The Thermal Theory of Cyclones: A History of Meteorological Thought in the Nineteenth Century

265 Pages·1979·36.686 MB·English

by  Gisela Kutzbach (auth.)

THE THERMAL THEORY OF CYCLONES
A History of Meteorological Thought
in the Nineteenth Century
American Meteorological Society
Historical Monograph Series
The History of Meteorology: to 1800-$15.00
The History of American Weather (All four volumes-$40.00)
Early American Hurricanes (1492-1870), 1963- $12.00
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(1604-1820), 1966-$12.00
(1821-1870), 1967-$12.00
Early American Tornadoes (1586-1870), 1970-,..-$12.00
The Thermal Theory of Cyclones: A History of Meteorological
Thought in the Nineteenth Century-$30.00
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The picture is a collage composed from parts of the figures in this book. The
individual components illustrate important physical concepts and observations
emerging over a period of six decades of cyclone research. Pieced together, they
helped shape the thermal theory of cyclones. The underlying framework, provided
by theoretical achievements, is partially exposed at the lower right.
THE THERMAL THEORY
OF CYCLONES
A History
of Meteorological Thought
in the Nineteenth Century
Gisela Kutzbach
HISTORICAL
MONOGRAPH
SERIES
AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY
Copyright © 1979 by the American Meteorologica! Society
AII rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
IISSBBNN 997788--11--994400003333--8800--88 ((eeBBooookk))
DOI 10.1007/978-1-940033-80-8
Library of Congress Catalogue Card No. 79-51009
American Meteorologica! Society
45 Beacon St., Boston, Mass. 02108
PREFACE
The discovery of the laws of thermodynamics during the 1840's and 1850's produced
profound changes in many fields of Nineteenth Century science. Thermodynamics also
played an essential role in the emergence of modern meteorology. This becomes apparent
when analyzing the historical roots of the idea that midlatitude storms are thermally driven
circulation systems. During the Nineteenth Century this idea took shape in the form of the
thermal theory of cyclones. Considering the development of this theory also provides an
insight in the particular problems and methods of problem solving in Nineteenth Century
meteorology. The account that follows aims to display the significance of thermal and ener
getic studies of cyclone development for Nineteenth Century cyclone theory and to show
the impact and dependence of these studies on the general development of the field.
In the writing of this book, I have tried to keep at least two audiences in mind. I have
written for the historian of science and the professional meteorologist who is interested in
tracing the origin and development of a basic concept in meteorology. Further, I have tried
to illustrate for the student of meteorology that the science is a human activity and that its
development is an open-ended process involving the constant testing of hypotheses.
Having to write almost exclusively from the primary sources, I am aware that the results
presented in this study are only a beginning; there is still much to be learned. I have strived
to retain some of the flavor and the richness of the original works by providing a large num
ber of quotations. I have translated all the foreign language quotations, except those few for
which translations were available. I have also prepared an appendix with short biographical
sketches of 33 scientists whose works are discussed in this book.
The idea for this study germinated about ten years ago, when Professor Erwin N. Hiebert's
enthusiastic lectures and seminars on the history of the laws of thermodynamics sparked
my interest in the influence of these laws on the development of meteorology. He provided
generous stimulation, encouragement and guidance throughout my graduate studies and the
preparation of my dissertation. The present study is an outgrowth of this dissertation. Most
of the essential initial research was done during an extended stay in England, and I am in
debted to the librarians of the British Meteorological Office, Bracknell, for their assistance.
A Travel Grant of the University of Wisconsin made possible visits to several European
libraries and a Vilas Fellowship helped support a year of my graduate studies. Professor
Werner Schwerdtfeger made many helpful suggestions in the early stages of the book and
his kind assistance is appreciated.
I am happy to thank Dr. Eugene Bierly, editor of the Meteorological Monographs, who
persistently encouraged me through the past five years to continue my historical studies
despite the many delays in revising and redrafting of the manuscript. The reviewers of the
manuscript will recognize the effects of their many valuable suggestions for improvements of
the text, and special thanks goes to them. I am indebted to Mr. John Gerhardt for his sympa
thetic guidance and skillful technical editing. Finally I wish to thank my family without whose
