286 F. Waldo — Contributions to Dynamical Meteorology, 



conditions to be found in the actual atmosphere. The author's 

 views of the limiting conditions that must be made in the 

 statement of the hydrodynamics of the problem are of the 

 utmost importance. The suggestions concerning the represen- 

 tation of the temperature distribution by means of spherical 

 functions (this was beautifully worked out by Schoch about 

 1856) should receive the careful consideration of students of 

 meteorology. At the end of the paper is given a general out- 

 line of : 1, currents in the case of a spherical earth without 

 rotation ; 2, currents arising in consequence of the rotation of 

 the earth. 



No. 7. — This is a continuation of the previous paper. In 

 the latter the "pressure" distribution was not considered ex- 

 cept incidentally. In this paper he takes up this question and 

 comes to the conclusion that the existing pressure distribution 

 is fully explained by the currents of the atmosphere, and that 

 from the observed values of the pressure, we can draw conclu- 

 sions as to the intensity of the air currents. 



The author then deduces a general view of the pressure dis- 

 tribution at the earth's surface and in elevated regions. The 

 intensity of the rotation currents, both at the earth's surface 

 and up above, is next considered ; and this necessitates the 

 introduction of the equation of continuity which plays an im- 

 portant part in the analysis which follows. After stating a 

 formula which represents, with tolerable accuracy, the change 

 of air pressure (at the earth's surface) with the latitude, the 

 author proceeds to calculate the angular velocity of the rota- 

 tional motion of the air, by means of the formulge developed 

 by him. After drawing some general conclusions in regard to 

 the actual circulation of the atmosphere, and in which the ver- 

 tical components receive special attention, the author closes 

 with some most important suggestions concerning the lines for 

 future investigations on this same subject. 



No. 8. — This paper is stated by the author to be a popular 

 account of No. 6, and which he prepared at the request of the 

 editor of the " Rundschau." In attempting to make the matter 

 clear, he has entered into such details (which he evidently con- 

 sidered unnecessary in ~No. 6) that the present paper can 

 hardly be called an abstract of a former one, but must be con- 

 sidered a separate contribution. He has given a short sum- 

 mary of what other workers have done toward creating an 

 atmospheric mechanics, and his ideas deserve special considera- 

 tion coming as they do from one of the most skillful of the 

 present contributors to the science of mathematical physics. 

 Recognizing that Ferrel was the first to give even an approxi- 

 mate solution of the problem of atmospheric circulation, he 

 goes on to criticize in some respects the method employed 



