Vol. 49, No. 2, February 1968 but I consider these to be more petty annoyances at this point than substantial criticisms. All who work with begin- ning students of biometeorology will find this a useful reviews addition to the literature.—A. Nelson Dingle Isotope Techniques in the Hydrologic Cycle. Edited by Glenn E. Stout. Papers presented at a Symposium at the University of Illinois, November 10-12, 1965. Geophysical and Life, An Introduction to Biometeorology. Monograph Series No. 11, American Geophysical Union, By William P. Lowry. OSU Book Stores, Inc., Corvallis, 1967. 199 pages. $10.00. Oregon, 1967. 220 pages. $3.40 paperbound. This Monograph consists of a series of papers presented at The title Weather and Life may lead some to anticipate a Symposium hosted by the Illinois State Water Survey and the frothy survey course approach that many college and sponsored by the American Geophysical Union, the Ameri- high school exposures to meteorology tend to provide. One can Meteorological Society, and the U. S. Atomic Energy should be careful to read also the subtitle An Introduction Commission. Although not organized as an international to Biometeorology to get the true flavor of this book. It is meeting, some of the foremost scientists from eleven nations not a survey. participated in the Symposium. The Symposium was organ- Based upon course notes developed by the author over a ized to serve a recognized need to bring together hydrolo- 7-year period, this little book represents a well-calculated gists, meteorologists, and nuclear scientists to review the state and constructive step toward a rational approach to bio- of knowledge on the application of isotopes—both in re- meteorology. Prof. Lowry is well aware of the problems of search and in the evaluation of water resources. handling an area so broadly interdisciplinary, whose litera- In those cases where a paper presented at the Symposium ture is so variable and so scattered (see, for example, his re- was essentially the same as a previously published article by view of Biometeorology 2 in BULLETIN, 48, 11, 866-867). the same author(s), only a summary appears in the Mono- Despite the extraordinary complexity of the numerous or- graph. Full context of the discussion following presentation ganism-environment systems, he points out that "... there of each paper is reproduced, and this material is considered are ways of analyzing ... so as to permit comprehension of to be a valuable adjunct to the publication. the complexities." For an introductory book to go so far as The Monograph is divided into three parts. It contains this one does in showing how this comprehension can be four papers on "measurement techniques," five papers on achieved is no mean accomplishment. "isotopes in hydrometeorology," and eighteen papers on "iso There are many things which teachers in the field might tope applications in terrestrial waters." The distribution of choose to do differently. The brief treatment of the physical papers among the three topics correctly indicates the relative laws governing meteorological science may seem to meteo- emphasis of the Symposium on terrestrial waters, but a num- rologists incomplete or inadequate, just as the treatment of ber of additional papers might well have been placed in the biological systems and concepts may seem too abbreviated section on "measurement techniques." for a biologist's taste. But these short cuts are necessary if The papers treating equipment and techniques for mea- the crux of the matter, namely, the interaction of biological surement deal with a number of the more important ele- systems and physical laws, is to be treated well in the space ments of the hydrologic cycle, including sediment concen- and time allotted. tration in streams, profiles of snowpack density, soil moisture The core of the book is found in chapters 7 and 8 where content and movement, flow velocity in stratified reservoirs the energy budget concept is introduced and its application and groundwater aquifers, and atmospheric . In- to various types of systems is developed in general terms. strumentation used in airborne tracing measurements was The following chapters then show, more or less specifically, also discussed. how to use the energy budget idea in the study of botanical Papers appearing in the section on hydrometeorology are and zoological systems. The application is extended to the largely concerned with the tracing of atmospheric motions, control of plant environments and the design of animal en- either on a global scale or in research on cloud physics. One vironments for optimal productivity. It is applied to man paper discusses the evaluation of air-sea exchange of water in chapter 13 with obvious reference to clothing, housing, within a hurricane. tolerance limits, and comfort. In the section on terrestrial waters, a number of applica- There are, however, a number of topics bordering on tions are discussed which involve age-dating techniques or medical biometeorology, perhaps, but also on the pathology isotope tracers (natural and artificial). Practical problems of plants and animals, which are not discussed. Inasmuch treated in these papers include: geochronology of ground- as health and comfort are distinct considerations, sometimes, water (velocity and transit time); source of groundwater— at least, in conflict with one another, it does seem desirable recharge areas; flow interconnections between water bodies; that this area of biometeorology receive some attention. stratification in aquifers; turnover time in lakes; exchange The treatment of the urban environment (Chap. 14, The of water vapor between surface and atmosphere; precipita- Climate of the City, and Chap. 15, Air Pollution Meteorol- tion source areas; and transport of radioactive aerosols (pol- ogy) is too cursory to do more than indicate that here are lution of water supply). Several papers dwell at length on the some additional fields for the student to look into. Obviously, difficulties experienced in the practical application of isotope this is the way that a one-term course frequently winds up, techniques. Fractionation of tritium and deuterium in soil and in this sense, it is appropriate. water and conversion through microbiological activity are The pagination is not continuous through the book, ref- cited as possible disturbing influences in certain groundwater erences are given only as footnotes, and there is no index, studies.