enthusiastic support this book could not have been written. Angela and Katrina cheered
every page. John, my husband, has been an active participant throughout the book's
development and he provided much productive criticism and unflagging encouragement.
Madison, Wisconsin Gisela Kutzbach
CONTENTS
PREFACE vii
LIST OF FIGURES xi
JOURNAL ABBREVIATIONS xiii
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
1.1 A synopsis 3
1.2 Setting the stage 10
Chapter 2: Early Applications of the Principles of Adiabatic Change and
Vertical Convection 19
2.1 Introduction 19
2.2 Espy's investigations of adiabatic change and his convective theory
of storms (1840's) 22
2.3 Espy's supporters 27
a. Early synoptic studies by Loomis (1841-1846) 27
b. Ferrel's early theoretical studies (1860) 35
2.4 Conclusions 41
Chapter 3: Early Applications of the First Law of Thermodynamics 45
3.1 Introduction 45
3.2 Adiabatic changes in ascending currents: Thomson (1862), Reye
(1864), Peslin (1868) 46
3.3 The foehn wind 58
Chapter 4: Emergence of the Thermal Theory of Cyclones 63
4.1 Introduction 63
4.2 Empirical synoptic studies 64
a. The beginnings of weather services and the synoptic chart 65
b. Buchan's synoptic studies on the role of latent heat (1868) 71
c. Mohn's empirical thermally asymmetric cyclone model (1870) 76
4.3 Early studies of the energetics of storms: Peslin (1868) 84
4.4 Reye's quantitative investigations on the role of latent heat in
storms (1872) 88
4.5 Helmholtz' convective theory of storms (1876) 96
4.6 Dynamic cyclone models 99
a. Guldberg and Mohn-Role of convective current and thermal
asymmetry (1876-1880) 101
b. Ferrel-The thermal wind concept (1878) 110
ix
Chapter 5: The Thermal Theory Put to Observational Test 119
5.1 Introduction 119
5.2 Synoptic-statistical studies-Favorable evidence 120
a. Ley (1872) 120
b. Loomis and others (1870's) 123
5.3 Controversial evidence 125
5.4 Cloud observations 128
a. Ley (1872-1877) 128
b. Hildebrandsson (1870's) 132
5.5 Upper level temperature observations (1880's) 134
5.6 The American reaction (1890's) 139
5.7 The European response (1890's) 142
Chapter 6: Modifications of the Thermal Theory 147
6.1 Introduction 147
6.2 Asymmetric temperature distribution in cyclones 149
a. Early investigations 149
b. Koppen and Moller (1880's) 150
6.3 V. Bjerknes' circulation theorem (1898) 159
6.4 Synoptic studies of horizontal temperature contrasts (Ekholm,
Bigelow and Shaw, the 1900's) 171
6.5 The tropopause (1900's) 181
6.6 Margules' investigations of the energy of storms (1901-1906) 186
6.7 Surfaces of discontinuity 194
Chapter 7: Toward the Wave or Polar Front Theory of Cyclones 207
7.1 Introduction 207
7.2 J. Bjerknes' model of the frontal cyclone 207
7.3 Concluding remarks 218
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 221
APPENDIX: BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 224
NAME INDEX 247
SUBJECT INDEX 251
X
LIST OF FIGURES
FIG. 1. Schematic illustration of the thermal or convective theory of
cyclones (1870's). 6
FIG. 2. Summary of the historical development of the thermal theory of
cyclones (1830's to 1900's). 9
FIG. 3. Chart illustrating wind and pressure conditions in a storm according
to Dove (1828). 14
FIG. 4. Map illustrating vortical nature of storms by Redfield (1843). 17
FIG. 5. Formation of cumulus clouds by convection according to Espy
(1841). 24
FIG. 6. Chart of a storm by Espy (1841). 26
FIG. 7. Meeting of warm and cold currents of air according to Loomis (1841 ). 30
FIG. 8. Synoptic chart by Loomis (1846). 32
FIG. 9. Diagrams of surface winds in cyclones according to Espy, Redfield
and Loomis (1846). 33
FIG. 10. Ferrel's model of warm and cold center cyclones (1860). 40
FIG. 11. Thermodynamic diagram according to Peslin (1868). 57
FIG. 12. Synoptic chart of the U.S. Weather Bureau (1872). 67
FIG. 13. Series of weather charts by Buys Ballot (1852). 68
FIG. 14. Synoptic chart by Fitzroy (1863). 69
FIG. 15. Synoptic chart of the Bulletin International (1863). 70
FIG. 16. Synoptic chart by Buchan (1865). 73
FIG. 17. Synoptic charts by Mohn (1875). 77
FIG. 18. Mohn's empirical cyclone model (1870). 79
FIG. 19. Wind roses during passage of storm according to Dove (1828, 1837). 81
FIG. 20. Fitzroy's storm model (1863). 83
FIG. 21. Helmholtz' "bath tub" experiment (1876). 97
FIG. 22. Guldberg and Mohn's mathematical model of wind spirals around
barometric depressions (1876). 107
FIG. 23. Ferrel's cyclonic circulation model (1878). 112
FIG. 24. Relation between upper winds and surface winds in cyclones ac-
cording to Ley (1877). 131
FIG. 25. Inclination of cyclone axis with altitude according to Ley (1872). 132
FIG. 26. Movement of cirrus clouds above cyclones and anticyclones
according to Hildebrandsson (1881). 133
FIG. 27. Thermodynamic diagram representing exchange of air between
cyclone and anticyclone according to convective theory (Bezold,
1888). 143
FIG. 28. Influence of temperature distribution in cyclones on the upper level
pressure field according to Koppen (1882). 151
xi