592 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 589. 



CURRENT NOTES ON METEOROLOGY. 



ANNALS OF MONT BLANC OBSERVATORY. 



Vol. VI. of the Annals of the Mont Blanc 

 Observatory (Vallot), bearing the date 1905, 

 bears witness, in the author's preface, to the 

 difficulties under which M. Vallot has labored, 

 and to the indomitable energy with which he 

 has pursued his work in spite of severe handi- 

 caps. A rheumatic affection, contracted 

 during his long sojourns on Mont Blanc, has 

 • prevented M. Vallot from continuing his as- 

 cents to the observatory, and even from re- 

 ducing his observations. The present volume 

 was begun in 1904, but another severe illness 

 prevented its completion until the year 1905. 

 Although in much better health, the author is 

 not yet sufficiently strong to undertake the 

 ascent of Mont Blanc. 



Vol. VI. contains as its most important 

 paper, M. Vallot's ' Experiences sur la Respira- 

 tion au Mont Blanc dans les Conditions habit- 

 uelles de la Vie' (136 pp.), in which a de- 

 tailed account is given of a large number of 

 observations of physiological importance, made 

 by the author on himself as well as on other 

 persons, during the ascent of, and during so- 

 journs on, Mont Blanc. This is one of the 

 most complete accounts of the physiological 

 effects of high altitudes that we have seen. 



A second paper, by MM. Mougin and Ber- 

 nard, inspectors of forests, ' Etudes executees 

 au Glacier de Tete-Eousse,' deals with the 

 interesting observations made by these officials 

 with a view to preventing in the future another 

 catastrophe such as that which destroyed the 

 baths of Saint-Gervais some years ago. The 

 meteorological station established by M. 

 Vallot on the Grands Mulets, and which he 

 could not make use of owing to his illness, 

 was taken by MM. Mougin and Bernard to 

 the Tete-Rousse, where a series, of observations 

 has been carried on regularly throughout the 

 summer months, at about 3,200 meters above 

 sea level. The publication of these results 

 has been entrusted to M. Vallot, and begins in 

 the present volume. 



Two other papers concern cartographic sub- 

 jects in connection with the Mont Blanc 

 area. 



METEOROLOGISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT. 



The Meteorologische Zeitschrift, which has, 

 since 1889, been published in Vienna (Holzel), 

 is transferred to Braunschweig (Vieweg) with 

 the first number for 1906. Vol. XXIII. of the 

 Zeitschrift begins with this number. When 

 the volumes of the Zeitschrift der h. k. 

 Oesterreichischen Gesellschaft der Meteorol- 

 ogie are taken into account (these two publi- 

 cations having been consolidated in 1884) the 

 number of the new volume is XLI. There is 

 no change in the editorship, Hann and 

 Hellmann continuing in charge, as before. 

 This invaluable meteorological journal seems 

 to have gained new vigor with the beginning 

 of a new year. Woeikof contributes three 

 papers, one on the relation between the tem- 

 perature of the lower air and that of the upper 

 surface of land and water, and two on the 

 character of rainfalls. Rainfalls are classi- 

 fied by Woeikof in the following four types: 

 (A) Thunderstorms of moist regions, short, 

 heavy rainfalls; (B) rains of dry regions, 

 very short, and usually of moderate amount; 

 (C) monsoon rains in their best development, 

 long duration, but of moderate intensity; (D) 

 rains of higher latitudes, especially in au- 

 tumn and winter, long duration, but generally 

 light. 



Gotz, of Munich, contributes a discussion of 

 the progressive change in the condition of the 

 soil as regards moisture, which is of interest 

 in connection with the prevailing popular 

 vievre concerning changes of climate. Von 

 Ficker describes the development of valley 

 haze from the dissipation of stratus clouds. 

 Hann gives the results of a new determination 

 of the mean temperatures of the whole earth, 

 as well as of the eastern and western hemi- 

 spheres. These temperatures have been deter- 

 mined a good many times before, but these 

 latest results include the data given in Mohn's 

 table of normal temperatures of latitudes 60° 

 to 90° north (Report of the Nansen Expedi- 

 tion), in which the observations made by the 

 Fram Expedition were utilized. This is a 

 very important addition to our knowledge of 

 the temperatures of the Arctic, and naturally 

 leads to revision of previous calculations of 

 mean temperatures for the earth. 



