WEATHER AND CLIMATE The People Behind the Science Katherine Cullen, Ph.D. I dedicate this book to all future pioneers in science. ķ Weather and Climate: The People behind the Science Copyright © 2006 by Katherine Cullen, Ph.D. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permis- sion in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Chelsea House An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cullen, Katherine E. Weather and climate: the people behind the science / Katherine Cullen. p. cm. — (Pioneers in science) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8160-5466-5 (acid-free paper) 1. Meteorologists—Biography—Juvenile literature. 2. Meteorologists— History—Juvenile literature. 3. Climatologists—Biography—Juvenile literature. 4. Climatologists—History—Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series. QC858.A2C85 2006 551.5'092'2—dc22 2004030604 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com Text design by Mary Susan Ryan-Flynn Cover design by Cathy Rincon Illustrations by Bobbi McCutcheon Printed in the United States of America MP FOF 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. CONTENTS Preface vii Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii CHAPTER 1 Evangelista Torricelli (1608–1647): Inventor of the Mercury Barometer 1 Galileo’s Assistant 2 The Invention of the Barometer 3 Contributions to Mathematics 6 How a Thermometer Works 6 A Premature Ending 9 Chronology 9 Further Reading 10 CHAPTER 2 Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790): Lightning As an Electrical Phenomenon 11 The Family Business 12 Printing Apprentice 13 On His Own 14 Poor Richard’s Almanack 15 The Pennsylvania Fireplace 16 Experiments with Electricity 18 So What Actually Happened? 20 Studies on Whirlwinds and the Gulf Stream 21 A Founder of a New Nation 23 Chronology 24 Further Reading 25 CHAPTER 3 Luke Howard (1772–1864): Classification of Cloud Types 27 Watching the Sky 28 Science in His Spare Time 28 On the Modification of Clouds 29 Cloud Formation 32 Authority on Meteorology 34 Modern Cloud Classification 35 Chronology 37 Further Reading 38 CHAPTER 4 Sir Francis Beaufort (1774–1857): Establishment of a Scale for Wind Force 41 False Records 42 A Passion for Sea Life 43 The Need for Standard Weather Reporting 45 What Moves the Air and the Water? 46 A More Precise Scale 47 International Scale Adoption 48 Matthew Fontaine Maury 50 Beaufort’s Legacy 51 Chronology 52 Further Reading 53 CHAPTER 5 Louis Agassiz (1807–1873): Proof for the Existence of a Great Ice Age 55 Assistant to Cuvier 56 Studies on Glaciers 58 Glaciers 59 Resistance 61 How the Motions of the Earth Affect Its Climate 64 A One-Way Trip to the United States 66 A Foundation for Paleoclimatology 68 Chronology 70 Further Reading 71 CHAPTER 6 William Ferrel (1817–1891): Effect of the Earth’s Rotation on Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulation 73 Mathematics on a Barn Door 74 The Newton of Meteorology 75 Tides 76 The Effect of Rotation on Moving Bodies 77 Tide-Predicting Machine 79 Coriolis Effect 80 Chronology 83 Further Reading 84 CHAPTER 7 John Tyndall (1820–1893): The Effect of Invisible Gases on the Earth’s Temperature 87 Surveyor, Lecturer, Fellow 88 Glacial Motion 89 Father of the Greenhouse Theory 90 Radiant Heat 90 Why the Sky Is Blue 92 Foghorns 94 The Defeat of Spontaneous Generation 94 Popularization of Natural Philosophy 95 Chronology 97 Further Reading 98 CHAPTER 8 Cleveland Abbe (1838–1916): America’s First Weatherman 99 Dreams of Astronomy 100 From Russia to Washington 101 The Daily Weather Bulletin 101 Creation of a National Weather Service 104 A Matter of Time 105 Time Measurement 106 A Useful Servant 107 Chronology 109 Further Reading 110 CHAPTER 9 Vilhelm Bjerknes (1862–1951): The Movement of Air Masses in the Atmosphere 113 A Father’s Influence 114 Physical Hydrodynamics 115 An Ambitious Program 116 Battle in the Atmosphere 117 Jacob Bjerknes 118 Father of Modern Meteorology 124 Chronology 125 Further Reading 126 CHAPTER 10 Paul J. Crutzen (1933– ): Depletion of the Ozone Layer 129 Hardships 130 A Second Career 131 Mario J. Molina 134 SSTs and Anthropogenic Chlorine 136 Hole in the Ozone 137 Biomass Burning and Nuclear Winter 138 Honors and Impact 140 Chronology 141 Further Reading 143 Glossary 145 Further Resources 151 Index 157 PREFACE eing first in line earns a devoted fan the best seat in the stadi- Bum. The first runner to break the ribbon spanning the finish line receives a gold medal. The firstborn child inherits the royal throne. Certain advantages or privileges often accompany being the first, but sometimes the price paid is considerable. Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon, began flying lessons at age 16, toiled at numerous jobs to pay tuition, studied diligently to earn his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, flew 78 combat mis- sions in Korea as a brave navy pilot, worked as a civilian test pilot for seven years, then as an astronaut for NASA for another seven years, and made several dangerous trips into space before the his- toric Apollo 11 mission. He endured rigorous physical and mental preparation, underwent years of training, and risked his life to courageously step foot where no man had ever walked before. Armstrong was a pioneer of space exploration; he opened up the way for others to follow. Not all pioneering activities may be as per- ilous as space exploration. But like the ardent fan, a pioneer in sci- ence must be dedicated; like the competitive runner, she must be committed; and like being born to royalty, sometimes providence plays a role. Science encompasses all knowledge based on general truths or observed facts. More narrowly defined, science refers to a branch of knowledge that specifically deals with the natural world and its laws. Philosophically described, science is an endeavor, a search for truth, a way of knowing, or a means of discovering. Scientists gain infor- mation through employing a procedure called the scientific method. The scientific method requires one to state the problem vii viii Weather and Climate and formulate a testable hypothesis or educated guess to describe a phenomenon or explain an observation, test the hypothesis experi- mentally or by collecting data from observations, and draw conclu- sions from the results. Data can eliminate a hypothesis, but never confirm it with absolute certainty; scientists may accept a hypothe- sis as true when sufficient supporting evidence has been obtained. The process sounds entirely straightforward, but sometimes advancements in science do not follow such a logical approach. Because humans make the observations, generate the hypothesis, carry out the experiments, and draw the conclusions, students of science must recognize the personal dimension of science. Pioneers in Science is a set of volumes that profile the people behind the science, individuals who initiated new lines of thought or research. They risked possible failure and often faced opposition but persisted to pave new pathways of scientific exploration. Their backgrounds vary tremendously; some never graduated from sec- ondary school, while others earned multiple advanced degrees. Familial affluence allowed some to pursue research unhindered by financial concerns, but others were so poor they suffered from mal- nutrition or became homeless. Personalities ranged from exuberant to somber and gentle to stubborn, but they all sacrificed, giving their time, insight, and commitment because they believed in the pursuit of knowledge. The desire to understand kept them going when they faced difficulties, and their contributions moved science forward. The set consists of eight separate volumes: Biology; Chemistry; Earth Science; Marine Science; Physics; Science, Technology, and Society; Space and Astronomy; and Weather and Climate. Each book contains 10 biographical sketches of pioneering individuals in a subject, including information about their childhood, how they entered into their scientific careers, their research, and enough background sci- ence information for the reader to appreciate their discoveries and contributions. Though all the profiled individuals are certainly dis- tinguished, their inclusion is not intended to imply that they are the greatest scientists of all time. Rather, the profiled individuals were selected to reflect a variety of subdisciplines in each field, different histories, alternative approaches to science, and diverse characters. Preface ix Each chapter includes a chronology and a list of specific references about the individual and his work. Each book also includes an introduction to the field of science to which its pioneers con- tributed, line illustrations, photographs, a glossary of scientific terms related to the research described in the text, and a listing of further resources for information about the general subject matter. The goal of this set is to provide, at an appropriate level, factual information about pioneering scientists. The authors hope that readers will be inspired to achieve greatness themselves, to feel connected to the people behind science, and to believe that they may have a positive and enduring impact on society. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS would like to thank Frank K. Darmstadt, Executive Editor of sci- Ience and mathematics at Infobase Publishing, for his skillful guidance and extreme patience, and to Melissa Cullen-DuPont, for having all the answers. Appreciation is also extended to illustrator Bobbi McCutcheon for her dedicated professionalism, to Ann E. Hicks for her constructive suggestions, and to Amy L.