the establishment of modern telecommunication facilities, including me­teorological broadcasts for aviation and the dissemination of normal weather reports, were of great value.

15

work and to understand and respect the susceptibilities of the inhabitants of the country. They should be able to establish good relations with the gov­ernment authorities with whom they have to work and, by example and methods of persuasion, further the objectives of their mission. The experts in many cases should also be prepared to take the rough and the smooth with sang-froid. Without these qualities, even a very good meteorologist cannot expect to succeed in his mission.

In most countries the task of the WMO expert has been to advise on the improvement of an existing meteoro­logical service or to help in the deve­lopment of some particular branch of the service, dealing for example with the

WMO Bulletin

needs of aviation, "agriculture or ship­ping. In one country where the meteoro­logical service was well developed as regards aeronautical forecasting, the climatological section was considered by the government to be inadequate. A WMO climatologist spent 2 V2 years in the country with the result that modern punch-card techniques were introduced, the backlog of climato­logical data was processed, regular climatological publications were started and staff were trained to answer all manner of inquiries from people requir­ing climatic data.

One of the most important tasks of WMO experts has been to help in the establishment of networks of stations for making surface and upper-air observations. For example three coun­tries started making regular radio­sonde ascents with their own personnel after having received help from WMO in installing the equipment or in training the operators. In many other countries WMO has assisted in improv­ing existing facilities for radiosonde ascents. The resulting observations are of course also of great benefit to neigh­bouring and even more distant coun­tries.

Many other examples could be given to illustrate the variety of assistance provided by WMO experts- installa­tion of meteorological instrument work­shops, training staff in forecasting techniques, advising on how to forecast attacks of potato blight, surveying the possibilities of using wind as a source of power, taking weather factors into account in designing buildings, apply­ing meteorological knowledge in Desert Locust control operations, etc. One feature of the programme is in fact that the variety of fields of specializa­tion required from the experts increases as the level of development of national meteorological services becomes higher.

16

January 1963

Fellowships

The training provided on the spot by WMO experts is often supplemented by sending meteorologists to be trained in other countries. Since the beginning of the WMO programme, more than 220 fellowships have been awarded for this purpose and 33 countries have contributed to this aspect of the pro­gramme by providing study facilities.

In many cases the fellows follow a regular course at a meteorological training school, but this solution is not always possible. Where training in some specialized branch of meteorology is required, a tailor-made programme has to be worked out for each individual fellow. It must be remembered too that fellowships can be awarded at many levels, from that of a young student about to receive his first lesson in meteorology to that of a senior meteorologist wishing to study an advanced research project in some other country.

On returning home, fellows have an opportunity to apply what they have learnt to their work in the national meteorological service and also to share with their colleagues the benefits they have derived from their fellowships. As an example of this, the director of one of the meteorological services writes about a fellow who has spent ro months studying aeronautical me­teorology including hurricane fore­casting:

Shortly after his return from this WMO fellowship, he was promoted to a position on the advisory staff of the director of the Weather Bureau. This fellow, drawing from his .experience and training abroad, has contributed greatly in the following new undertakings of the Bureau :

(a) Establishing a radar network with which to improve typhoon forecasting. In fact, a weather surveillance radar is planned to be purchased soon with this aim in mind ;

WMO Bulletin

(b) Conducting an educational campaign to acquaint the public with the nature of typhoons and the hazards connected with them, and to help them to interpret the typhoon warnings issued by the Weather Bureau, and to take the necessary precautions whenever a typhoon is expected to strike a locality.

Training semtnars

Where there is a group of countries with common problems in some par­ticular branch of meteorology, it is

A WMO fellow (second from left) studies telecommunica­tion methods in use at the headquarters of a national

meteorological service

possible to organize, within the tech­nical assistance programme, a training seminar for the study of these prob­lems. The first subject dealt with in this way by WMO was hurricane forecasting. This was followed by seminars on different aspects of hydro­logy, agricultural meteorology, tropical cyclones and forecasting techniques for high-level jet aircraft. These seminars usually take the form of a short university course of two weeks' duration with lectures by two or three consul­tants to a group of about 30 partici­pants from perhaps 20 different coun­tries. Sometimes they are sponsored as joint projects with other interested organizations, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the

17

January 1963

Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East.

Attempts have been made to assess the benefits derived from the training

seminars. Participants have frequently

given examples of how they have been able to apply some new techniques, learnt at the seminar, in their daily

work on returning home. The director

of a meteorological service writes :

The seminar has awakened interest in

agrometeorology in all the governmental

bodies concerned with agriculture, cattle-

ra1smg, industry and forestry. The exist­ing agrometeorological section of the

Ministry of Agriculture is at present

developing its activities in accordance with the principles explained during the

seminar and it is hoped that this section

will be transformed during the coming two years into a true agrometeorological

centre.

The Faculties of Agronomy and Veterinary

Science are introducing, with effect from

this year, special agrometeorological courses based on the lectures given at the seminar.

The hydrometeorological services of the country closely concerned with agro­

meteorology are also introducing into their

work the new procedures learnt at the seminar.

It is considered that similar seminars or ones in other fields, when well-planned and

organized and carried out in a large num­

ber of countries, will constitute effective

WMO Bulletin

technical assistance for under-developed countries, resulting in a spread of science ...

The proceedings of most of the nine seminars so far held have been or are being published, generally by the host country, so that meteorologists in other parts of the world may have ready access to the material presented.

Special Fund

Requests have often been received from countries for direct financial or material assistance - for instance to provide equipment for observation networks or for meteorological telecom­munications facilities or to supply consumables for radiosonde stations. The EPTA regulations however exclude any financial assistance and they restrict the provision of equipment to small quantities for demonstration and training purposes.

An important development in 1959 was the creation of the United Nations Special Fund. In contrast with EPTA, which provides assistance through a large number of small projects, the Special Fund concentrates on large­scale projects under which considerable amounts of equipment can also be supplied. One of the conditions for approval of a Special Fund project is however that the government is pre­pared to bear at least one third of the project cost and another essential requirement is that the project falls under certain specified criteria such as survey of national resources, applied research or professional training.

In spite of these restrictions, WMO is already serving as the executing agency for four large Special Fund projects : the total Special Fund con­tribution for the four-year period of execution is about two million dollars. Two more projects were approved in 1962 and some others are at present under consideration.

18

January 1963

It is interesting to note that in some cases Special Fund projects resulted from activities of an EPT A expert. In South America a WMO hydrometeoro­logist participated for some years in a water resources survey during which it was found that existing meteorological and hydrological data were insufficient for the planning of hydro-electric schemes and for the expansion of the agricultural areas in Ecuador, Peru and Chile. These countries then requested Special Fund assistance and WMO has since provided expert teams and equip­ment for the expansion of the meteoro­logical and hydrological observing net­works in all three countries and the setting up of a hydraulic laboratory in Peru.

Other forms of technical co-operation

As explained above, the expert mis­sions sent out under EPTA have mainly advisory functions. In some countries however there is a need for experts to carry out operational and executive functions. To satisfy this need the United Nations introduced in 1959 the so-called OPEX scheme, whereby an expert is sent to a country to work as an officer of the government receiving salary from the government ; this salary is supplemented by the United Nations to bring it up to United Nations salary level. It is gratifying to be able to report that from about a hundred posts so far approved by the United Nations, ten are in the field of meteorology. In each OPEX project an element of training is included in that a national of the country is trained to take over as soon as possible the duties temporarily executed by the OPEX expert.

In July 1g6o, when the Congo (Leopoldville) became independent, WMO was called upon to assist the United Nations in its civilian operations there with the main objectives of

WMO Bulletin

providing the necessary meteorological forecasting services for civil aviation in the Congo and of training Congolese nationals as quickly as possible to enable them to take over all the essen­tial functions of their national meteoro­logical service. The present Congo programme includes 44 meteorological posts filled by international recruit­ment and a number of fellowships to enable Congolese meteorologists to be trained in other countries. Training is also given by WMO experts at a meteorological school in Leopoldville.

Shortage of experts

All this work would be impossible without the help of international experts who are willing to make their services available to WMO. High tech­nical qualifications, knowledge of the required language and adaptability to the mentality and working conditions of the recipient countries are necessary prerequisites for these appointments~

The efforts made to recruit experts from different parts of the world is illustrated by the fact that 31 coun­tries have so far provided experts for the WMO technical assistance activi­ties. In some cases countries received expert assistance in one field and at the same time provided experts in another field. Although it has not always been easy, WMO has hitherto always been able to find experts to fill all the posts in its technical co-operation program­mes. The number of expert posts now amounts to approximately 130 and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find suitable candidates. The Exec­utive Committee has therefore appealed to all Members of WMO to release qualified experts to the greatest pos­sible extent.

A register of meteorologists prepared to accept technical assistance appoint­ments is maintained in the WMO Secretariat and persons on this list

19

January 1963

are notified whenever a suitable post becomes vacant.

Conclusion

In concluding this review, special acknowledgement must be made of the unfailing support provided by the United Nations by looking after the main administrative aspects of the WMO programme under EPT A and the Special Fund. A proposal that WMO should in future assume responsibility for this administrative work is to be discussed at Fourth Congress in April 1963.

David Owen, the Executive Chair­man of the Technical Assistance Board wrote recently:

Now, as the programme enters its twelfth year of operations, new and challenging problems confront it as it attempts to meet on the one hand the rising demands of the less-developed countries- voiced so emphatically during the recent session of the United Nations General Assembly­for closer international collaboration and expanded United Nations action, and on the other the needs of the newly-indepen­dent and emerging States of Africa.

Meeting these needs of the newly-inde­pendent and emerging States in their transition from a dependent to a sovereign status presents both a challenge and an opportunity for EPTA, which is reflected in the fact that aid to Africa is the most significant feature of the largest programme ever authorized under the EPTA.

Evidence of the increasing impor­tance which governments attribute to WMO technical assistance activities is provided by the fact that the EPTA programme for WMO in 1963-1964 will be about 6o per cent greater than in the previous biennium. It can thus be said without exaggeration that WMO is playing its full part in meeting the challenge.

H. S. O.M.A.

WMO Bulletin January 1963

OCEANOGRAPHY- A SISTER SCIENCE ON THE MOVE

T is well known that the first attempt i about the nature and resources of the /

r

I to organize practical weather fore- i oceans, the Intergovernmental Oceano­casting services, based on telegraphic I i graphic Commission (IOC) was estab­messages of synoptic observations, was! /lished by UNESCO in 1960. made about 100 years ago. It is per- ri haps less well recognized that the history of meteorology during these 100 years is characterized by a very close collaboration between the re­~earch worker and the practising meteorologist and that many of the advances in the science of meteorology and its applications are due to the same individuals. The science of oceano­graphy has a similar background ; its development has to a large extent been based on the practical needs for a better knowledge of the oceans; know­ledge about the depths, the currents, temperatures, for instance. The many great oceanographic expeditions, start­ing with the well-known Challenger expedition (1873-1876), have played a leading role in the development of oceanography, but it is generally recognized that, although great efforts have been made by the maritime countries of the world, the applications of oceanography have not developed as rapidly as those of meteorology in spite of the fact that the former include such important fields as the contribu­tion of the oceans to the world's food production. (See WMO Bulletin, Vol. X, No. 3, pp. 144-150.)

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission

The scientists and the governments of the countries concerned have now agreed that greater efforts in oceano­graphy are necessary and for the purpose of promoting scientific investi­gation with a view to learning more

20

This commission has now held two sessions and with particular reference to the decisions made at its second session (Paris, September, 1962), it might be interesting to analyse how far meteorology and thereby WMO is involved in the activities of this new intergovernmental body. Expressed in figures, it might be said that around 75 per cent of the resolutions adopted by the commission at its second session are of interest to WMO. One of the reasons for this is that most interna-tional oceanographic research projects undertaken or planned today include important meteorological programmes. A well-known example is the Interna­tional Indian Ocean Expedition, the co-ordination of which has now been handed over from the Scientific Com­mittee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) to the secretariat of the roe. Other international co-operative projects adopted or recommended by the roe include the investigation of the tropical Atlantic (February-April and August 1963) ; synoptic investigation of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (of which the first stage is to start in 1963); co-operative study of the Kuro­shio and adjacent regions (now in the planning stage) ; all of these include meteorological programmes. Further­more, WMO is being consulted on the preparation of a general scientific framework for a comprehensive world ocean study. The commission realized that such a programme should include the physical, chemical, geological, geo­physical, meteorological and biological oceanographic aspects of the world

WMO Bulletin

oceans and decided as a first step to

request SeOR to prepare, for consid­

eration at the third session of roe, a

general scientific framework for this

comprehensive study. In the guidelines

to the several international organiza­

tions concerned with the development

of this framework, the commission

stated that : "The general scientific

framework should include synoptic

studies of relatively large portions of

the world oceans [and] should ensure

that the investigations of meteoro­

logical phenomena accompany the

investigations of physical oceanograph­

ic phenomena with a view towards

improving the knowledge of the air-sea

interaction." The use of synoptic

charts in meteorology, which inciden­

tally goes as far back as I8I6, has played

an enormous role in the development

of this science and it is worth noting

that the synoptic approach to oceano­

graphic studies is given very clear

recognition by an intergovernmental

comm1sswn. Meteorologists will also

welcome the strong support by the

commission for measures to increase

our knowledge of the interaction be~

tween air and sea. Oceanography is

on the move and the mutual benefit to

meteorologists and oceanographers

from this should be borne in mind in

considering the following recent deve­

lopments.

Joint IOCjWMO activities

As reported in the last issue of the

WMO Bulletin (Vol. XI, No. 4, p. 232)

the roe working group on fixed

oceanographic stations met immedi­

ately prior to the second session of roe

and the commission agreed practically

without discussion to the various

recommendations of the working group.

This implies, among other things, that

the roe supports the WMO plan for

filling some of the major gaps in the

world-wide network of meteorological

21

January 1963

stations by the establishment of some

20 additional ocean weather stations

and that the secretariats of the roe

and the WMO should co-operate active­

ly in definite ways and means whereby

the proposed weather ships could be

employed to give maximum benefit to

both meteorology and oceanography.

With regard to the oceanic regions

to be chosen as sites for testing or

continuous investigation by automatic

buoys, the commission concluded that

priority should be given to those areas

in which joint international pro­

grammes are planned. The commission

further agreed that the work of the

roe group should be continued and

suggested also that a joint roe;WMO

working group be formed to undertake

the planning of the· final ocean-wide

network of synoptic stations.

With regard to the report of the

roe working group on communica­

tions, which also met in August Ig6z

(see WMO Bulletin, Vol. XI, No. 4,

p. 233) the commission decided to

adopt this report in toto. Since however

several of the recommendations of the

report involve active participation of

WMO, the commission invited WMO

to consider and support these recom­

mendations and in particular to parti­

cipate in the meetings and in the joint

roejWMO working group proposed by

the roe working group. Members of

WMO will consequently have to con­

sider at an early date whether the pre­

sent telecommunication arrangements

for collection and exchange of meteoro­

logical data should be extended to

include the transmission and dissemin­

ation of oceanographic data (together

with meteorological data) from fixed

oceanographic stations, in . order to

avoid unnecessary duplication of com­

munication facilities. Members will

also have to decide whether these and

other communication problems should

WMO Bulletin

be considered jointly by IOC and WMO or by other means.

Working procedures of IOC

In conclusion, since IOC is a govern­mental body established by UNESCO but with a somewhat independent status, it might be of interest to make an attempt to highlight, in a simplified manner, the main characteristics of the working procedures of the commission. On the one hand, matters of research, basic planning of research projects and

January 1963

the provision of scientific advice are the responsibility of the two advisory bodies to the commission, which are SCOR and the FAO advisory com­mittee on marine resources research. On the other hand, matters of co­ordination of operational activities, the organization of the activities of the commission and its working groups and, to a large extent, also the implementa­tion of the decisions of the commission, are in the hands of the secretariat of the commission.

K.L.

THIRD SESSION OF THE REGIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR ASIA

THE third session of the Regional Association for Asia (RA II) was

held in Bangkok from r8 to 30 October rg6z at the invitation of the Govern­ment of Thailand. The meeting took place at Sala Santitham, headquarters of the United Nations Economic Com­mission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE), where excellent accommoda­tiim and working facilities were put at the disposal of the association.

The session was formally opened by H. R. H. Prince Wan Waithayakorn Krommun Naradhip Bongsprabandh, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, whose address of welcome to the delegates stressed the importance of meteorology as a factor in national development. As the subsequent dis­cussions showed, this well-chosen theme was relevant to many of the items on the agenda and was given full consider­ation in ·the decisions taken by the association.

Dr. Po E, president of the associa­tion, Rear-Admiral Sanit Vesa-Raja­nanda and the Deputy Secretary­General, Mr. Rivet, thanked His Royal Highness for his address, which opened up vast prospects providing inspiration for the participants, and expressed

22

their pleasure at being able to hold the session in Bangkok.

