396 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 584. 



JAPANESE METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE' IN 

 KOREA AND CHINA. 



A GLANCE at a map of the orient will clearly 

 show how serious and difficult a matter it is 

 to predict weather in Japan. Japan stands 

 under the direct influences of the Pacific 

 Ocean and the Asiatic continent, and also of 

 the tropical and polar ocean currents, so that 

 meteorological as well as climatic conditions 

 in Japan are, indeed, very complex. Very 

 often a continental cyclone and a typhoon, 

 which of course comes from the tropics, pass 

 through Japan simultaneously, thus bringing 

 complexities to the weather. On account of 

 this, the Japanese government has felt the 

 necessity of establishing new meteorological 

 stations along the coasts of Korea and China. 



Nine stations have been established at first, 

 in Korea and Manchiiria, and their approxi- 

 mate geographical coordinates are as follows : 



Three new stations at Port Arthur, Niko- 

 loisk and Alexandrosk have been added to the 

 above, and there are four others which are at 

 the same time marine semaphore stations. 



The Chemulpo Meteorological Observatory 

 is of the first order, and the other stations are 

 mostly of the second order and subordinate 

 to the former. These stations make six ob- 

 servations daily, at 2, 6, 10 a.m., and 2, 6, 10 

 P.M. on one hundred and thirty-fifth meridian 

 time (east of Greenwich). Each station is 

 provided with a Fortin barometer, an August 

 psychrometer, a maximum thermometer, a 

 minimum thermometer, a Robinson anemom- 



^ For the Meteorological Service in Japan, see 

 a short account of ' Recent Advances in Meteorol- 

 ogy and Meteorological Service in Japan,' pub- 

 lished in The Popular Science Monthly, February, 

 1906. , 



eter with electric device, a vane, a pluviometer 

 of two decimeters (eight inches) diameter, an 

 atmometer of the same diameter, a Jordan 

 heliograph or sunshine recorder, a Richard 

 barograph, a Richard thermograph and a 

 Richard hygrograph. The central Chemulpo 

 Observatory possesses, in addition, an anemo- 

 graph, an anemo-cinemograph, a pluviograph, 

 a micro-seismograph, earth thermometers for 

 different depths and a sufficient number of 

 accessories and apparatus, such as marine 

 chronometers, a theodolite, a sextant, photo- 

 graphic apparatus, etc. 



The Chemulpo Meteorological Observatory 

 and the whole meteorological service in Korea 

 are under the direct supervision of Professor 

 Y. Wada as the chief of the service. Ever 

 since 1879 Professor Doctor Wada has been 

 connected with the meteorological service in 

 Japan, and has been for many years the chief 

 of the service of predictions in the Central 

 Meteorological Observatory. Japan owes a 

 great deal to him for his important investi- 

 gation of meteorological conditions in Japan 

 and for the organization and completion of 

 our weather service. At the beginning of 

 the recent Russo-Japanese war Professor 

 Wada was entrusted by the Japanese govern- 

 ment with completing the work as the chief 

 of that service. The Chemulpo Meteorolog- 

 ical Observatory receives every day telegraphic 

 reports of three meteorological observations 

 at 6 A.M., 2 P.M. and 10 p.m. from the prin- 

 cipal stations in Japan and from those in 

 Korea and Manchuria, with the addition of 

 telegi-ams twice a day from Tientsin, Chefoo, 

 Zikawei, Nankin, Hangchow, Hanliow, Shan- 

 shi, Amoy and Manila. Thus it will be seen 

 that the reports abundantly suffice to enable 

 this observatory to give weather predictions 

 and storm warnings to semaphore stations. 



The building for the observatory, construct- 

 ed temporarily and opened since the beginning 

 of the year 1905, is situated on a little hill 

 quite near the Japanese concession at Chem- 

 ulpo, at the mouth of Kanko River. Besides 

 the observatories above rhentioned, a large 

 magneto-meteorological observatory is now 

 planned to be established in Pekin by the 



