Meteorology

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Meteorology, branch of science that deals with the atmosphere of a planet, particularly that of the earth, the most important application of which is the analysis and prediction of weather. Individual studies within meteorology include aeronomy, the study of the physics of the upper atmosphere; aerology, the study of free air not adjacent to the earth's surface; applied meteorology, the application of weather data for specific practical problems; dynamic meteorology, the study of atmospheric motions (which also includes the meteorology of other planets and satellites in the solar system); and physical meteorology, which focuses on the physical properties of the atmosphere.

Aristotle's Meteorologica (c.340 B.C.) is the oldest comprehensive treatise on meteorological subjects. Although most of the discussion is inaccurate in the light of modern understanding, Aristotle's work was respected as the authority in meteorology for some 2,000 years. In addition to further commentary on the Meteorologica, this period also saw attempts to forecast the weather according to astrological events, using techniques introduced by Ptolemy.

As speculation gave way to experimentation following the scientific revolution, advances in the physical sciences made contributions to meteorology, most notably through the invention of instruments for measuring atmospheric conditions, e.g., Leonardo da Vinci's wind vane (1500), Galileo's thermometer (c.1593), and Torricelli's mercury barometer (1643). Further developments included Halley's account of the trade winds and monsoons (1686) and Ferrel's theory of the general circulation of the atmosphere (1856). The invention of the telegraph made possible the rapid collection of nearly simultaneous weather observations for large continental and marine regions, thus providing a view of the large-scale pressure and circulation patterns that determine the weather.

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