Representatives of r6 Members of WMO, one non-Member and seven international organizations took part in the work of the session which was principally carried out in two working committees. One of these, under the chairmanship of Mr. C. Ramaswamy (India), · dealt with codes, telecom­munications, maritime and aeronaut­ical meteorology and meteorological satellites whilst the second, with Rear­Admiral Sanit Vesa-Rajananda (Thai­land) in the chair, considered those questions related to instruments, ob­servations for synoptic meteorology, climatology, hydrological meteorology, agrometeorology and arid zone prob­lems. Secretariat assistance was pro­vided by Mr. J. R. Rivet, Deputy Secretary-General, Dr. G. Weiss and Mr. P. Rogers. As the session adopted 35 resolutions and one recommendation it will only be possible to refer to a few of the main decisions in this account of the meeting.

Synoptic networks

The . main task of the association under this item was to establish a

WMO Bulletin

basic regional network which would permit Members to fulfil their respon­sibilities for international purposes and which would also serve as a long-term target. A detailed study of the existing network was therefore made and new stations selected whenever necessary. It was also noted that the existing net- · work of surface stations in certain parts of the region was too dense for international purposes and the number of stations was accordingly reduced by excluding all those of purely national interest. The association decided that all surface stations in the new network should make observations at each of the main and intermediate synoptic hours, that radiosonde and radiowind observations would be made at oooo and 1200 GMT and that upper-wind observations would be made at o6oo and r8oo GMT.

As regards the practical aspects of reaching this target, the association approved a two-year plan (rg63-1964) and a four-year plan (rg63-rg66) as a first step towards full implementation of the new basic regional network. In each of these plans Members are requested to do their utmost to reach a minimum degree of implementation for each type of observation (expressed as a percentage of the target) by the end of the period specified.

Meteorological telecommunications

Very thorough consideration was given to the meteorological telecom­munications arrangements within the region and the association felt that it was desirable to adopt a new approach to the related problems. The session first recognized that it was essential to develop a long-term telecommunica­tions plan and that this plan should be implemented in the not-too-distant future. It therefore adopted a number of guiding principles on which to base the long-term plan and then drew up

23

January 1963

a skeleton plan for the exchange of basic meteorological data. At the same time it requested the re-established Working Group on Meteorological Tele­communications to work out the full details of the plan on the basis of the report of the experts' survey of South Asia (see below).

The association next examined the present exchange arrangements and decided to take a number of steps to eliminate the most serious deficiencies. These steps include proposals for the establishment of two new subconti­nental centres at Bangkok and Tehran.

Finally the association noted with appreciation the approval given by the Executive Committee at its fourteenth session for a survey to be made of the meteorological telecommunications ar­rangements in South Asia and the adjacent areas in the South-west Pacific. This survey is to be made by an expert who will visit various coun­tries in order to review the existing arrangements for the collection and exchange of basic meteorological infor­mation. After determining the defi­ciencies in national collections and international exchanges he will draw up plans for the necessary improve­ments. The survey will last about one year.

Codes Code questions were considered in

the light of the modifications to inter­national codes recently adopted by the Executive Committee. In general the association found that the present regional practices were satisfactory and should be retained. A resolution was adopted containing a few changes resulting from the decisions taken at the third session.

Aeronautical meteorology

When considering the meteorological factors affecting the operation of

WMO Bulletin

turbine-powered aircraft, the associa­tion noted the requirement recently expressed by ICAO for the maintenance of climatological records up to 30,000

metres to provide the data necessary for planning future high-level aircraft operations. The session decided that upper-air observations should, when­ever possible, be recorded up to this level so that records of winds and temperatures could be made available for such planning.

The value of the professional training seminars on forecasting for turbine­powered aircraft operations was also recognized and tbe hope expressed that further seminars would be arranged ·periodically.

Climatology

Close attention was given to the plans for a regional climatic atlas. The for­mer working group had prepared a plan for further work on the basis of sub­regional atlases but there were divided opinions about both the number of sub-regions and the countries to be included in each sub-region. Finally it was decided to reconstitute the working group and to ask it to give further study to this part of the plan and to report not later than r June rg63 so that the next stage of the work should not be unduly delayed. The group was also asked to study the ques­tion of climatic maps for hydrological purposes and to prepare the report on progress and future plans required for Fourth Congress.

The association also drew up a new network of CLIMAT and CLIMAT TEMP stations to conform more closely to the wishes expressed by the Com­mission for Climatology and, in addi­tion, assigned responsibility for the preparation and dissemination of

24

January 1963

monthly means for those oceanic areas not already covered.

Hydrological meteorology

A number of Members presented reports on the networks of precipita­tion stations in their countries and on plans for the development of national networks of hydrometeorological sta­tions. It was considered that there was a pressing need for statistical studies to be made of the desirable density of such networks and attention was drawn to the need for these studies to be made in climatically homogeneous areas since the distribution of stations should vary according to the rainfall regime. In view of the need for these studies, the association felt it would be premature to attempt to establish a plan for a regional network at this stage. As it was clear that there was much work to be done in the region on hydrological meteorology which was of special importance to the Members, the asso­ciation decided to re-establish tbe working group to study these and other related problems.

Maritime meteorology

The present inadequacy, for forecast­ing purposes, of the number of ships' reports received from the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the China Sea was closely studied. The association was of the opinion that the situation could be improved by impressing upon Members the need to appoint more port liaison ofii.cers, by recruiting more selected and supplementary ships and by improving tbe procedures for trans­mitting ships' reports to coastal sta­tions. The session therefore invited Members to take suitable action on all these points and also decided that ships' reports, even when received up to 24 hours after the time of observa-

WMO Bulletin

tion, should be included in territorial

and subcontinental broadcasts.

Meteorological satellites

In the light of information on the

future programme in this field given by

the United States and of Executive

Committee action resulting from Reso­

lution IJ2I (XVI) of the General

Assembly of the United Nations, the

association decided that all NEPH­

ANALYSES data covering the region

and certain adjacent areas should be

included in the subcontinental broad­

casts from New Delhi, Khabarovsk and

Tokyo. In addition it decided that any

special information based on satellite

observations received by Members

should be included in territorial and/or

subcontinental broadcasts soon after

receipt.

The possibility that Japan might

organize a seminar on the synoptic uses

of satellite data was also discussed and

the need for regional seminars of this

kind was stressed. The session expressed

the hope that Congress would con­

sider favourably the financing of such

a seminar.

Training of meteorological personnel

As there are already four Members

in the region (India, Japan, Pakistan

and U.S.S.R.) with well-organized facil­

ities for training meteorological per­

sonnel up to the highest levels, it was

thought to be unnecessary to develop

regional training facilities. The asso­

ciation decided that each national

meteorological service should make

arrangements within its own country

for basic training at the observer level

and noted with appreciation the offers

of the above four Members to give

assistance to others lacking the neces­

sary facilities at present.

For intermediate and advanced

courses the session recommended that

January 1963

training institutes in the above-men­

tioned countries should provide facil­

ities for training candidates from other

countries in the region. It was sug­

gested that fellowships could be financed

either by the countries concerned

· from their own resources or, when pos­

sible, through one of the United Na­

tions technical co-operation program­

mes. The meteorological services of

India, Japan, Pakistan and U.S.S.R.

were requested to provide detailed

information on the facilities for mete­

orological training at their national

institutes and to indicate the number

of candidates from other countries

that they could take for training.

25

Finally the association requested

Members to take suitable action to

establish courses in meteorology at one

or more of their national universities

where such courses do not already

exist.

International Indian Ocean Expedition

The association heard with great

interest the explanations given by

Professor C. S. Ramage, scientific co­

ordinator for meteorology, on the pro­

gramme and the aims of the expedition.

It decided that full support should be

given by Members to the activities of

the International Meteorological Centre

established at Bombay to collect data

from the expedition and to conduct

studies in tropical meteorology. The

form which this support should take

ineludes the registration of oceano­

graphic vessels as selected ships with

a determined programme of surface and

upper-air observations, the rapid trans­

mission of these observations to con­

venient coastal receiving stations, the

sending of copies of meteorological

logs from such ships to the Centre and

the provision of photographs of the

echoes present on radarscopes at

synoptic hours by Members maintain­

ing weather radar stations. Members

WMO Bulletin

were also requested to take full advantage of the opportunities for training and research provided by the International Meteorological Centre and to consider the possibility of pro­viding or obtaining fellowships for that purpose.

Conclusion

At the final plenary meeting Mr. S. N. Naqvi (Pakistan) was elected president and Dr. I. E. M. Watts (Hong Kong) was elected vice-president of the asso­ciation for the period until the fourth session. The association accepted with great pleasure the invitation extended by the Government of Iran for the next session to be held in Tehran and agreed that the dates should be decided later in accordance with the normal WMO procedures. The closing speeches not only re-affirmed the gratitude of the association to the Government of Thailand for providing such excellent facilities for the session held in Bangkok but also paid tribute to the retiring president, Dr. Po E (Burma), who had guided the work of the association since the second session with courtesy

January 1963

and wisdom and had made possible the fruitful results of the third session.

No account of the session would be complete without a special word of thanks to the Thai Meteorological Department whose staff spared no effort not only to ensure the smooth progress of the work but also to provide a varied and interesting programme of excursions. Apart from the opportun­ity to see the many colourful sights of Bangkok, participants were privileged to be present at the That Kathin, one of the principal ceremonies of thP Buddhist year when H. M. The King of Thailand sails down the river with a spectacular procession of barges to present robes to monks at the Temple of the Dawn. A visit to the former capital at Ayudhya and the Island Palace of Bang-Pa-In combined with a five-hour river journey through the Thai countryside to make another memorable day.

All those lucky enough to attend the session will certainly long remember the spontaneous friendliness and hos­pitality of their hosts.

P. R.

INTERNATIONAl GEOPHYSICAl CALENDAR FOR 1963

THE accompanying International Geophysical Calendar for rg63 has

been drawn up by the International Ursi­gram and World Days Service (IUWDS) in consultation with interested unions and committees of ICSU and representatives of WMO. A descrip­tion of the purpose of such calendars and of the criteria used for selecting the special days and intervals was given in an earlier issue of the Bulletin (Vol. X, No. r, pp. 47-50). A fuller description of the calendar has also appeared in the Information Bulletin of the International Scientific Radio Union (URSI).

26

The World Geophysical Intervals (WGI) in the present calendar replace the World Synoptic Intervals of rg62. The choice of intervals has been heavily influenced by the needs of the meteoro­logy discipline. This calendar also includes January rg64, the :first month of the IQSY ; it shows a pattern of world days which will be followed for the IQSY period, during which WGI will be extended to cover 14 days.

Supplementary copies of the calendar are available from the Secretary General of URSI, 7, Place Danco, Brussels r8, Belgium.

WMO Bulletin January 1963

International Geophysical Calendar 1963

Issued October 1962 by the International Ursigram

and World Days Service under the auspices of URSI

1963 JANUARY

M T w T F s ~ _£ 5

11 12

1963 APRIL

M T w T F s 1 2 3 4 s 6

1963 JULY

5 M T w T F s I 2 3 • 5 6

El.Q.l.!.

1963 OCTOBER

M T w T F 5

I 2 3 4 5

1964 JANUARY

M T W T F

& 2 ]_

1963 FEBRUARY

s M T w T F 5

I 2

3 4 s 6 7 8 9

IQ 11 12 13 14 IS 16

17 18 8 ®@ ~~ 27 28

22 23

1963 MAY

s M T w T F s 1 2 3 4

..2_ .§_ 7 8 9 IQ 11

12 13 <8)@)0 17 IS

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

1963 AUGUST

s M T ·w T F s I 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 l.Q. 11 g@([]@ 16 17

18 19 2Q 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

1963 NOVEMBER

5 M T w T F s 1 2

4 5 6 7 8 9

IQ 11 12 13 14 IS .'.f. .!2 1.§.@@@ 22 23

24 2S 26 '}j 28 29 30

@ Regular World Day !RWDl

~ Day of Solar Ed1pse

1963 MARCH

s M T w T F 5

I 2

3 4 5

IQ 11 12 13 14 IS 16

17 18 (i})@@ 22 23

24 25 . 26 27 28 29 3Q

31

1963 JUNE

5 M T w T 1

2 3 ...£ _;;_ .§_ .1.. JL 9 IQ 11 12 13 14 IS

16 17 @@@ 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30

1963 SEPTEMBER

5 M T w T

I 2 3 4

8 9 !0 11 12 13 14

IS 16 @@(i}) 2Q 21

22 23 24 2S 26 27 28

29 30

1963 DECEMBER

s M T w T

I 2 3 4 5

8 9 I 0 11 12 Jl.\_£

@@@ li 16 2Q

11. n.. 24 2S 26 27

29 3Q 31

@ RWD w1th h•ghesl prionty

~ Rocket-winds Days

21

28

..!.._ Day with unusual meteor shower activity & Regular Meteorological Day

P6 17 1s 19 World Goophysical Interval, {WGI) :

27

WMO Bulletin

EXPANDED PROGRAMME OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

APPROVAL OF THE 1963-1964 PROGRAMME

IN December rg62 the Technical Assistance Committee of the United

Nations approved the Expanded Pro­gramme of Technical Assistance (EPTA) for the biennium rg63-r964 for the ten participating agencies. In the field of WMO, projects to a total value of r.S million dollars have been included. This constitutes an increase of about sixty per cent over the value of the approved rg6r-rg62 programme. WMO's relative share, within the whole EPTA, has at the same time increased from r.6 to 2.2 per cent.

In addition to individual projects for 62 countries, the programme for rg63-rg64 includes an increased number of regional projects. Among these is the establishment of a chair in meteorology at the University of Dakar, Senegal, and also at the Royal College, Nairobi, Kenya. Surveys of basic meteoro­logical telecommunications arrange­ments in Region I as well as in parts of Regions II and V and several training seminars are also included in the rg63-1964 programme.

NEW EXPERT MISSIONS

Guatemala

In November rg62 Dr. F. J. Pro­haska (Argentina) commenced a five months' mission to Guatemala. He

28

January 1963

will advise the national meteorological service on the establishment of and the training of personnel for a hydro­meteorological division within the ser­vice.

Kuwait

Dr. M. S. Barb (U.A.R.) commenced a survey mission in Kuwait in Nov­ember rg62. He will make recommen­dations on the future organization of the meteorological service in Kuwait and also on further technical assistance which might be required from WMO.

Syria

Mr. E. I. Salasmaa (Finland) was sent for two months to the Syrian Arab Republic in October rg62 to supervise the installation of radiosonde equip­ment and to train personnel in its use and maintenance.

PROJECTS RECENTLY COMPLETED

Cambodia

In April rg62, Mr. F. P. Suraud (France) went to Phnom-Penh as adviser to Cambodia's climatological service ; his mission was completed in mid-September rg62.

Despite its limited resources, the climatological service was in a satis­factory state of development. In the central regions at least, the Mekong Valley and Lake Tonle-Sap basin, the network is fairly dense ; these regions

WMO Bulletin

are thickly populated and relatively

level. The expert visited several sta­

tions in the south and south-east of the

country and on the circumference of

the Tonle-Sap.

The documentation and statistics

were found to be complete and well

arranged. The main task therefore

was to draw the attention of potential

users - administrative services,

commercial enterprises and the

general public - to the importance of

Saudi Arabia: Pump house at Traif

climatology in the economic develop­

ment of Cambodia and to make the full

resources of the climatological service

easily and rapidly available to all.

With this end in view, work was begun

on a Climatology of Cambodia and a

Climatological Atlas of Cambodia.

By the end of the mission, statistics

on temperature, pressure, relative

humidity, vapour pressure, evaporation

and precipitation had been prepared.

The Atlas was well on the way to

completion, and it is expected that it

will shortly be published by the Cam­

bodian meteorological service.

Chile

Mr. P. Misme (France) recently

completed the second part of his mis~

29

January 1963

sion in Chile during which he collabor­

ated in the establishment of a meteoro­

logical research centre as part of the

University of Chile, the most impor­

tant university in the country. During

the whole nine-month period of his

mission this objective was, in the main,

achieved.

A department of meteorology, com­

prising two qualified research workers

and four assistants, has been estab­

lished. Thanks to the high standard of

university-level education in Chile,

there are grounds for expecting that

research workers will become more

numerous and win for the new depart­

ment a worthy place in the field of

international scientific activity.

In view of the present shortage of

research workers, studies are being

conducted in close collaboration with

the other institutes of the University ;

meteorological research can thus use

modern techniques and take advantage

of the facilities of a large number of

laboratories.

In order to contribute to the

economic development of the country,

the following research subjects were

chosen:

WMO Bulletin

Radiometeorology : the aim is to determine the influence of local climate on ultra-short wave communications, in the hope that this will simplify the task of telecommunications services planning to extend the network through transhorizon procedures.

Atmospheric pollution : thanks to the col­laboration of several agencies, considerable resources were available for a study of atmospheric pollution in Santiago.

Soil evapotranspirat·ion : to complement the work of the WMO hydrometeorological mission, the meteorological research depart­ment is studying the evapotranspiration of cultivated soils. There are two stations and the readings are subjected to intensive statistical analysis.

Climatology : numerous observations are currently available , from Chile and the Antarctic territories. The University's elec­tronic computer will permit the establish­ment of a modern climatology which will not be confined to the calculation of mean values.

Some research is also being undertaken in synoptic meteorology.

Ethiopia

In July rg62, Mr. V. V. Kravetz (U.S.S.R.) was assigned to the Civil Aviation Department of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa as a WMO expert in the field of meteorological instruments for a period of six months. In November rg62 the first phase of his mission was completed and it was decided that he should return to Ethiopia in rg63 after the delivery of certain equipment.