208 Bulletin American Meteorological Society The editor is to be commended for his role in making this excellent publication available to scientists and practicing engineers. Meteorologists and hydrologists will find many in- teresting papers in the Monograph.—Max A. Kohler Selected Readings in Physics. By Albert Rosenfeld. Perga- mon Press, New York, 1966. 369 pages. $2.95 paperback. Selected Readings in Physics are London based edi- tions published with the aim of showing "how physics is made . . . ." This book, the first full-length biography of Irving Langmuir, was written as Volume 12 to accompany The Collected Works of Irving Langmuir published in 1961. In paperback form this edition will introduce the biography, and the man, to a much wider audience. The author, Mr. Albert Rosenfeld, Science Editor of Life magazine, makes the biography read like a novel. The biography deals with Langmuir the man, and special emphasis is given to his early life, his family background and his personal experiences. All of these are essential to an understanding of the forces that shaped his unique char- acter and career. The author was fortunate in receiving the wholehearted cooperation of the important sources on Lang- muir—the Langmuir family, his friends and working col- NO leagues, and the General Electric Company. For example, many revealing views of Langmuir dot the book in the form of excerpts of personal family letters, statements of colleagues FAIR- such as Vincent J. Schaefer and of quotations from the volu- minous notebooks of Langmuir. To share some of the excitement of Langmuir's intellec- WEATHER tual adventures, and to convey to the non-scientist the nature of his achievement, the author describes enough of Lang- muir's research work in some detail. One such research is FRIEND Langmuir's famous work on the gas-filled lamp which revo- lutionized the lamp industry. As part of the story on the m.r.i.'s new recording raingage lamp bulb research, one of Langmuir's favorite words, seren- dipity, is brought into play and we learn of the compelling One month's data on a single and deep faith Langmuir had in this idea. He often selected 7" xll" chart. An entire year's data by month serendipity as a theme of his later lectures with titles like on 12 easily handled file-sized sheets of mois- "Planning Unplanned Research," "Unforeseeable Results of Research," and "Freedom—the Opportunity to Profit from ture resistant, pressure sensitive paper. Up to the Unexpected." As one would expect, Langmuir's Nobel 45 days unattended recording. Prize in surface chemistry is amply covered in several chap- Rapid data reduction of total rainfall from ters of the book. the stair-step trace with resolution to 0.01" at One chapter of interest to geophysicists and atmospheric scientists, describes a lifetime hobby of Langmuir—the study rates up to 7"/hr. For snow and freezing rain of Lake George. Langmuir filled notebook after notebook environments, add the MRI thermostatically- with data on Lake George. He would record , baro- controlled AC heating jacket. metric pressure, water and depth soundings. With each passing year, he devised or borrowed new and Telemetering? Of course. Telephone, land- more sophisticated instruments for what grew into a mam- line or radio link are available as an integral moth marathon study of the "energy budget" of Lake George. part of the system. All of this data is now in a collection of papers in the Library of Congress, awaiting some energetic student to put it all together, a task which Langmuir was not able to complete. Another chapter describes the work of Langmuir and the For additional information, other two members of the G.E. team, Schaefer and Vonnegut, write or call: on weather modification research. The author presents a meteorology research, inc. lively review of Project CIRRUS and the national contro- box 637, altadena, California versy which surrounded this pioneering research. Recounted 91001 213, 719-1901 are Langmuir journeys from the Mohawk Valley to Arizona, -phone to the tropics, to South America, for study and experiment on clouds and weather systems, along with personal notes he made in reporting his results before the National Acad-

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