During the first part of his stay, Mr. Kravetz assisted in the repair of the Metox-type radiotheodolite at Addis Ababa. He then devoted himself to training staff in the use of the equip­ment and its maintenance, thus form­ing a nucleus of radiosonde and radio­wind technicians for Ethiopia's expand­ing upper-air network.

Following inspection of the aero­logical stations in Eritrea, the expert advised on the future installation at

30

January 1963

Asmara Airport of the radiosonde and radiosonde equipment which is expect­ed to be delivered in rg63.

Jordan

In November rg62, Dr. M. Hoffmann (Federal Republic of Germany) com­pleted · his mission in Jordan which was designed to assist in the develop­ment of the meteorological service.

In view of the importance and rapid development of aviation in Jordan and adjacent countries, priority was given to aeronautical requirements, such as the establishment of forecasting offices in Amman and Jerusalem, of synoptic reporting stations along the air routes of the ·country, and of pilot-balloon stations. Broadcasts for aviation and the normal exchange of basic meteoro­logical data and terminal forecasts came into operation in I959· Plans for the installation of additional modern telecommunication equipment are at an advanced stage.

The. number of meteorological per­sonnel in Jordan has quadrupled in the last four years. Fifty meteorological assistants and eight forecasters have so far passed through the meteorological training school established in Amman in rg5g. For advanced training in forecasting, climatology, meteorological instruments and the operation of radio­sonde equipment, an appreciable num­ber of fellowships became available from rg6o onwards.

The mission also dealt with agricul­tural and hydrological problems and helped in the establishment of a net­work of 22 principal climatological sta­tions in experimental farms, nurseries and irrigation stations. Since rg6o the climatological section has published monthly summaries and other weather information from Jordan.

WMO Bulletin

Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda

The joint WMO/ICAO mission, which was appointed to advise the East African Common Services Organization (EACSO) on the future organization of the civil aviation and meteoro­logical services in Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda (see Bulletin, Vol. IX, No. 4, p. 218), has now completed its

Ethiopia: Training in the use of radiowincl equipment

task. In their report to EACSO, Dr. A. Nyberg (Sweden) and Mr. Stew­art Graham (Canada) made a number of recommendations concerning the civil aviation and meteorological services. As the economy of East Africa is mainly based on agriculture, it was further recommended that more atten­tion be given to climatology, so that climatological data can be effectively used in planning cultivation in the existing and new farming areas. The establishment of a regional training centre in Nairobi was also suggested.

Libya

WMO has been providing assistance to Libya since 1952 (see Bulletin, Vol. III, No. 4, p. 130, and Vol. VIII, No. 2, p. roo). The long-term plan established some years ago to provide trained Libyan staff for the meteoro­logical service is now bearing fruit. A

31

January 1963

young Libyan graduate of the faculty of science in the University of Cairo has completed a course of training in England and is now gaining experience in collaboration with those British forecasters remaining at Idris Airport. A number of other prospective meteoro­logists continue their university studies in the U.S.A., the U.A.R., and the U.K. In addition, one of the first graduates

of Libya's own faculty of science has joined the service and has been awarded a WMO fellowship for training as a meteorologist.

Libya is seeking further technical assistance from WMO in the form of a long-term project under which two WMO fellowships would be provided annually for five years for the training of Libyan science graduates as meteoro­logists.

Pakistan

In September and October rg62, Professor Dr. H. Flohn (Federal Re­public of Germany) visited the Pakistan Meteorological Department at Karachi and lectured on tropical meteorology, meteorological problems of the Indo­Pakistan area, and climatic fluctua­tions. These lectures were attended by most of the meteorological officers of

WMO Bulletin

the Karachi area and were followed by lively discussions. Professor Flohn also drew up a programme for long­range forecasting research, mainly on large-scale teleconnexions between centres of interaction between the low­level circulation of the tropics and the high-tropospheric mid-latitude wester­lies. He also proposed another line of attack involving the use of area­averaged precipitation data, a regional zonal index and trough- and ridge­diagrams. Finally, a proposal for expanding research in physical clima­tology was formulated, with special stress on the basic terms of the radia­tion and heat budget.

Rwanda and Burundi

Within the framework of the Agree­ment of Economic Union concluded by the Rwandese Republic and the King­dom of Burundi, the two governments jointly requested the services of a WMO adviser for a period of three months. Mr. A. Foissy (France), who stayed in Usumbura (Burundi) from September to November rg6z, assisted the technical committee which was set up to study the respective advantages and disadvantages of joint operation or decentralization of various technical services including meteorology.

United Arab Republic

The Government of the United Arab Republic intends to establish a meteoro­logical institute to carry out investiga­tions in the science of meteorology and its application to different fields using the most modern techniques, and to provide academic and practical train­ing for various categories of meteoro­logical personnel, including technicians in meteorological instruments and me­teorological telecommunications.

In order to obtain expert advice in the preparation of a project for the

32

January 1963

establishment of the institute with the assistance of the United Nations Spe­cial Fund, the government requested WMO to send two consultants for a short period to study the existing facilities, needs and potentialities, and to propose a detailed plan for the institute. Professor B. Bolin, of the Stockholm Institute of Meteorology, and Professor P.A. Sheppard of Im­perial College, London University, have just completed this mission. In their report they support the establishment of the institute and give detailed suggestions regarding the work pro­gramme and the scope of the training which should be included.

FELLOWSHIPS

Two fellowships have recently been awarded to nationals of the Ivory Coast to study general meteorology at the civil aviation training centre in Tunis where a WMO expert is lecturing on meteorology.

A member of the Indonesian meteo­rological service is to study aerology under a WMO fellowship, one from the Saudi Arabian meteorological service will study forecasting, two from Mada­gascar will study general meteorology and a member of the Syrian meteoro­logical service has been awarded a fellowship in high-level forecasting.

SPECIAL FUND ACTIVITIES

PROJECTS UNDER EXECUTION

Chile

Since the last report, three stream­gauging stations, seven climatological stations and four precipitation sta­tions have been established and con­struction work has started for six hydrological stations. A meteorological

WMO Bulletin

team has been touring north Chile to inspect and improve the existing meteorological stations in that region and to establish new stations.

The hydrological expert prepared a manual in Spanish on statistical me­thods in hydrometeorology for the use

Nigeria: A group of stu­dents with the WMO expert,

Mr. R. K. Saxena (left)

of Chilean personnel. Translation of a number of standard books and a manual in hydrometeorology was also completed. A detailed technical study is being made of the hydrometeorology of three basins, selected as representa­tive of northern, central and southern parts of the country.

Ecuador

During the last quarter of Ig62 six ordinary climatological stations were completed, while water-level recorders were installed at :five hydrologic sta­tions. The installation of a discharge­measuring station in the lower course of River Guayas, which is subject to strong tidal effects, was carried out in spjte of difficult technical problems.

A laboratory for the analysis of discharge measurements by chemical

January 1963

methods and of sediment samples was .set up in Quito.

33

About half the planned new meteoro­logical stations have now been set up. It is intended to re-establish the older meteorological stations in the country and to incorporate them in the national

network. All the new stream-gauging stations are now manned by personnel trained by the WMO mission. Arrange­ments have been made to process and publish the hydrologic measurements made at these stations.

The chief of the WMO mission made an arduous tour in the islands of the Galapagos Archipelago to select loca­tions for meteorological stations. This is part of the UNESCO Charles Darwin Foundation programme for the pre­servation of the archaic wild life in these islands.

Israel

Mr. 0. Weber (Switzerland), telecom­munications expert, completed his se­cond visit to Israel to advise on out­standing problems in telecommunica­tions and on the best use of the

WMO Bulletin

facsimile equipment. The procurement of equipment for the Central Meteoro­logical Institute progressed according to schedule.

Peru

Considerable quantities of hydro­logical and meteorological equipment ordered in rg6r were received and the work of installation of stations has progressed ; 43 meteorological and hydrological stations have so far been installed.

Mr. N. N. Bhandari (India) has been appointed as hydraulic engineer for the project and took up his duties early in October.

Following a scheme developed by the chief of mission for the training of meteorological personnel in Peru, an agreement has been reached between the University of La Molina and the meteorological and hydrological ser­vices of Peru under the Ministry of Agriculture, for the establishment of meteorological training in the Univer­sity. The WMO experts will participate in the teaching of meteorology and hydrology at the University.

Burma

Dr. A. G. Kovzelj (U.S.S.R.) was selected as project manager and began his work in Rangoon in December rg6z. The Special Fund officer of the WMO, during a short visit to Rangoon in November, had general discussions with the Burmese authorities sm the plan of operation and other matters connected with launch­ing the project.

Thailand

The negotiation of the plan of opera­tion for the project with the Thai authorities has now been completed.

34

January 1963

CoLLABORATION WITH OTHER

AGENCIES

WMO assisted the United Nations in obtaining suitable candidates for two posts of associate hydrologists, which were recently sanctioned for the Lower Mekong project. These hydrologists are expected to work under the general supervision of the WMO hydrometeoro­logist, Mr. R. Berthelot (France), and to assist the four riparian countries of the Lower Mekong to continue the pro­gramme of hydrological observations and studies in their respective areas.

AID TO THE CONGO (LEOPOLDVILLE)

During the last quarter of rg62, the programme for aid to the Congo during 1963 was approved; this programme marks a definite advance on that for rg6z. Intensified efforts must be made to train Congolese personnel and to progress as rapidly as possible in reorganizing the network of meteoro­logical stations and in putting the equipment in good working order. The effectiveness of the assistance to avia­tion has resulted in an increased demand for forecasters.

The first pupil forecasters trained at the Binza school and currently serving abroad as probationers will, from February 1963, be able to play an active part in operational activities. They will first assist the foreign experts, then gradually take over from them. It is expected that these new fore­casters will be joined in following years by others trained in the same way.

Mr. R. P. Ferret (Switzerland) has left the Congo to resume work in his own country ; the team of WMO experts in the Congo has now been joined by Messrs. ]. C. Ares (Canada),

WMO Bulletin

C. H. Besson (France), A. Brognon (Belgium), J. T. Steiner (New Zea­land) and A. P. Ysebaert (Belgium).

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Messrs. T. C. Leyerweerd (Nether­lands) and F. A. D'Oliveira (Portugal) have been appointed for the OPEX

Janua1·y 1963

posts of meteorological of-ficers (fore­casters) for Kano and Lagos airports in Nigeria. Mr. Leyerweerd took up his duties in October rg6z, and Mr. D'Oli­veira, after technical briefing in WMO, in December rg6z.

Mr. M. R. Das Gupta (India) returned to India in October after finishing his term of office as OPEX electronics expert in the Sudan.

VISIT BY THE PRESIDENT OF WMO TO THE U.S.S.R.

I\ T the invitation of the Soviet fl. Government, the President of WMO stayed one week in the U.S.S.R. during September rg6z and visited some of the important centres of the hydrometeorological service.

The President was greatly impressed by the scope and achievements of the hydrometeorological service of the U.S.S.R. which, under the direction of the central ofiice in Moscow, com­prises several regional administrations and research institutes devoted to special studies, which cover the whole of the territory of the Soviet Union.

The President s.aw that this organiza­tion, its various parts in perfect inter­play, is an asset to world meteorology in view of the large area covered. He noted with pleasure that a vast plan for developing the network of stations, to be fully implemented by 1967, was being carried out. The plan, where­by numerous well-trained (both in universities and technical colleges) staff are to receive instruction and be assigned to various tasks, entails an increase in the number of surface and upper-air observation stations and of ozone measurement stations.

The President visited Moscow, Lenin­grad and Kiev.

35

Moscow

The President visited, in succession, the central office, the central fore­casting office and the meteorological centre of Vnukovo Airport. He was apprised of the organization of these services and spoke with the responsible officers of the various sections ; the operation of the latter was explained to him.

The President was likewise im­pressed, at the permanent exhibition of Soviet economic achievements, with the huge meteorological pavilion. This building contains graphs and schematic charts illustrating the importance of meteorology in the various fields of economic activity in the country. It also contains samples of the various items of equipment currently in use, including a meteorological rocket which during the International Geophysical Year had taken measurements in the upper air as far as rso km, and which will be used again for the International Years of the Quiet Sun (r964-1965) (see next page).

The President considered that this popularization of science and meteoro­logical technology is an excellent initiation for the general public, which comes in great numbers to visit the exhibition. It would be desirable for

WMO Bulletin

other countries to set up permanent pavilions for meteorology.

Leningrad

The President visited the Leningrad geophysical institute and its observa­tory at Voeikovo ; he was struck by the devices used for carrying out experi­mental operations, notably the panor­amic radars which can be used for several purposes.

The President also spent some time in the meteorological museum, the

only one of its kind in the world ; the museum contains many ancient and modern meteorological instruments and large panels portraying the history of meteorology.

Kiev

The President was impressed by the state of development of the Ukrainian hydrometeorological services during his visit to the headquarters.

The system for providing informa­tion to the public is very up to date : a kiosk situated in front of the office contains a meteorological chart for the day and some plans and diagrams. It also contains a television set and a device for calling the information office of the forecasting service. A forecaster replies to the questions put

36

Januar·y 1963

by the outside caller and amplifies his replies by means of charts appearing on the television screen.

The President likewise noted the scope and detailed quality of the stud­ies carried out at the hydrometeoro­logical research institute of the Ukrai­nian Soviet Socialist Republic. Men­tion could be made, inter alia, of the calculation of temperature and humid­ity thresholds for the development and growth of various types of cereals, and of studies, which have been in progress

Meteorological rocket used during the IGY on show at the permanent exhibition in Moscow

for several years, on precipitation measurement.

The President was very gratified by the warm welcome extended to him by the Soviet authorities and by the meetings and receptions to which he was invited.

Several excursions were organized, including a visit to a kolkhoz near Kiev. The visits to the Kremlin and to the famous Hermitage Museum in Leningrad were of great interest. The President also saw an opera at the Bolshoi Theatre and performances of ballet at Leningrad and Kiev. His hosts were unsparing in their efforts to make his stay in the U.S.S.R. as agreeable and instructive as possible.

A. V.

WMO Bulletin

AEROLOGY

A session of the Working Group on Clouds and Hydrometeors of the

Commission for Aerology was held in Geneva from 24 to 26 September 1962 under the chairmanship of Dr. 0. Vittori (Italy). The members of the working group present at the meeting were: Dr. L.]. Battan, Mr. S. N. Naqvi and Professor V. Y. Nikandrov.

The main purpose of the session was the preparation of a report on artificial increase of rainfall for the United Nations Conference on the Application of Science and Technology for the Benefit of the Less Developed Areas (seep. 54). The report was completed during the session ; it concludes with the following expression of opinion :

Although there is some evidence that in

certain special situations it may be possible

to increase precipitation, a net increase of precipitation has not been demonstrated

beyond reasonable doubt. Before it can be

said that the doubt has been removed, those experiments now in progress which have

shown positive results will have to be taken

to their conclusions and the results subjected to evaluation by statisticians and atmo­spheric scientists.

It is the considered opmwn of the authors

of this report that increasing the knowledge

of the natural processes in the clouds and improvement of the techniques of seeding

should lead to the development of effective

means for increasing precipitation at the

ground.

The working group also decided to prepare a revised version of WMO Technical Note No. IJ: Artificial control of clouds and hydrometeors. The work of revision was divided between the members of the group according

37

January 1963

to their special interests. It is planned that the new Technical Note will deal also with large-scale weather modifi­cation and the impact on the state of cloud physics of cloud-cover photo­graphs obtained from weather satellites.

AGRICULTURAL METEOROLOGY

MOST of the experts who were nomi­nated for membership of the ten

working groups established at the third session of the Commission for Agricultural Meteorology have notified their acceptance and some of the groups have initiated their work.

On his way back from the inter­agency meeting in Rome on the agro­climatology project (see page 58), the president of the commission visited Geneva from 29 to 31 October 1962. During his visit questions relating to follow-up action on decisions of the third session of the commission were discussed.

The action proposed by CAgM con­cerning the publication of the Guide to

Agricultural Meteorological Practices has been approved by the President of WMO and this Guide will be issued shortly. Five of the reports of working groups considered at the third session of the commission will be published in the near future as WMO Technical Notes. The following subjects will be covered : The influence of weather conditions on the occurrence of apple scab ; Protection against frost damage ; Windbreaks and shelterbelts ; The effect of weather and climate upon the

WMO Bulletin

keeping quality of fruit ; and The influence of weather and climate on the growth and fruit of the banana plant and pineapple plant.

CLIMATOLOGY

THE main task of the Working Group on Climatological Net­

works, under the chairmanship of Mr. A. W. Kabakibo (Syria), is to review and make proposals for an increase in the density of climatological stations in the arid, tropical and polar zones. A questionnaire regarding the clima­tological stations in these zones has been prepared by the group and distri­buted to Members concerned by the Secretariat.

It has often been emphasized that an increased collaboration between the International Society of Biometeoro­logy (ISB) and WMO would be of benefit to both organizations. Tt has now been decided that a Guide to Human Bioclimatology will be prepared jointly by experts from ISB and the WMO Working Group on Human Bio­climatology.

HYDROLOGICAL METEOROLOGY

SINCE it is now planned that the second session of the Commission

for Hydrological Meteorology will be held in March-April rg64, only three instead of the usual four years after the first session, the chairmen of the CHM working groups have been urged to take the necessary steps to ensure that their programmes will be completed in good time.

The president of CHM has consulted members about the future terms of reference of the commission prior to discussions at Fourth Congress. He has suggested tentatively that these should include such questions as standardiza-

38

Janua1·y 1963

tion of methods of observation and computation of hydrological data, pro­motion of the study of the hydrology of the world on a global scale, as well as questions relating to the edu­cation and training of personnel in the field of hydrology.

In order to promote international co-operation in the field of hydrology, preliminary steps have been taken regarding the participation of WMO in the preparatory work for the Hydrological Decade initiated by UNESCO. In particular, WMO was represented at the r8th session of the UNESCO Advisory Committee on Arid Zone Research (see p. 47) and at meetings of the UNESCO Expert Committee on Hydrology and of the Programme Commission of the twelfth session of the General Confer­ence of UNESCO.

In December rg6z, the president of CHM took part in the preparation of a draft outline for action to be taken in connexion with the UN Priority Pro­gramme Decade in Water Resources.

INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS OF OBSERVATION

I NSTRUCTIONS and standard forms for the use of Members taking part in

the comparison of their national stan­dard raingauges with the interim inter­national precipitation gauge (IRPG) have been established by the working group of the Commission for Instru­ments and Methods of Observation (Chairman : Dr. L. Poncelet) set up to arrange for these comparisons ; copies were distributed by the Secretariat, in accordance with the stated require­ments of Members, at the end of November rg6z. In most of the 34 countries so far taking part, the comparisons were scheduled to begin

WMO Bulletin

on I January rg63. Present indications are that more than 170 national gauges will be compared at over 8o sta­tions.

One of the terms of reference of the working group set up under the chair­manship of Miss A. Mani (India) to study and advise on radiation instruments and observations for general use is "to provide guidance for Members on comparisons of sunshine recorders and to study the results of comparisons reported by Members". A recommen­dation of CIMO for the adoption of the Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder as the interim reference sunshine recorder (IRSR) and for record cards to be used with it was recently endorsed by the Executive Committee. Members who intend to carry out comparisons of other instruments with the IRSR have been requested to inform Miss Mani of their provisional requirements for the necessary equipment and it is planned that the comparisons will be started during rg63.

A report on automatic weather sta­tions, originally prepared by a working group under the chairmanship of Mr. H. Treussart (France), has been brought up to date and will be pub­lished as a WMO Technical Note. Spe­cifications of automatic meteorological observing equipment currently in use have been distributed to Members for information.

It has been decided, in agreement with the president of the Commission for Agricultural Meteorology, that a report prepared by a working group of CIMO under the chairmanship of Dr. F. Schnelle (Federal Republic of Germany) will be published as an annex to a CAgM report on The influence of weather conditions on the occurrence of apple scab in the WMO Technical Note series. Dr. Schnelle's

39

January 1963

report is a useful assessment of a number of instruments in current use in different countries for recording the leaf-wetness period.

MARITIME METEOROLOGY

A recommendation of the Commis­sion for Maritime Meteorology,

dealing with reporting of waves, has been referred to the president of the Commission for Synoptic Meteorology and will be considered by the CSM Working Group on Codes.

A draft handbook on the preparation and use of weather maps by mariners was prepared by a working group and has been distributed to members of CMM for comments.

A draft recommendation on the collection of ships' weather reports, aimed at simplifying the task of the radio officers on board mobile ship stations and ultimately augmenting the number of ship reports, has been submitted to members of the com­mission for comments with a view to its adoption.

SYNOPTIC METEOROLOGY

THE working groups of the Com­mission for Synoptic Meteorology

established at its third session are in the course of formation.

The Working Group on Telecommu­nications has begun its work and is concentrating mainly on the review of WMO Publication No. 9, Volume C, Chapter I- Telecommunications proce­dures, and on the preparation of the WMO policy for the forthcoming Extra­ordinary Administrative Radio Confe­rence of the International Telecom­munication Union (Geneva, Autumn rg63).

WMO Bulletin January 1963

A NEW BRITISH PRECISION ANEROID BAROMETER

THE advantages offered by an easily portable instrument for the meas­

urement of pressure are generally appreciated. Such an instrument has obvious merit for use at mobile sta­tions and at sea, but might also provide a transportable reference of pressure and could allow a better system of regular recalibration against a central standard than is possible with the somewhat unwieldy mercurial baro­meter.

To comply with these requirements, such an instrument must retain its original calibration for reasonable pe­riods of time, and must be capable of being easily reset for any zero error which may subsequently appear. It must be robust, but relatively light and compact for transportation by any normal method. In routine use, it should be capable of immediately giving a direct reading of pressure, without the need for any special skill, or the application of corrections.

Following trials which have lasted over three years, the British Meteoro­logical Office has adopted a new aneroid barometer which goes far to meet all these requirements. The trials, describ­ed below, involved use at both land stations and on ocean weather vessels. During the comparisons the aneroid barometers were subjected to all con­ditions of travel which a normal postal package would encounter.

The essential basis of any precision aneroid barometer is obviously a high quality capsule. In this case a three stage capsule of beryllium - copper alloy is used and shows excellent stability and lack of hysteresis. Un-

40

doubtedly the absence of elaborate external mechanism adds to the reliabi­lity of the instrument, the movements of the capsule (A) in response to pres­sure change being transmitted to a single lever (B), lightly loaded by means of a hairspring (C) to maintain contact with the free end of the capsule at (G). The operator's task is to determine the position of this lever, by bringing a micrometer screw (D) into light con­tact, the point of contact being dis­played by a miniature cathode ray indicator (V r). The micrometer screw itself also operates a counter mechan­ism (H) giving a direct reading of pres­sure in whole millibars and tenths.

The whole mechanism is housed in a robust metal casting of which the maximum dimension is r6 cm. A strong carrying case, of approximately r6 X r6 X rg cm is provided in addition, the instrument being capable of opera­tion either while within the carrying case or when removed. Attachments are provided for fixing the instrument to a desk or wall. The total weight of instrument and case is 2.7 kg.

The Meteorological Office trials con­sisted of a large number of comparative readings between several aneroid and mercurial barometers. These compar­isons were made both in the headquar­ters laboratories, and at each of four outstations. During the course of the trial, the instruments were dispatched to the outstations, and returned there­from, by normal post, including air travel, and any errors which might have arisen in consequence were includ­ed in the total mass of observed differ­ences, which were subsequently handled by computer. Station to station

WMO Bulletin

variations existed, both in regard to the mean difference, mercurial to aneroid barometer, and to the standard devia­tion, but the figures were in all cases acceptable and comparable with similar comparisons made between a group of

. January 1963

checking with any method of accurate

pressure measurement.

During use on ocean weather vessels a suitable form of damping the pressure

changes due to wave motion was

J ~

H------------------------------__.

D-----------------F-------------------_

c -------------..... B -------------....

G ~~ ~(!}~ ~a __. T I

Schematic diagram and circuit of precision aneroid barometer

A Aneroid capsule assembly I Gearing

B Pivoted arm J Operating knob

C Hairspring V1 Magic-eye indicator type DM. 70

D Micrometer-type spindle and nut S1 Switch

E Counterbalance B 1 Battery r.sV

F Sliding electrical contacts B 2 Battery 6o V

G Mechanical contacts R 1 Resistance

H Digital display R 2 Resistance

(Reproduced from The Meteorological Magazine ·by perm1sswn

Controller H.M. Stationery Office, London)

Kew pattern mercurial barometers. The overall standard deviation, based

on 705 observations, was 0.23 mb. On one occasion only, during trial at an outstation, an unaccounted shift of zero of 0.31 mb occurred overnight. Such shifts had been known to occur with other aneroids and, although not fully understood, could arise from relief of strain in the capsule material. The fact that it occurred only once during the prolonged trials, and that mercurial barometers can similarly give rise to occasional false readings, merely em­phasized the need for a system of

41

developed. Owing to the uncertainty of mercurial readings at sea, compara­tive figures from this source were not

included in the total assessment, but in all cases the aneroid values were acceptable.

The aneroid barometer has now been adopted by the Meteorological Office for use at sea, although issues will be limited in the first place to ships expected to return to port within three

months. The application will be widened

as experience is gained. A. L. MAIDENS

WMO Bulletin January 1963

METEOROLOGICAL TRAINING IN THE U.S.S.R.

IN view of the limited scope of hydro­meteorological research prior to and

during the first years after the October Revolution, the training of specialists in hydrometeorology was not under­taken in the educational institutions of the U.S.S.R. This field was served by specialists in related sciences (mainly geographers and physicists in meteoro­logy ; agricultural experts in agro­meteorology ; transport and hydraulic engineers in hydrology).

The unprecedented progress achieved in the production drive during the first Five-Year Plan (1929-1933) called for radical improvements in and expan­sion of hydrometeorological surveys in the country and for the utilization of hydrometeorological data and fore­casts in the interests of the national economy. These objectives, which determined the organizational struc­ture of the hydrometeorological service of the U.S.S.R., could be attained only through the training of large numbers of highly-qualified meteorological en­gineers and technicians, hydrologists, agrometeorologists and oceanographers.

Advanced training

In 1930, a hydrometeorological insti­tute and some technical schools were set up to train specialists in hydro­meteorology up to the university level. These were the first specialized educa­tional institutions of this type, not only in the U.S.S.R. but also in the world.

At present, hydrometeorologists (of advanced and intermediate standards) are trained in two hydrometeorological institutes, 12 state universities and eight hydrometeorological technical schools. The training of meteorologists, hydrologists and oceanographers at hydrometeorological institutes and state universities follows a standard

5 Yz-year syllabus. Not counting those attending part-time courses in addition to their jobs, over 5,ooo persons are currently studying hydrometeorology in higher educational institutions, and around 4,ooo in the technical schools. The steady expansion in the training of hydrometeorologists is illustrated by the fact that during the last decade alone the number of such specialists under training increased nearly twofold.

Higher educational institutions admit graduates from general secondary schools (1o-n year course) or from specialized secondary schools (tech­nical schools). Specialized secondary schools admit general secondary school graduates (7-8 or 10-n year courses). For the first category, the period of training in hydrometeorological tech­nical schools is three years and 10 months, while for the second it is two years and 10 months. Priority of admittance to higher and secondary specialized institutions is given to those with practical experience. Most students in higher educational institu­tions or technical schools. . receive monthly grants from the state.

. Correspondence courses

42

The training of specialists in hydro­meteorology in higher and secondary specialized educational institutions through correspondence and evening classes acquires ever-increasing impor­tance from year to year. These courses enable those lacking the necessary educational qualifications to graduate from higher educational institutions or technical schools without giving up their jobs. To encourage training for higher qualifications, workers following correspondence courses receive addi-· tional paid leave, travel allowances for examinations and other privileges.

WMO Bulletin

Over the last two years alone the number of workers following corre­spondence courses in hydrometeoro­logy, both in higher educational insti­tutions and technical schools, has increased more than twofold and now exceeds 5,ooo. Moreover, many wor­kers who have not completed their secondary school education (mainly observers at hydrometeorological sta­tions and posts) are attending evening classes at secondary schools in town and country.

The system of secondary and higher training is being continually improved and developed in the light of the latest achievements in hydrometeorology and the increasing need for specialists in this field. In particular, during the last few years greater stress has been laid on the physical, mathematical and technological aspects of hydrometeoro­logical instruction in higher educa­tional institutions and technical schools. More importance is now attached to equipping educational institutions with new instruments and installations, to developing research work in these establishments and to other similar matters.

Practical work

The Act approved by the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. on 24 December rg58 for strengthening the links be­tween training and practice and for the further development of the system of popular education was a major land­mark in the training of specialists. It provides, inter alia, for students follow­ing senior courses in higher educational institutions and technical schools to be sent out on long periods of practical work (up to rr months) on a full-time basis with regular salary. During these periods the students combine their practical work with correspondence studies. Students of hydrometeoro­logy are sent for long periods of prac­tical work to observatories, forecasting offices and hydrometeorologicalstations.

43

Janua1·y 1963

Workers needed in large numbers, such as hydrometeorological observers and observer/radio-operators, are train­ed in special one-year schools as well as on the job. Furthermore, some secondary schools have recently begun to provide courses for observer/radio­operators.

Post-grad~tate courses

A major factor in the development of hydrometeorological research is the training of scientific personnel in the U.S.S.R. through three-yearpost-gradu­ate courses (personal attendance or correspondence) at research centres or higher educational institutions. In addition, individual specialists submit theses and qualify for master's or doctor's degrees in science.

Expanded research in research insti­tutes, local observatories and forecast­ing offices, as well as an appreciably greater intake of young specialists in scientific establishments, provide favourable conditions for training scientific staff.

In view of the rapid development of hydronieteorology, the introduction of new methods and techniques in fore­casting and in research on the hydro­meteorological regime, and the equip­ment of hydrometeorological networks with new instruments and installations, all workers in the hydrometeorological service, irrespective of their educa­tional and official status, must con­tinually seek to acquire new qualifica­tions. This is made possible by an extensive system of oral and corre­spondence courses in the hydro­meteorological service of the U.S.S.R., as well as by individual and group technical classes.

These are the main features of the constantly developing system of hydro­meteorological training in the U.S.S.R.

K. HZMALJAN

WMO Bulletin

DANUBE COMMISSION

WMO has recently concluded Work­ing Arrangements with the

Danube Commission. One of the points agreed upon is that suitable arrangements will be made for the participation of each organization in those sessions and meetings of the other organization which relate to items of common interest.

In accordance with this agreement, WMO was represented at the meeting of experts on hydrometeorological ques­tions of the Danube Commi"sion, which took place in Budapest from 15 to 20 October rg62. All the agenda items of the meeting were of interest to WMO. They dealt with such prob­lems as determining the list of meteo­rological stations collecting precipita­tion data in mountain regions of the Danube basin, and unification of methods of short-term forecasts of average and minimum water stage to meet navigation requirements. Storm forecasting and warnings of other hydrological phenomena of danger to navigation were also discussed as well as the problems concerning low river stages and their prediction.

FAO

Desert Locust C antral

A meeting was held at the head­quarters of the Food and Agricul­

ture Organization (FAO) in Rome from

44

January 1963

29 to 31 October rg62 to discuss the meteorological aspects of the UN Special Fund Desert Locust Project (see Bulletin, Vol. XI, No. 2, p. 85). As this project develops, the impor­tance of the meteorological aspects is being increasingly recognized and the meeting felt that the time had now come to have a meteorologist working full-time on the Operational Research programme. Under this it is planned to establish an :international Desert Locust emergency force, with specially equipped aircraft, ready to render assistance at short notice to any national locust control service during an invasion by locust swarms. It was recommended that the meteorologist should be attached to this force with the primary responsibilities of forecast­ing swarm movements and of studying the small-scale meteorological pheno­mena which may be responsible for the concentration of locust swarms. He WOUld ·Of course collaborate closely with the national meteorological ser­vices of the countries concerned.

The meeting also recommended that expert meteorological advice should be provided to the team which is carrying out an ecological survey of the breed­ing sites of the Desert Locust. In particular, help should be given in planning micrometeorological observa­tions and in drafting the climatological sections of the final report of the survey.

WMO Bulletin

Another suggestion which received strong support was that WMO should organize a training seminar for meteo­rologists engaged in locust control work. Lectures should be given on the biological aspects of the Desert Locust with which these meteorologists should be familiar, and on recent meteoro­logical research relevant to the Desert Locust problem and the application of the results in meteorological work for locust control.

ICAO (PAC RAN)

THE second Pacific Regional Air Navigation Meeting of the Inter­

national Civil Aviation Organization was held in Vancouver from 25 Sep­tember to r6 October rg6z. Among other matters, the meteorological re­quirements of civil aviation in the region were considered and a number of amendments were proposed to the meteorological part of the regional. navigation plan, necessitated by changes in operational requirements.

The meeting examined the surface and upper-air synoptic networks re­commended by WMO regional asso­ciations, as well as the WMO world­wide network plans and the degree to which these plans had been imple­mented. Bearing in mind the special conditions arising from the particular geographical features of the PAC region, the meeting considered that these network plans were, in general, satisfactory, subject to the addition of a few stations and a slight increase in the observing programmes of some stations in the South Pacific. Furthermore, the meeting took note of the present programme of radiosonde observations by ships of the United States of America and advised WMO of the

45

January 1963

desirability of increasing this reporting programme in the Pacific.

The meeting drew the attention of WMO to the desirability of the develop­ment of automatic weather stations capable of interrogation, so as to provide additional reports as necessary.

The meeting stressed the need for climatological records of upper-air ob­servations of winds and temperatures up to 30,000 m to be maintained for planning purposes for air operations. The necessity for the regular distribu­tion of upper-air data for forecasting at levels up to 14,ooo metres was restated.

It was considered that, during recent years, the collection and dissemi­nation of basic meteorological infor­mation had improved and it was agreed that, in general, the exchange of these data in the Pacific region was now satisfactory in relation to aero­nautical needs. It was felt, however, that there were shortcomings which called for some adjustments to the present WMO plans. In view of the imminent meetings of the WMO Re­gional Associations II (Asia) and V (South-West Pacific) no recommend­ations dealing with this subject were made.

ICES

THE fiftieth meeting of the Inter­national Council for the Explora­

tion of the Sea was held at Copenhagen from r to ro October rg6z under the presidency of Dr. J. Furnestin (France), and was attended by delegates and experts from the r6 member countries and observers from a number of national and international organiza­tions including FAO, WMO, IAEA and UNESCO. WMO was represented by

WMO Bulletin

Mr. Helge Thomsen, of the Danish Meteorological Institute.

Most of the work is carried out in 15 standing committees and their subcommittees. Of these, the Hydro­graphical Committee deals with physi­cal oceanography and is thus the body within the ICES which is most closely related to meteorology.

For some years a subcommittee of the Hydrographical Committee chaired by Dr. J. Eggvin (Norway) has con­sidered the possibility of establishing a synoptic oceanographical service. Codes to be used were designed at the ICES meeting in 1961 and it was then decided to commence with a small­scale pilot project in 1961-62 according to which oceanographical information should be sent to Norway. Dr. Eggvin reported that this project had enabled him to issue forecasts concerning inter alia the spring herring fishery in the Norwegian Sea. However, no follow-up action was decided, partly in view of the fact that the Inter­governmental Oceanographic Commis­sion at its meeting in Paris in Septem­ber 1962 decided to refer the question of synoptic oceanography to the roe advisory group on fisheries oceano­graphy.

The Hydrographical Committee re­commended the establishment of a joint subcommittee on marine radio­activity. This recommendation was not approved by the Council who felt that such investigations could be carried out within the existing frame­work of ICES.

The other recommendations included in the report of the Hydrographical Committee were approved by the Council. One of these establishes ICES as an oceanographical data centre for the ICES area and members.

46

January 1963

ICSU

Executive Board

THE Executive Board of rcsu met in Prague from 17 to 21 October

1962. Dr. K. Langlo was observer for WMO. The close and friendly relation­ship between ICSU and WMO was confirmed by the decision of the Board with regard to the UN resolution on international co-operation in the peace­ful uses of outer space (Resolution 1721 (XVI)). In connexion with the nomination of the rcsu representa­tives on the temporary working group set up by the Executive Committee of WMO to study the research aspects of the UN resolution, the Board noted with great satisfaction that the Execu­tive Committee had nominated mem­bers whose functions or activities in IUGG or COSPAR would enable them to speak both for ICSU and for WMO. The Board expressed the hope that the members of the advisory committee which, it is proposed, should be set up by WMO Congress, would be selected by consultations between the two organizations. It also hoped that the members of this committee would work, not so much as representatives of their respective organizations, but as individual scientists.

The Executive Board approved an amendment to the constitution of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) permitting WMO to become a full member of SCAR. The Board also granted a loan of 10,000 dol­lars for the establishment of an ICSU special fund in support of the Inter­national Antarctic Analysis Centre in Melbourne ; WMO will also be requested to support the Centre in various ways.

SCOR The executive committee of the

Scientific Committee on Oceanic Re­search (SCOR) held three meetings in

WMO Bulletin

Paris during the period 17 September to r October rg6z, in connexion with the second session of the Intergovern­mental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). The main subjects for discus­sion of interest to WMO were the future constitution of SCOR as a scientific committee of ICSU and the meteorological programme of the Inter­national Indian Ocean Expedition. With regard to .the latter, the com­mittee accepted with appreciation a report on the meteorological pro­gramme presented by Professor C. S. Ramage.

The recommendations contained m this meteorological report as well as several other recommendations of SCOR were incorporated in the deci­sions of the second session of roe (see also p. 20).

UNESCO

Arid Zone Research

THE eighteenth session of the UNESCO Advisory Committee

on Arid Zone Research was held in Tashkent (U.S.S.R.) from 13 to r6 August rg62 in conjunction with a symposium on the influence of irrigation on salinization and ground water regime. The committee considered a number of projects related to arid zones and of interest to WMO.

One of the items considered was the joint FAOjUNESCOjWMO report on agroclimatology in semi-arid and arid zones of the Near East (see page 58). The committee unanimously expressed its satisfaction with this report and recommended that the proposals for further work be carefully considered by the governments and the specialized agencies concerned. The committee also favoured the preparation of similar projects for other arid and semi-arid regions.

47

January 1963

Also of interest to WMO was a dis­cussion of problems of evaporation and evapotranspiration. The commit­tee supported a request of the Interna­tional Association of Scientific Hydro­logy (lASH) of IUGG for financial assistance towards the organization of a symposium in rg63. It recom­mended that a grant be made to lASH to ensure suitable participation of scientists from different countries and for pre-publication of papers.

The committee also supported the preparations for a scientific conference on arid zone problems in Latin America which is to be held in rg63. It suggested that the programme of the conference should deal with broad interdisciplinary problems, including an integrated ap­proach to ·arid zone studies, geomor­phology, sources and efficient use of water, plant and animal ecology, climatology and bioclimatology.

The primary difficulty in arid zones is the water problem. In this connexion the committee discussed the proposed international programme on hydrology. This discussion was greatly aided by the preceding symposium and the study tour of the Soviet Republics in the arid zone of middle Asia and of their achievements towards solution of the water problems. The committee, emphasizing its interest in arid zone hydrology, strongly supported the con­cept of international co-operation in this field. It recommended that the hydrological programme should be comprehensive and include all the various elements in the hydrological cycle. It stressed that the programme should, in particular, include such factors in the water balance as precipi­tation, evaporation and evapotran­spiration. It also stressed that some hydrological studies should be co­ordinated with meteorological studies.

WMO Bulletin January 1963

RECENT VISITS OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAl

DURING recent months the Secretary­General has accepted invitations

to make official visits to several Member-countries of the World Meteor­ological Organization. These visits are briefly described in the following paragraphs in chronological order.

Spain

A new national meteorological insti­tute has recently been inaugurated in Madrid and the Secretary-General was invited to lecture at the institute as part of the inauguration ceremonies. He visited Madrid for this purpose from 24 to 28 June and gave a lecture on The role of meteorology in economic development on 27 June rg62.

The new institute, which is located in a splendid new building in the grounds of the University of Madrid, is extreme­ly well equipped with all modern devices. It will, in due course, become the main operational and research centre of the national meteorological service.

Mr. Luis de Azcarraga, director of the Spanish meteorological service and first Vice-President of WMO, was the Secretary-General's host on this occa­sion and made excellent arrangements for the visit.

Austria

The Secretary-General made a brief visit of two days duration to Salzburg in Austria to lecture to the Interna­tional Seminar for Diplomats on 7 Au­gust rg62. The subject on which he was asked to talk was The impact of geophysics on international affairs. This course for diplomats is arranged an­nually by the Government of Austria

48

and each year a particular theme is chosen. The theme for the rg62 course was Modern science and the new tasks of diplomacy. Diplomats from many countries were present.

Minister K. Braunias was in charge of the course and supervised in a very efficient manner the arrangements for the visit.

Federal Republic of Germany

During the period 26 September to 3 October rg6z, the Secretary-General was in the Federal Republic of Ger­many. An excellent programme of visits to different parts of the Federal Republic had been prepared and this was carried through without a hitch. The programme included a visit to the central of-lice of the Deutscher Wetter­dienst in Offenbach where the overall work of the meteorological service was explained by the president (Dr. G. Bell) and his senior staff. The Secretary­General was able to appreciate the developments which had taken place at the central office since rg58 when he had been present at the inaugura­tion ceremony of the headquarters building.

This was followed by a visit to the medical meteorological station and radiochemical central laboratory in Ki:inigsheim. The medical station is investigating the influence of weather and climate on human health while the laboratory plays an important role in the interesting system of measuring atmospheric radioactivity at a number of stations in the Federal Republic. The Secretary-General then journeyed to Hohenpeissenberg in Bavaria where a meteorological observatory on a mountain top has been in operation

WMO Bulletin

continuously since 1781 - it is said to be the oldest mountain weather station in the world. In the same region the mountain station of Zug­spitze (the highest mountain in Ger­many, 2,963 m above sea level) was also visited as well as various offices and centres in Munich.

After a short visit to Bonn for dis­cussion with appropriate government officials, the Secretary-General pro­ceeded to Hamburg where the long tradition of maritime meteorology is being maintained by the Seewetteramt. A visit to the fishery protection vessel M eerkatze was of particular interest. This vessel is extremely well equipped to give forecasts and other meteo­rological advice to fishing vessels at sea.

The visit concluded with a trip to Schleswig to see the regional weather of-fice where particular attention is given to meteorological advice for agricultural purposes. The close colla­boration between the meteorological and agricultural authorities and the specially developed systems for con­veying meteorological information to agricultural users were noteworthy.

U.S.S.R.

The Secretary-General made a visit of ten days to the U.S.S.R. commencing on 27 November rg6z. He had made a previous visit in rg58 to attend the IGY meeting in Moscow and had taken the opportunity of making a brief visit to Leningrad. On this occasion the Secretary-General spent some time in Moscow but also visited Tashkent, Tbilisi and Kiev.

In Moscow, the Secretary-General met Academician Fedorov, the new director of the chief hydrometeorolo­gical administration of the U.S.S.R., and had a long discussion on many

49

Janua1·y 1963

points of mutual interest. He also visited the very impressive central forecasting institute and the main communication centre which is under the control of Professor V. A. Bugaev. Important plans for the further devel­opment of both were referred to.

In Tashkent, he visited the head­quarters of the hydrometeo'rological service of the Uzbek Republic and the

The Secretary-General (extreme left) in dis­cussion with Dr. Lominadze (back to camera), director of the Georgian Meteorological Re­search Institute, Tbilisi, in the seismological

section of the Institute

Central Asia meteorological research institute. The great importance of the cotton crop in that region is reflected in the activities of both of these bodies as is also the importance of hydro­electric power.

Similar visits were made in Tbilisi, the capital of the Georgian Republic. Once again the importance of agro­meteorology was noteworthy, partic­ularly in relation to the very large wine industry of Georgia.

The Secretary-General also visited Kiev in the Ukraine. The activities of the hydrometeorological service and

WMO Bulletin

the Ukrainian meteorological research institute cover a very wide field and include important applications of met­eorology to agriculture, industry and aviation. A particularly interesting scheme for enabling the general public to obtain weather information by a closed-circuit television system was in operatio11 at Kiev.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Secretary-General · wishes to stress that the above very

AFRICA

ON the basis of the revised inter­national meteorological codes

developed by the Commission for Synoptic Meteorology, the Working Group on Codes of Regional Associa­tion I (Africa) is now engaged in the preparation of draft rules for the use of the codes which provide for special regional arrangements. These rules, when approved by Members of the association, will be included in WMO Publication No. g, Volume B: Codes.

Progress is being made in the imple­mentation of an Executive Committee resolution concerning dissemination of nephanalyses. These data will be included in the relevant meteorological broadcasts, details of which are given in WMO Publication No. g, Volume C: Transmissions.

Implementation of the telecommun­ications plan for the ground-to-ground exchange of air reports for synoptic purposes is also being actively pursued by Members of the region.

50

January 1963

brief accounts of his visits hardly do justice to their value and usefulness nor do they indicate adequately the warm· welcome and generous hospital­ity he received on all sides. In each country the arrangements for the visit were made and executed with great care and thoroughness and the Secre­tary-General takes this opportunity of expressing his appreciation to the directors of the meteorological services and to all the others concerned.

D. A. D.

ASIA

THE Working Group on Meteorolo­gical Telecommunications of Re­

gional Association II (Asia) held a session simultaneously with the third session of the association, under the chairmanship of Mr. C. Ramaswamy (India). Among other items, a skeleton long-term telecommunications plan for the region was developed. All recom­mendations made by this working group were subsequently adopted by the third session of RA II ; conclusions and decisions resulting from the work of this group are reported in more detail on p. 23.

SOUTH AMERICA

M R. Garcia Navarro, the tele­communications expert on mis­

sion in Regional Association III (South America), will draft his final report in Geneva early in rg63. This report will be studied by the Members of the association.

WMO Bulletin

SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC

DEGIONAL Association V (South­.f\.._ West Pacific) held its third ses­sion from 5 to IJ November I962. A report of this session will be included in the next issue of the B~tlletin.

EUROPE

I\ s was indicated in the previous .1\. issue of the Bulletin (Vol. XI, No. 4, p. 225), a draft resolution for the establishment of a working group on atmospheric ozone was submitted by postal ballot to Members of Region­al Association VI (Europe). This resolution has now been adopted and the group will begin its work as soon as its chairman is appointed.

In view of the need expressed by the third session of the association for increasing the number of ship reports from the southern portion of the North Atlantic, maritime Members of WMO were invited to examine the possibility of recruiting more observing ships in the area. A report on the action taken has been sent for further consideration to the president of the

January 1963

Commission for Maritime Meteorology and to the chairman of the CMM Working Group on the Collection of Ships' Reports and the Provision of Shipping Forecasts. From this report it appears that the total number of reporting ships in this area cannot be increased substantially, both for prac­tical and financial reasons. Some improvement could however be effected by ensuring that recruited ships plying this area report regularly and that adequate arrangements are made by the Members concerned for the collec­tion of such reports and for their efficient dissemination.

FORTHCOMING SESSIONS

THE third sessions of Regional Asso­ciation Ill (South America) and IV

(North and Central America) will be held in Geneva on I2 and 6 April Ig63, respectively, during Fourth Congress. The agenda of both sessions is limited in scope and includes mainly organi­zational questions : election of presi­dent and vice-president, establishment of working groups, and consideration of reports.

MEMBERSHIP OF WMO

Tanganyika

ON I4 September Ig6z the Govern­ment of Tanganyika deposited

an instrument of accession to the World Meteorological Convention with the Department of State in Washington. Tanganyika thus became a Member of WMO on I4 October Ig6z.

Burundi

ON 30 October Ig6z the Govern­ment of the Kingdom of Burundi

deposited an instrument of accession to the World Meteorological Convention

51

with the Department of State in Washington. Burundi thus became a Member of WMO on 30 November Ig6z.

Kuwait

ON I December Ig6z the Govern­ment of Kuwait deposited an

instrument of accession to the World Meteorological Convention with the Department of State in Washington. Kuwait thus became a Member of WMO on 3I December Ig62.

The total Membership of WMO 1s rr8, I03 States and IS Territories.

WMO Bulletin

PRESENTATION OF THE IMO PRIZE

THE IMO prize for rg6z was present­ed by the President of WMO,

Mr. A. Viaut, to Dr. Anders Knutsson Angstrom during a ceremony which took place in the building of the Utrikesdepartementet (Foreign Of-fice) in Stockholm on rs October rg6z. Among those present were the chief of the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Gosta Skoglund, the president of the Royal

Presentation of the IMO Prize by the President of WMO to Dr. A. Angstrom (left) (Photo Sallstedts Bild-

byra)

Academy of Science, Professor Elias Melin, and the director of the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological In­stitute, Dr. Alf Nyberg.

In opening the ceremony Dr. Nyberg emphasized the internat1onal character of meteorology and the tradition of

52

January 1963

effective and pleasant co-operation within IMO and WMO. The work of these organizations was based to a large extent on voluntary contribu­tions by Members of the organizations or by individuals, and the IMO prize had been instituted to honour such contributions made by individuals.

" When presenting the prize Mr. Viaut mentioned at :first the scientific milieu

in which Dr. Angstrom had been brought up. Both his father and grandfather were famous professors in physics at the University of Upp­sala. He had started his own career in the same :field, being assistant pro­fessor in physics for some years, but had then taken a position at the

WMO Bulletin

Swedish Meteorological and Hydro­logical Institute where he finally be­came director.

Mr. Viaut also stressed that Dr. Angstrom had made considerable con­tributions to the theoretical, as well as the practical, side of meteorology. His research work, and especially his eminent studies on radiation and climatology, including energy changes in the atmosphere, were of the greatest value. His work on standardization of methods of measurement and of instruments is highly appreciated.

International meteorology had al­ways attracted Dr. Angstrom. In 1912 he took part in a solar radiation expe­dition to Algeria, the following year he lead a similar expedition to Mount Whitney in California and in 1939 another expedition to Switzerland. In 1922 and 1923 he made several balloon ascents to 6,ooo m altitude to make radiation measurements over Germany.

Another side of his international work was carried out in commissions and working groups of IMO and WMO : from 1923 to 1947 he was secretary and later president of the Interna­tional Solar Radiation Commission and, immediately before the disbanding of IMO, he was a member of the Inter­national Meteorological Committee, the predecessor of the Executive Com­mittee of WMO. From 1953 to 1957 he was vice-president of the Commis­sion for Climatology. He also contri­buted greatly to the work of the IUGG and became a member of the Council of this organization in 1949·

Mr. Viaut referred to the recognition of Dr. Angstrom's work in his own country and added that he was glad that the IMO prize was an international confirmation of Dr. Angstrom's merit.

53

January 1963

Mr. Viaut finally congratulated Dr. Angstrom on his youthfulness and his ability to continue his research suc­cessfully after having retired from a long term as deputy director and director of a governmental office.

In thanking Mr. Viaut, Dr. Angstrom said how much he had enjoyed working for IMO and WMO ; he stressed the pleasant co-operation and fruitful inter­action between the administrative and scientific activities which were typical of these organizations. He thanked the President of WMO for having come to Stockholm for the ceremony and for the honour shown to him by the award of the prize.

WoRLD METEOROLOGICAL DAY 1963

O N 23 March 1963 World Meteoro­logical Day will again be cele­

brated throughout the world. In accordance with a decision of the Executive Committee, Transport and

Meteorology will be the theme for this celebration. Each country may, how­ever, wish tci choose within this general theme the specific topic most suitable for its own needs. Many countries will no doubt wish to devote the occasion to the applications of meteoro­logy to aviation, but other aspects, such as the transport of perishable foodstuffs, may also be considered appropriate in view of the celebration at the same period of the FAO Freedom from Hunger Week.

The World Meteorological Day was established by the Executive Commit­tee in 1961 with a view to making "the services which national meteoro­logical services can render to the various branches of economic develop­ment, as well as the activities of WMO, better known and appreciated by the public of all countries". The manner

WMO Bulletin

of celebration of this day is of course the concern of each individual country, but the WMO Secretariat will endeav­our to assist as far as possible by providing suggestions and public in­formation material as necessary.

SYMPOSIUM

ON TROPICAL METEOROLOGY

.t\ s was announced in the last issue 1l. of the Bulletin, plans are being made for a symposium on tropical meteorology to be held in New Zealand under the auspices of WMO, with the support of IUGG. It is expected that the symposium will open on 6 Novem­ber rg63, and will last for seven to ten days. The papers to be presented at the symposium will be divided broadly into the five following fields : Utilization of satellite pictures in tropical meteorology; Numerical ana­lysis and prediction techniques for the tropics ; Interaction between circula­tions of the tropics and of middle latitudes and/or the role of the tropics in the general circulation of the atmo­sphere; Forecasting movements of tro­pical cyclones ; Synoptic models in the tropics.

THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE LESS DEVELOPED AREAS

A Conference on the Application of Science and Technology for

the Benefit of the Less Developed Areas is being held in Geneva in Febru­ary rg63 under the auspices of the United Nations. The conference was conceived as a contribution towards the objectives of the UN Development Decade and its purpose is to link the means of science with the needs of the striving peoples. There are more than zoo items on the agenda and these will be discussed in specialized sessions. The z,ooo delegates expected to attend

54

January 1963

the conference will include leading scientists and technologists, govern­ment ministers and other senior offi­cials of the participating countries. About r,6oo documents have been prepared for the conference by some roo countries and by various members of the United Nations family. WMO has been participating since rg6r in the preparation for this conference .

The applications of meteorology are referred to in roughly 25 of the items on the agenda and governments have therefore had ample opportunity to present papers on subjects having a bearing on meteorology and hydrology. The following documents have been prepared under the auspices of WMO : Organization of meteorological and hydrological services pertaining to water resources (by Mr. M. Kohler, president of CHM) ; Artificial increase in rainfall (by theCAe Working Group on Clouds and Hydrometeors) ; Uses of meteorological satellites (WMO Secre­tariat) ; Telecommunications as an in­strument for the collection and distri­bution of meteorological data (WMO Secretariat) ; and Facsimile equipment for transmitting weather charts (WMO Secretariat).

CONFERENCE ON ATMOSPHERIC

AND SPACE ELECTRICITY

T HE third international conference on atmospheric and space electri­

city will be held in Montreux, Switzer­land, from 6 to ro May rg63, under the auspices of the joint committee on atmospheric electricity of the Inter­national Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics (IAMAP) and the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA).

The emphasis of the conference will be on the discussion of existing perti­nent scientific problems rather than

WMO Bulletin

on a presentation of recently acquired scientific data and results. Topics and chairmen for the sessions of the confer­ence are as follows : Survey of the present state of atmospheric and space electricity (Dr. J. Lugeon, Switzer­land) ; General problems in atmo­spheric electricity (H. Dolezalek, U.S.A. and Dr. T. W. Wormell, England); Theories of charge generation in thun­derstorms (Dr. H. Norinder, Sweden) ; The physics of lightning (Dr. E. T. Pierce, U.S.A.) ; The relation of light­ning to other geophysical and physical phenomena (Dr. Karl Berger, Switzer­land) ; Space electricity (a scientist from the U.S.S.R.).

Full details of the conference pro­gramme may be obtained from the chairman of the conference : Mr. S. C. Coroniti, Secretary of the Joint IAGA/ IAMAP Committee on Atmospheric Electricity, Avco Corporation, zor, Lowell Street, Wilmington, Mass. U.S.A.

IUGG GENERAL AssEMBLY

THE XIIIth General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy

and Geophysics will be held in Berkeley, California, U.S.A., from rg to 31 Au­gust rg63. The International Asso­ciation of Meteorology and Atmo­spheric Physics (IAMAP) . will also meet during the same period. The IAMAP scientific programme will con­sist of symposia on the following subjects: upper atmosphere meteoro­logy, ocean-atmosphere interaction (jointly with IAPO), radio-meteoro­logy, upper-atmosphere meteorology and aeronomy (with IAGA), evapora­tion (with IASH) ice crystals and ice nucleation, cloud physics, palaeo­magnetism and palaeoclimatology (with IAGA), results from meteorological satellites, and dynamics of small-scale and discrete phenomena. General ses-

55

January 1963

sions of the commissions of IAMAP will be held and also scientific sessions on atmospheric structure, precipitation, climatology and atmospheric physics.

SYMPOSIUM ON CONDENSATION NUCLEI

THE fifth international symposium on condensation nuclei (Aitken,

small and giant), freezing nuclei and condensation processes is planned to be held in Toulouse and Clermont­Ferrand, France, from I3 to r8 May rg63.

A detailed programme of the sympo­sium will be available later. All inqui­ries should be addressed to Professor Henri Dessens at the following address : Universite de Clermont-Ferrand (Puy­de-Dome), France.

INTERNATIONAL Co-oPERATION AND YOU

A booklet under the title of Inter­national C a-operation and You

has been published recently by the Union of International Associations to provide general information on inter­national governmental and non-govern­mental action and on non-governmental relations.

The great value and importance of non-governmental organizations in the international field and the constant support they provide to all specialized agencies of the United Nations have prompted these agencies to give this interesting and compact publication as much publicity as possible.

This So-page booklet provides, after a short historical introduction, a simple description of the mechanics of inter­national co-operation and its aims as well as of its achievements. Copies of the booklet, priced at US $r.oo, may be ordered through the WMO Secre­tariat.

WMO Bulletin

METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITES

The membership of the Working Group on Research Aspects of Meteoro­logical Satellites, established by the Executive Committee at its fourteenth session (see Bulletin, Vol. XI, No. 4, p. 184), was completed in November rg62 when Dr. D. F. Martyn was designated by UNESCO and Professor W. Dieminger, Dr. W. L. Godson, Professor K. I. Kondratjev, Professor Sverre Petterssen and Professor ]. Van Mieghem were designated by ICSU. The members nominated by the Exe­cutive Committee were Mr. D. A. Davies (chairman), Professor B. Bolin, Dr. G. P. Cressman, Dr. P. K. Evsccv, Dr. M. Nicolet, Dr. R. C. Sutclifle and Professor E. Vassy. At the first session of the group, held in Geneva from 26 to 30 November rg62, all the members were present except Professors Kon­dratjev and Petterssen.

The report of the session contains a list of research problems which require special attention. These are grouped under nine headings : atmospheric com­position and structure ; solar and other external influences on the earth's atmosphere ; interaction between upper and lower atmospheric layers ; inter­action of earth's surface and atmo­sphere ; general circulation and budgets of energy, momentum and water vapour ; cloud and precipitation phy­sics ; atmospheric pollution ; weather prediction ; and large-scale weather modification. For each of these groups the report gives a brief explanatory note, suggests the ways in which satel­lite observations may be used in tack-

56

January 1963

ling the problems, and lists the addi­tional observations which are required.

The problems are not listed in order of priority but in some cases some indication of the urgency is given. For example the report states that :

The understanding of the general circu­lation is a necessary step towards the theory of world climate and through this to the scientific attack of long-range forecasting, climatic variations and the assessment of the possibilities of large-scale weather modifica­tion and control of climate. The importance of the problem is therefore of the highest order.

The report also refers to the need for more meteorological research work­ers and suggests that it would be a major step forward if all national meteorological services could engage in full-time research work on a con­siderable scale. Another suggestion is that WMO should encourage countries to pool their resources by the estab­lishment of international meteoro­logical research institutes of university standing where their scientists could work together and where meteorologists from different countries could come for post-graduate training and research.

The group considered the various ways in which meteorological research can be financed. Although it was recog­nized that the major efforts would have to be made at the national level, it was felt that there is also need for some international support. The report contains a suggestion that a special research fund be established. The

WMO Bulletin

fund should be administered by WMO

and allocations should be made only

on the specific recommendation of the

advisory committee, the establishment

of which has been proposed to Fourth

Congress by the Executive Committee.

The various suggestions made by

the working group will no doubt be

discussed at Fourth Congress, which

will be held in Geneva in April rg63.

A further meeting of the working group

may take place before that date.

ATMOSPHERIC RADIOACTIVITY

In response to Resolution r62g (XVI)

adopted by the General Assembly of

the United Nations on 27 October

rg6r (see WMO Bulletin, Vol. XI,

No. r, p. 47), proposals were made by

WMO for a plan for world-wide moni­

tming and reporting of levels of atmo­

spheric radioactivity.

During its seventeenth session, the

General Assembly authorized the im­

plementation of this plan in its Resolu­

tion 1764 (XVII) which was adopted

on 20 November rg6z. The operative

paragraphs of Part II of the resolution

read as follows :

The General Assembly

r. Commends the World Meteorological

Organization for its prompt and effec­

tive response to the invitation addressed

to it in General Assembly Resolution

r629 (XVI), and the International

Atomic Energy Agency and the United

Nations Scientific Committee on the

Effects of Atomic Radiation for the

valuable co-operation and assistance

they have extended to the Organization

in this matter ; 2. Invites the World Meteorological Organ­

ization to complete its consultations

with the Scientific Committee on the

development of its draft plan, and to

implement this plan, if found feasible,

at the earliest possible date·;

3· Urges the governments of Member

States and all others concerned to

co-operate fully and to take all appro­

priate action to enable the World

Meteorological Organization ·to carry

out its task ;

January 1963

4· Requests the Secretary-General of the

World Meteorological Organization to

report to the General Assembly at its

eighteenth session on the progress

achieved in the implementation of the

scheme.

The scheme proposed by WMO will

be examined by the United Nations

Scientific Committee on the Ef-fects of

Atomic Radiation at its twelfth session

in Geneva in January rg63.

OUTER SPACE

In the last issue of the Bulletin

(Vol. XI, No. 4, p. 238) it was noted

that the WMO report on the advance­

ment of atmospheric sciences and their

application in the light of developments

in outer space had been adopted by the

UN Economic and Social Council at

its 34th session, The report was also

considered by the UN Committee on

·the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and

has now been examined by the General

Assembly of the United Nations at its

seventeenth session together with re­

ports submitted by the above com­

mittee and by the International Tele­

communication Union.

57

In a resolution, adopted unani­

mously on rg December rg6z, it is

recorded that the General Assembly

"Notes with appreciation the prompt

initial response of WMO to the request

of the General Assembly, as embodied

in Resolution 1721 (XVI)" and, inter

alia ·

2. Calls on Member States to strengthen

weather forecasting services and to

encourage their scientific communities to

co-operate in the expansion of atmospheric

science research ;

3· Recommends that the World Meteoro­

logical Organization, in consultation with

other United Nations agencies and govern­

mental and non-governmental organiza­

tions develop in greater detail its plan for

an expanded programme to strengthen

meteorologiCal services and research, plac­

ing particular emphasis upon the use of

meteorological satellites and the expansion

WMO Bulletin

of training and educational opportunities in these fields ; and

6. Requests the World Meteorological Organization, following its Congress in April 1963, to report to the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and to the Economic and Social Council at its thirty-sixth session on steps taken relating to these activities.

Action already proposed by the working group set up by the Executive Committee to advise on research aspects of meteorological satellites is reported on p. 56.

INTER-AGENCY PROJECT ON AGROCLIMATOLOGY

In the account of the FAO/UNESCO/ WMO project on agroclimatology of the semi-arid and arid regions of the Near East which was published in an earlier issue of the Bulletin (Vol. XI, No. 3, p. rr6), mention was made of the· existence of the General Report of the project, giving a summary of the more important results and recommenda­tions, and of the Technical Report, which gives a detailed discussion of the methods and results. It has now been decided that the General Report will be published by WMO as a Technical Note and it is hoped that this will be available in the near future. A few copies of the Technical Report are available in the WMO Secretariat and these will be distributed free of charge, while stocks last, to interested institutes and individual research workers. Re­quests for this publication should be addressed to the Secretary-General of WMO, Geneva.

At a recent inter-agency meeting it was decided to recommend that a simi­lar project should be carried out in Africa south of the Sahara in the belt bounded to the north by arid steppe and desert, and to the south by semi­arid savannah and forest. This pro­posal is now being examined and

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January 1963

further information will be given in a later issue of the Bulletin.

MARINE CLOUD ALBUM

As announced in an earlier issue of the Bulletin (Vol. XI, No. r, p. 46), the bare plates of the 40 photographs selected for the Marine Cloud Album have been under preparation in the Secretariat. Sets of these bare plates are now available for sale; they may be obtained either on sheets of size 55 X 43 cm (four plates on a sheet) or on sheets of size 27.5 X 21.5 cm (one plate on each sheet).

The price of each set of 40 plates is US $r.oo (including surface postage). Orders for sets should be addressed to the WMO Secretariat, .Geneva.

GIFT FOR WMO HEADQUARTERS

The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland has presented a plaque worked in minerals found in the Federation. In mosaic style, the plaque is about one metre square and shows a map of the Federation.

RECENT WMO PUBLICATIONS

Microcards of I GY meteorological data. Classification for 1:nformation storage and retrieval. By Gertrude LoNDON.

WMO-No. 123. IGY.J. Pp. x + 78. Price: Sw. frs. 7.-.

This report gives an account of the methods used in the IGY Meteorolo­gical Data Centre for preparing the data collected for publication and in particular of the system which was devised for issuing the data on over r6,ooo Microcards in such a way that any of the observations could be traced quickly and easily.

After an introductory chapter review­ing the forms on which the various types of observations were collected,

WMO Bulletin

the next two chapters describe the methods used for cataloguing and storage. The fourth chapter deals with the main problems concerning the actual publication of the data. The characteristics used for classifying the data were the type of observation, geo­graphical region, and chronological period ; these same elements formed the basis of a simple coding system for the reference numbers of the Micro­cards.

An addendum deals with the IGC (1959) aerological data. No difficulties were experienced in applying to the collection and publication of these data the methods which had been devised for the IGY data.

The publication contains many photo­graphs and figures to illustrate the forms and methods described in the text. It also contains a glossary of technical terms.

Methods of forecasting the state of sea on the basis of meteorological data. Technical Note No. 46. Pp. xii + 35·

Precipitation measurements at sea. Technical Note No. 47· Pp. xii + r8.

WMO-No. 124. TP. 55. Price: Sw. fr. 6.-.

These two T~hnical Notes are published in the same volume, in English with summaries in the four official languages of WMO.

In the field of application of meteo­rology to shipping, Congress decided that "the technical commissions con­cerned should study methods of fore­casting the state of the sea on the basis of meteorological data". This was accordingly the topic chosen for the scientific lectures delivered at a special conference during the third session of the Commission for Maritime Meteorology (Utrecht, 1960). Tech­nical Note No. 46 contains the texts of four of these lectures. The first, by

59

January 1963

Mr. J. J. Schule on Structure and spectrum of ocean waves, is intended to provide general information on the wind-generated gravity wave spectrum, with special reference to problems encountered in wave forecasting, and to serve as an introduction to the other contributions.

The second lecture, by Dr. K. Terada, on The present state ftf wave measure­ment and analysis in Japan, gives some results of the analysis of waves observed currently at the coastal stations. For the quantitative analysis of waves, various wave meters were constructed and recently a remote reading wave meter proved suitable for routine work. The special instrument for Fourier analysis of wave recordings is introduced.

The subject of Forecasting wind­generated waves is dealt with in a paper by Dr. H. Walden. The effect on the sea of the wind depends on various factors. Methods and graphs for ascer­taining the significant height anQ. period of the sea from these factors are briefly discussed.

Finally, the Application of wave forecasting to ship operations is dis­cussed in a paper by Mr. G. Verploegh. Wave forecasts provide basic informa­tion on the planning of two kinds of ship operations : weather routing which implies long-term planning, and weather navigation which involves immediate and temporary action. The ideas outlined in this lecture are illustrated by a sample case of a combined weather and wave forecast used in the planning of an optimum route to avoid possible high sea areas.

The problem of the measurement of precipitation at sea was studied by the Working Group on Technical Problems of the WMO Commission for Maritime Meteorology, under the chairmanship of Dr. H. U. Roll (Federal Republic of

WMO Bulletin

Germany). Bearing in mind the partic­ular importance of the question as well as its special difficulties, the working group prepared a general but concise review of the present state of the problem which could serve as a basis and stimulus for further develop­ments. Principal emphasis was laid on answering the practical questions : What can be done now and what should be done in future in order to secure precipitation measurements at sea which are sufficiently accurate for meteorological purposes ? This report, reproduced in Technical Note No. 47, is thus intended for use as a basis for further investigations.

After a brief description of different methods for measuring precipitation on board ship, the difficulties are discussed, with particular stress on the disturbing effects of the ship and gauge on the airflow and of the move­ment of the gauge. The effect of sea spray is also considered. In order to check the findings some results of comparative measurements are given.

The final conclusions are that ship­borne raingauges should be installed as high as possible with the orifice fixed horizontally when the ship is lying in still water; that the ideal gauge has not yet been found, though a fixed collector high up in the mast with a plastic pipe leading down to a receiver would come very near to this if the problem of cleaning the apparatus could be solved ; that until a better apparatus is constructed, the conical type of marine gauge may be considered as a useful, preliminary instrument ; and that encouragement should be given to further comparisons between rainfall measurements gained on board ship and on small flat islands nearby, to development of raingauges installed on buoys, and to estimation of precipitation amounts at sea by radar.

60

January 1963

Fourteenth session of the Executive Committee: Abridged report with resolutions. WMO-No. I2I. RC.2I. Pp. xiii + 275. Price : Sw. fr. r6.-.

This report, available in English and French, contains the final agenda of the fourteenth session of the Executive Committee, with cross-references to relevant documents and resolutions, followed by a general summary of the work of the session and the texts of the 48 resolutions adopted.

Annexes to the report include a draft instrument of the amendment of the WMO Convention, a summary of proposals made for meteorological train­ing in Africa, the budget estimates for the Fourth Financial Period (1964-1967), and an index to all resolutions of the Executive Committee.

An account of the fourteenth session was given in the last issue of the Bulletin (Vol. XI, No. 4, p. 183).

Regional Association I (Africa) : A bridged final report of the third session. WMO-No. 120. RP. 49· Pp. xii + !79· Price : Sw. fr. 6.-.

This report, in English and French, contains a general summary of the work of the third session of the Re­gional Association for Africa (Addis Ababa, 14-29 March, 1962), with the final agenda, lists of participants and of working documents, and the texts of the 47 resolutions and 10 recom­mendations adopted by the associa­tion. Annexes to the report include the recommended basic synoptic net­works for surface and upper-air observ­ing stations in the region.

An account of the session was given in a previous issue of the Bulletin (Vol. XI, No. 3, p. 133).

WMO Bulletin

The Tides and Kindred Phenomena in the Solar System. By Sir George Howard DARWIN. San Francisco (W. H. Freeman and Company) rg62. xx+378 pages; 43 illustrations. Paperbound. Price : us $2.75·

From time to time a book on science appears which is popular in the sense that it is not written primarily for professional workers, but nevertheless makes a lasting contribution to our understanding of a sub­ject. Such a book is the subject of this

·review. It was first published over sixty years ago and is now available as an attractive paperback with an introduction by Professor W. H. Munk.

The book is evidence for onB of the most remarkable achievements in science. Modern tidal theory began with Newton who in r687 made clear the nature of the tide­generating force. Thereafter little was done until 1738, when the Academy of Sciences in Paris proposed the theory of tides as the subject for a prize. Seldom has there been such a magnificent response, for prizes were awarded to Daniel Bernoulli, Euler, Maclaurin and Cavalleri. Later, Laplace, Airy and Lord Kelvin made important advances, but it was Sir George Darwin who finally consoli­dated the dynamical theory into what is more or less its present form. So complete was his work that (to quote from Professor Munk's foreword) the information in this book "is as applicable and informative today as it was when first published". In fact, until recently, Darwin's work kept the theory of tides dormant and recent revival of activity is to be attributed to better and more extensive measurements and the avail­ability of the high-speed computer rather than to flaws in Darwin's work.

The book is encyclopaedic in its scope, for it discusses not only oceanic tides but seiches, river tides, the rigidity of the earth, tidal friction, the evolution of celestial sys­tems and the phenomenon of Saturn's rings. Those who visit Geneva will find the account of seiches in Lake Leman of absorbing interest. Darwin was enthusiastic about

61

Janua1·y 1963

Forel's pioneer work (about 1876-85) which he describes as "an admirable example of research thoroughly carried out with simple appliances". He followed this with a passage that is still often quoted (and, too often, misquoted) "People are nowadays only too apt to think that science can only be carried to p'erfection with elaborate appliances, and yet it is the fact that many of the finest experiments have been made with cardboard, cork and sealing-wax". Fore!, whom Darwin described as "not a mathematician but ... a naturalist of the old school" did his work with little more than a few glass tubes, a tank and a recording drum, but he success­fully laid the foundations of the theory of seiches.

The most brilliantly written chapters of this book are those dealing with the tide­generating force, and the equilibrium and dynamic theory of tides. Applied mathe­maticians know how difficult these topics are technically, and yet Darwin succeeded in writing an accurate and easily comprehended account without using a single mathematical expression (except in one instance where, in a footnote, he uses a little simple algebra to explain an approximation). This is a veritable tour de force, as anyone who has attempted the difficult task of making a complicated mathematical argument com­prehensible to the layman knows. Meteoro­logists will experience a feeling of envy when reading the chapter entitled "The degree of accuracy of tidal prediction". Despite the effects of barometric pressure and wind (these are usually the subject of empirical corrections) the errors in timing high tide at Portsmouth, England, as quoted by Darwin, are most frequently not greater tJmn five minutes and the errors in height, mainly not greater than about 15 cm. Tides are an outstanding example of a true natural periodicity and meteorologists may take heart from the undisputable fact that tidal theory, for all its complications, is far simpler than any of the major problems of dynamical meteorology.

The later chapters, especially that dealing with the origin of the planets, are on less

WMO Bulletin

certain ground. They are fascinating but now largely history.

This was Darwin's only popular book. His scientific writings are difficult because of the intricacy of the analysis, but here he puts the mathematics aside to concentrate on the underlying physics. The result is a book that is unequalled in its line ; a popular exposition by an original worker that is well worth a place in the library of every meteorologist.

0. G. SUTTON

Agrometeorology. By G. Z. VENTSKEVICH.

Translated into English from the second edition (Leningrad, 1958), and published by the Israel Program for Scientific Translations, pursuant to an agreement with the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., and the Department of Agriculture, U.S.A. Jerusalem (Israel Program for Scientific Translations) 196I. 300 pages ; 90 figures, 58 tables. Price : US $rz.oo; 84 shillings.

The lack of suitable integrated textbooks has long been a problem in teaching agri­cultural meteorology. CAgM has debated this question at several of its sessions, with the long-term objective of sponsoring an international manual of agrometeorology. For the moment, it has wisely confined itself to producing a series of WMO Technical Notes, each providing a summary on a world-wide basis of a limited aspect of the subject, such as protection against frost damage, forecasts for forest fire services, meteorological aspects of plant diseases and pests, service for agricultural aviation, and the planning of windbreaks and shelterbelts. Together, this series of reports is gradually forming a solid basis for a truly international textbook of agrometeorology.

Meanwhile, on the national level, a number of textbooks have appeared which treat of agrometeorology in general, but from a local or regional point of view. One of the most interesting of these is the volume under review. Designed as a textbook for hydrometeorological technical schools and agricultural institutes of the U.S.S.R., it has already been translated into Latvian and Chinese, and the second edition has now been published in English by the Israel Program for Scientific Translations.

The introduction illustrates the angle from which the book is written. Russia has been, it is claimed, "the cradle of agrometeorology,

62

Janua1·y 1963

with Soviet scientists as the permanent leaders in the study of climate and weather from the point of view of agriculture". This is contrasted with "the western fashion for studying atmospheric phenomena without relating them to practical agriculture". Russian publications exclusively are included in the 67 titles quoted in the bibliography.

This introspective approach is the source of both the limitations and the strength of the book. It treats inadequately or not at all of those aspects of the subject which have been mainly developed outside the U.S.S.R., such as plant disease epidemiology and forest fire services. The book, orientated as it is to Russian climatic conditions and organization of agriculture, can be of little direct use as a textbook in most other parts of the world.

On the other hand, every agrometeorologist will welcome the work as a valuable account of the organization and practices developed by his colleagues in the U.S.S.R. The account is logical and lucid. The first two chapters deal with the farming microclimate and with the importance of different weather elements for agriculture. Soil moisture is treated in detail in Chapter 3. The inter­relation of weather and specific crops is then considered. Chapter 5 discusses weather hazards to agriculture ; as might be expected, frost is considered in great detail. Chapters 6 and 7 are of particular interest; they describe the programme of meteorological and biological observations, the organization of the agrometeorological service and the functions which it carries out. The final chapter deals with agricultural climatology, including zoning.

There is an oddly old-fashioned ail: about some of the text ; in particular, many will be surprised at the apparently uncritical value ascribed to temperature summations and other simple indices. There is, however, much tabular material on matters such as the relation of crop growth to meteorological parameters, summarized from Russian re­search, which workers elsewhere will be anxious to test and adapt to their conditions.

In summary, the book, although of limited value as a textbook outside the area for which it was developed, is a fruitful source of information and ideas.

The translation is adequate, but some of the illustrations are of poor quality.

P. M. AusTIN BouRKE

WMO Bulletin

Nuclear Radiation in Geophysics (Kern­strahlung in der Geophysik). Edited by H. IsRAEL and A. KREBS. Berlin - Gottin­gen- Heidelberg (Springer-Verlag) rg6z. · xvi + 430 pages ; rrz figures. Price : DM6o.-.

The application of nuclear physics to geo­physics including meteorology, although appreciated for many years, has now become generally recognized as a subject of major importance, largely, of course, following the large-scale nuclear explosions in the atmo­sphere and the general expansion of atomic physics investigations in the last two decades. To the meteorologist it presents another tool to study atmospheric motions from the measured distributions of radioactive sub­stances in the atmosphere and measurement techniques using radioactivity can be em­ployed in some instruments. Conversely, it presents problems of predicting concentra­tions of the radioactive materials in the atmosphere on different time and spac~ scales taking into account both the atmospheric motions and cloud physics processes involving nuclei, cloud particles and precipitation. Several of the meteorological aspects have been described recently in WMO Technical Note No. 43 :Meteorological factors influencing the transport and removal of radioactive debris.

The intention of Nuclear Radiation in Geophysics is to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive review of natural and artificial radioactivity in the various branches of geophysics. This information is in general not available elsewhere in such an accessible form and for this reason alone this book will be widely welcomed by workers in its different fields. The form adopted is that of a collection of separate articles by leading authorities dealing respectively with the radioactivity of the lithosphere, oceano­graphy, hydrology, methods of age deter­mination, transfer and circulation in the atmosphere, precipitation and fallout, bio­logical aspects (these articles are in English with summaries in German) and natural and artificial radiation in the atmosphere, cosmic radiation and its production of radioactive nuclides, and methods of measure­ment (in German with English abstracts). Each article contains an extensive biblio­graphy for further reading.

The method of_ each article is to explain and develop the basic physics leading up to the present (rg6o-6r) state of the subject and to indicate the outstanding problems and the further research which is require.d. For example, in Dr. Bolin's article on Transfer

63

January 1963

and circulation of radioactivity in the atmo­sphere, the various chapters deal in some detail with the general theory of diffusion, diffusion and transfer in the surface layers from point and distributed sources, diffusion on small and intermediate scales and circula­tion in the free atmosphere, global transfer and general circulation for both naturally and artificially produced radioactivity, and finally there is a short discussion of the prospects for using radioactive trace data for quantitative studies ofthe general circulation. Similarly, the other subjects have been dealt with equally thoroughly and comprehensively by the other authors, each from his own standpoint.

This arrangement of the book has, of course, introduced some overlapping but this is not serious. Both as an introduction to each subject for the student and a general reference book, this must become a standard compendium for many years. There is, however, a language difficulty in its use and the wisdom of assuming that the general reader is bilingual is doubtful. This may in some cases detract from its overall usefulness, although a subject index is provided in both languages.

Its production and layout are excellent. Although its price is rather high it is thor­oughly recommended to workers in related subjects and should find a place in all geophysical libraries.

R. J. MuRGATROYD

The Nature of Violent Storms. By L. J. RATTAN. Science Study Series S rg. New York (Doubleday & Company, Inc.) rg6I. I59 pages; rr plates. Paperback. Price: us $o.gs.

Cloud Physics and Cloud Seeding .. By L. J. RATTAN. Science Study Series S 29. New York (Doubleday & Company, Inc.) rg6z. r45 pages; r6 plates. Paperback. Pric_e: us $o.gs.

Radar Observes the Weather. By L. J. RATTAN. Science Study Series S 24. New York (Doubleday & Company, Inc.) rg6z. I59 pages; r6 plates. Paperback. Price: us $o.gs.

The Science Study Series had its beginning in a project for the revision of physics as taught in secondary schools in the U.S.A. During rg56, a group of physicists, high­school teachers, journalists, apparatus design­ers, film producers and other specialists organized the Physical Science Study Com­mittee with the aim of designing and creating aids to the learning of physics. The result

WMO Bulletin

was a series of paperback volumes intended for students and the general public. The authors of all the books have been selected from specialists in the field with the ability of communicating their views in an interesting way. The three books now under review were published as piut of this new approach to the teaching and study of physics.

The Nature of Violent Storms covers a variety of weather disturbances, from small clouds in fair weather to hurricanes. Exam­ination of statistics concerning loss of life and property damage resulting from tornadoes and hurricanes emphasizes the urgent need for the best possible warning service. Although one cannot control the formation of these phenomena, nevertheless a know­ledge of their behaviour could help us to live with them. This is why the study of a book such as the present one is recommended for those who live in the areas affected by these disastrous storms ; it will be especially interesting for all non-specialists who wish to familiarize themselves with the subject.

Cloud Physics and Cloud Seeding contains an interesting account of the structure and growth of clouds from minute condensation nuclei to the cloud forms. It describes how rain, snow and hail are formed and what has been done or could be done in order to increase precipitation or to modify the weather.

When the radarscope was first brought into use in the airplane cockpit some pilots looked at it with sceptical eyes. They soon however learned that radar was indeed useful. For the first time the pilot was able to see through clouds and locate areas of weather disturbances. In the third book Radar Observes the Weather, the author discusses the use of radar in weather forecasting and storm warnings and how it can be used as a scientific tool to increase our understanding of weather processes. The book will tell the reader what radar is, what it can do to improve weather observations and how it can teach us about the ways of the atmo­sphere.

The author of these books should be congratulated on the ease with which he has been able to express himself and to present a review of each subject in a thoroughly systematic but, nevertheless, stimulating way. The study of these volumes is highly recommended to the general public, to students and to scientists who are not specialists in the field.

H.T.

64

January 1963

I dojarasi esemenyek es elemi csapasok M agyar­orszagon I70o-ig (Meteorological phe­nomena and natural calamities observed in Hungary up to IJoo). Edited by A. RETHLY. Budapest (Akademiai Kiad6) rg6z. 450 pages. Price : rzo Forints.

This volume contains data on natural calamities and meteorological phenomena observed in Hungary in the course of seventeen centuries, from A.D. 83 to IJoo. It is of interest, not only to scientific circles in Hungary, but also to those in neighbouring countries, for it contains many data for Central Europe as a whole.

The first part of the work sets forth the data in chronological order, while the second gives extracts from ancient chronicles. There is also a very complete bibliography and an index of subject matter and proper names.

This particularly thorough and detailed study, the first such monograph on this subject to be published in Hungary, tells of rigorous winters, torrid, rainy or cool summers, regular periods of aridity and grave calamities of meteorological origin. Unusual snowfalls, extreme cold, havoc­wreaking hail, tornadoes, torrential showers, destructive floods, all follow each other in this book in an extraordinary procession. This volume, which is a historical work no less than a hydrometeorological monograph, will be of value both to historians and to meteorologists and hydrologists interested in the development of the climate of the Danube Basin.

R. M.

Cloud Types for Observers. London (Her Majesty's Stationery Office) rg6z. 30 pages. Price : 8 shillings.

This publication, prepared in the British Meteorological Office, is attractively producP-d on stout card of convenient size, being designed for outdoor as well as indoor use. It contains 37 photographs with descriptive notes which will help the observer to identify the main types of cloud. Additional notes, pictorial guides and coding instructions, copied from the A bridged International Cloud Atlas, are also included to enable the observer to classify the state of the sky in accordance with the codes approved by WMO.

This album replaces the earlier Meteoro­logical Office publications Cloud Forms and the Cloud Card for Observers, which are now obsolete because of changes in cloud classification introduced by WMO.

WMO Bulletin

OTHER 8001<8 RECEIVED

Hiiufigskeitverteilung der Windrichtungen und Windgeschwindigkeitenuber Wien bis 30 km Hohe (I952-Ig6o). By F. STEINHAUSER and K. CEHAK. Vienna (Zentralanstalt fiir Meteorologie und Geodynamik). Price not stated.

Strahlstrom im Kreuzverhor. Eine Literatur­iibersicht zu Zirkulationsproblemen der gemiissigten Breiten. By Manfred GEB. Berlin (Dietrich Reimer). Price: DM. I8.-

Ergebnisse des synoptischen Dienstes und der Radiosondenaufstiege im ] ahre rg62. By Richard ScHERHAG and collaborators. Berlin (Dietrich Reimer). Price: DM. 5.-

The Sea-Ideas and Observations in Progress in the Study of the Seas. Vol. I : Physical Oceanography. General editor- M. H. HILL. New York, London (Interscience Publishers -John Wiley & Sons). Price: I88 shillings.

Tiigliche Hohenkarten der ro-mbar Fliiche fiir das jahr rg6o. Teil IV. 4· Viertelfahr. Berlin (Dietrich Reimer). Price: DM. Io.-

Zum Zusammenhang zwischen der Radar­echobewegung und der mittels Hohenwind-

PUBLICATIONS

January 1963

peilungen festgestellten vertikalen Windver­teilung. By Gert MALKOWSKI. Berlin (Dietrich Reimer). Price: DM. I6.-

An Experiment in Operational Numerical Weather Prediction. By E. KNIGHTING, G. A. CoRBY and P. R. RowNTREE. Scientific Paper No. I6. London (Her Majesty's Stationery Office). Price: 3 shil­lings.

Estudios e:cperimentales sabre evaporaci6n. By Roberto M. QurNTELA. Publicaci6n C, No. r. Buenos Aires (Servicio Meteoro­l6gico N acional). Price not stated.

Climatologie : Methodes et pratiques. By H. GRISOLLET, B. GUILMET and R. ARLERY. Paris (Gauthiers-Villars et Cie). Price: so NF.

Weather in the Mediterranean. Vol. I

(Second edition) : General Meteorology. London (H.M.S.O.). Price : £4-4s.

Significant Monthly Anomalies of Air Tem­peratures over the European Territory of the U.S.S.R. By K. I. KAsHIN and S. T. PAG­AVA. (Translated from Russian) Jerusalem (Israel Program for Scientific Translations): Price : US $7.00; so shillings.

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French), Ig6z Edition.

8. TP. 3 - Guide to meteorological instrument and English - French.

66

Price: Sw. fr. I2.­

observing practices, I96I Edition. Price : Sw. fr. r8.-

WMO Bulletin January 1963

WMO-No. 9· TP. 4 - Weather reports: Stations, codes and transmissions.

Volume A: Nomenclature of stations, I953 Edition. Bilingual (English and French). t Volume B : Codes. English - French. t Volume C : Transmissions. English - French. t Volume D : Information for shipping. English- French.'[

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35· TP.

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Io - Energy from the wind- Assessment of suitable winds and sites. Technical Note No. 4· English. French summary. Price : Sw. fr. Io.-

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67

WMO Bulletin January 1963

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68

WMO Bulletin January 1963

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69

WMO Bulletin January 1963

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70

WMO Bulletin January 1963

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International Cloud Atlas*

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International Geophysical Year and International Geophysical Co-operation

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With the exception of the International Cloud Atlas all prices include postage and packing.

71

WMO Bulletin January 1963

MEMBERS OF THE WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION*

Afghanistan Albania Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Bolivia Brazil Bulgaria Burma Burundi Byelorussian S.S.R. Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Ceylon Chad Chile China Colombia Congo (Brazzaville) Congo (Leopoldville) Costa Rica Cuba Czechoslovakia Dahomey Denmark Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Ethiopia Finland France Gabon

STATES

Germany, Federal Republic of

Ghana Greece Guatemala Guinea Haiti Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland

,Israel Italy Ivory Coast Japan Jordan Korea, Republic of Kuwait Laos Lebanon Libya Luxembourg Madagascar Malaya, Federation of Mali Mauritania Mexico Morocco Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua

TERRITORIES

Niger Nigeria Norway Pakistan Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Saudi Arabia Senegal Sierra Leone South Africa Spain Sudan Sweden Switzerland Syria Tanganyika Thailand To go Tunisia Turkey Ukrainian S.S.R. Union of Soviet Socialist

Republics United Arab Republic United Kingdom of Great

Britain and Northern Ireland

United States of America Upper Volta

<;Uruguay Venezuela Viet-Nam Yugoslavia

British East African Territories Portuguese West Africa including the Seychelles

French Polynesia French Somaliland Hong Kong Mauritius Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia Portuguese East Africa

* On r January rg63

72

Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Federation of Singapore and the British Territories

in Borneo Spanish Territories of Guinea Surinam West Indies and other British

Caribbean Territories West New Guinea (West Irian)

WMO Bulletin January 1963

CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS

World Meteorological Organization

30 January- 14 February

II- 16 March

immediately before Fourth Congress (tentative)

I- 27 April

6 April

12 April

29 April- 4 May

Working Group on Meteorological Transmissions of

Regional Association VI (Europe), Paris, France

International Symposium on Nmnerical Weather Fore­

casting (WMO/IUGG), Oslo, Norway

Working Group on Codes of the Commission for Synoptic

Meteorology, Geneva, Switzerland

Fourth World Meteorological Congress, Geneva,

Switzerland

3rd session of Regional Association IV (North and

Central America), Geneva, Switzerland

3rd session of Regional Association III (South America),

Geneva, Switzerland

XVth session of the Executive Committee, Geneva,

Switzerland

Other International Organizations

16 January- 15 February

22-25 January

4 - 20 February

5 - 14 February

February

5-9 March

II- 15 March

18-22 March

6-10 May

13-21 May

Xth Plenary Assembly of the International Radio

Consultative Committee (ITU), Geneva, Switzerland

6th session of the Maritime Safety Committee (IMCO),

London, U.K.

United Nations Conference on the Application of Science

and Technology for the Benefit of the Less Developed

Areas, Geneva, Switzerland

Meeting of the Plan Sub-Committee for Asia (ITU),

Geneva, Switzerland

Meeting of the North Atlantic Cable MET/COM Panel

(ICAO), Paris, France

Symposium on the Application of Radioisotopes in

Hydrology (IAEA), Tokyo, Japan

Symposium on Criteria for Guidance in the Selection

of Sites for the Construction of Reactors and Nuclear

Research Centres (IAEA), Bombay, India

Second IQSY Meeting (CIG), Rome, Italy

3rd International Conference on Atmospheric and Space

Electricity (IUGG), Montreux, Switzerland

5th Congress on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), Tokyo,

Japan

73

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VACANCIES IN WMO TECHNICAL CO-OPERATION PROGRAMMES

Date of Language Country Title of post commence- Duration needed ment

Congo (Leopoldville) Meteorological networks Early I963 I year French inspector

Meteorological instructor Early I963 I year French

Expert in geophysics Early I963 I year French and experimental meteorology

Asia and Far East Expert in meteorological Early I963 I year English (regional) telecommunications & French

Panama H ydrometeorologist Early I963 6 months English or Spanish

Iraq Climatologist Early I963 I year English

Senegal Professor of Meteorology I April initially French in Dakar University I963 2I months

India Chief of WMO mission Early I963 3 years English Institute of Tropical Meteorology and International Meteorological Centre

Morocco Agrometeorologist I October 9 months French I963

Further information can be obtained from the Secretary-General, WMO, Geneva.

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SUPPLIERS TO METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

( Plessey]

* The Amplifier (Type PA230) provides at

least 1 kW radiated power on CW (A 1);

DSB (A3); SSB (A3A); ISB (A3B); FSK

(F1) and Diplex (F6), over the range 1·6

to 27 · 5 Mcfs.

* Integral frequency generator drive unit

(Type PF211), or 3·1 Mc/s converter unit

(Type PF210) available.

* Radiation of all harmonics at least 60 dB

down on fundamental over entire fre­

quency range.

1 kW Linear Transmitter continuously tunable from 1·6-27·5 Mc/s

* Only three calibrated tuning controls for

rapid manual frequency changing. Recti­

fiers contain no thermionic valves.

* Auto-tune facilities for local or remote

control selection of six preset channels.

* Direct reading of forward and reverse

aerial power for feeder VSWR measure­

ment.

The Overseas Selling Organisation of the Plessey Group of Companies

PLESSEY INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, llford, Essex, England Telephone llford 3040 Telex 23166 Overseas Telegrams P!essinter llford, Telex

'{!!!) PILITDBe

SOCIETA IT ALIA MA APPARECCHI PRECISIONE

Instruments for

meteorology

and hydrology

Electronic counter for current meters

Via G. Massarenti 412- Bologna- ITALIA

COSSOR and Meteorological Radar

Cossor have developed and produced the most advanced I 0 cm Meteorological Radar Systems available in the world today. The orders or tenders for this Radar are world-wide.

XXIDXXXJFOR RADAR ADVANCES LOOK TO~ Cossor Meleoro/ogical Radar CR353 A high performance 10 cm meteorological radar suitable for use in any part of the world. The equipment is constructed in the form of basic and optional units which can be variously assembled to measure the direction and speed of winds in the upper atmosphere. Other facilities include weather surveillance and extend from the simplest to those required by a component station of a major weather reporting system. The degree of automation incorporated in the basic design of the equipment enables the whole wind-finding operation to be carried out by two operators. The addition of optional print-out equipment will reduce the manning require­ment to a single person.

For {1!11 information on all Cossor Radars please write to: Cossor Electronics Ltd., (Radar Division),

The Pinnacles, Elizabeth Way, Harlow, Essex, England. Telephone: Harlow 26862

>TOTEX" balloon being released at the Antarctic

by the Japanese IGY Expedition. (Photo by Asah1 Shimbun)

For full details write

All sorts of Balloons:

-Sounding

. Ceiling

·Pilot

TOA GOMU KOGYO K. K. 731. Kamihirai cha, Katsushika-ku

Tokyo, Japan Tel. (691) 3880, 1253

THE FINEST SOUNDING AND PILOT BALLOONS A V AILABLE

Les meilleurs ballons sondes et ballons pilotes sur le marche

REGD.

Manufactured by the

Guide Bridge Rubber

Company of Vu/can Mill,

Bury, these balloons are in

use throughout the world.

Fabriques par la Guide Bridge

Rubber Company de

Vulcan Mill, Bury, ces ballons sont

utilises dans le monde entier.

OVERSEAS SALES

Services de Ventes Exportation

Phillips Patents

Limited

1SO Western Avenue

Acton,London,WJ

HOME SALES

Service de Ventes en Grande-Bretagne

Guide Bridge

Rubber eo. Ltd

Vulcan Mill

Butcher Lane

Bury, Lanes

For Your Upper Air Soundings

USE

THE G.I.P. HYDROGEN GENERATOR (By ferro-silicon process)

Much more economical than aluminium or calcium hydride. Gas production with no sudden increases in pressure. (Used success­fully in Adelie Land.) Available in different models producing 3, 4 or 9 cubic metres by special patented ready-for-use refills. Excess gas production impossible. Most of the special expeditions for the International Geophysical Year are being equipped with G.I.P. No. 3 hydrogen generators.

LA G.I.P. SOCIETE DES GAZ INDUSTR/ELS DE PROVINCE

USINE A SAINT- ~TIENNE (LOIRE), RUE SCHEURER- KESTNER (FRANCE)

,,_.,--,,..

Another facility with primary radar windfinding

Remote Automatic Data Printing

The Decca Remote Automatic Data Printing Unit prints out the parameters determined by windfinding radar. Elapsed time and target range, azimuth and elevation are recorded throughout an ascent at intervals of 60, 30 or 6 seconds, or on demand. Remoting distance may be up to 1000 feet from the radar, or further with line repeater equipment. Accuracy, reliability of recorded times, reduction of personnel required and the possibility of computations being started in the plotting room as soon as the first data are recorded are among the main advantages of the system. Electromechanical transmitting counters are coupled to each positional shaft in the radar. A uni-selector reads these counters in 5 seconds and operates the printing head which may be an electric typewriter, punched tape encoder or similar apparatus.

z

-

64 world meteorological services use Decca Radar

Available with the Decca WF2

windfinding radar

The Decca WF 2, in world meteorological service, provides

accurate data for the measurement of windspeed

and direction to heights

above 100,000 feet. A passive, balloon borne reflector

is radar tracked by means of

a steerable, highly directional aerial system with conical scan.

Accurate slant range is strobed

directly from the display,

which also shows directional information, enabling the

operator to remain, 'on target'

by training and elevating the aerial. Target azimuth and

elevation are determined from the mechanical position of

the aerial to an accuracy

of better than 0.1°. The Decca range of 7 weather

surveillance and windfinding equipments is backed by world wide

service and comprehensive training.

M5524

OECCA RADAR DECCA RADAR LIMITED LONDON ENGLAND

rqt} OR 172

UMBRA WIN CORNER REFLECTORS FOR RADAR WIND FINDING

The BEST because they are

- One third lighter than any other reflectors of comparable dimensions

- Assembled in 50 seconds - Less drag giving approximately 8% better lift

For full details write :

CHEMRING LIMITED Bensham Manor Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey

Phone THOrnton Heath 8272 Cable Rawin, Croydon

CONTRACTORS TO METEOROLOGICAL AUTHORITIES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

METEOROLOGICAL RADAR BY MITSUBISHI Mitsubishi radars have been used by the Japanese Meteorological Agency with proved accuracy and reliability since 1955. The new Mitsubishi RC-4 is a high-powered, ground-fixed meteorological radar for primary use in locating weather fronts, the height and extent of storms, and the quanti­tative measurement of precipitation for flood forecasting. This C-Band radar (5300 Mcjs) with 300-kilowatt output; high-gain antenna and special low-noise receiver system, consistently provides high resolution at ranges up to 400 kilometers. The RC-4 is specifically designed for simple main­

tenance, and easy repair. lt is exported to countries throughout the world. For more technical information, please write to:

)..._ !Y.I~l!M~~T~~! B~i~~~~~.'u<?ou~i~!ot~! AC~~b~l !!~es~«;!~~~~~

• RC-4 ANTENNA ASSEMBLY • MASTER INDICATOR GROUP

-,

G H C I The inflation of sounding balloons is rapid and easy if your hydrogen

is produced by the

Generator

Hydrogen

Cuadrado

lcaro _, BECAUSE

~ lt works at low pressure: 2 cm Hg + 1 Atm ~ The danger of accidents is eliminated ~ Inflation is rapid ~ Continuous operation is possible ,.. Handling is simple ~ Prior conditioning of balloons is not necessary ,.. The use of the G.H.C.I. is cheaoer than the use of any other

hydrogen generator or hydrogen cylinder ~ The free lift of the balloon is determined without the use of com­

plicated and expensive balances

SPAIN

For information, write to

F. C U AD RA D 0 ATOCHANo.96

M-12

MADRID

G

H c I

,_1

MECHANISM PRECISION ANEROID BAROMETERS

WITH DIGITAL READOUT

FACILITATE WEATHER REPORTING

A large quantity of these instruments has been ordered by the British

Meteorological Office for use in ships responsible for making official

weather reports where their robustness, portability, and accuracy under

adverse conditions, make them the ideal choice.

Range : 900 to 1 050 mb Accuracy : at 20°C, ± 0·3 mb

Discrimination : 0·02 mb at 5°C & 35°C, 0·5 mb Max. change

MECHANISM LIMITED GYRO WORKS · CROYDON · SURREY · ENGLAND

Telephone · CROydon 3426-9 Telegrams · GYROMEC · CROYDON

RADIO SON DE

Meteorological Transmitter

As supplied to

the British

Meteorological Office

and many foreign

governments

The WB Radio Sonde can be supplied either complete with battery, aerial parachute, radar reflector and battery, or the transmitter with met. elements can be supplied as a single unit.

WHITELEY ELECTRICAL RADIO COMPANY LTD. MANSFIELD- NOTTS- ENGLAND

@ CANADA DORVAL AIRPORT

MONTREAL

THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

The recently completed $30,000,000 air terminal building

at the Montreal International Airport is not only the hub of the

air lines traversing this great country but also the centre of

meteorological intelligence for all Canada.

Mr. J. S. Lojoie, together with Misses E. Collum and T. Caron,

is seen on duty in the Meteorological Regional Building.

Weather information from all over the world is received here

on the D-649 Recorders. Much of this data is then correlated

and retransmitted on the D-658 Transmitters by line and radio

to points as far distant as Vancouver in the west and the

remote Arctic Circle stations in. the north.

liii;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil MUIRHEAD & CO. LIMITED, Beckenham, Kent, England.

I i I Tel: Bee ken ham 4888.

1ffiW ;Jji:(•~IJ MUIRHEADr!~Sb~~~~NTS LTD., Stratford, Ontario, Canada.

MUIRHEAD INSTRUMENTS INC., 1101 Brl>tol Rd., Mountainside, New Jersey, U.S.A. Te/: Code 20/, No. 233-60/0.

522

For all modern meteorological stations :

Modern design with pcmoramic mirror so that the whole recorded curve can be seen without removing the cover. Special protection for use at sea, More accurate measuring elements.

and measuring instruments of traditional quality :

Portable and distant­reading anemometers

- available with dials or as recording instruments.

Distant-reading, dial and recording wind-vanes.

Sunshine recorders. Psychrometers.

Raingauges and recording raingauges.

Distant-reading thermo-hygrometers. Thermo-baro-hygrographs.

* 0 0 3 0

!;