CHAPTER 12 



THE GOVERNING FUNDAMENTALS 

 OF METEOROLOGY 



The treatment of meteorology in this manual 

 progresses from the overall governing funda- 

 mentals of meteorology in this chapter, to a 

 thorough description of the atmospheric circu- 

 lation, air masses and fronts, meteorological 

 elements, and fundamentals of oceanography in 

 chapters 13 through 16. 



As unpredictable as the weather seems, it 

 is still the result of a great number of factors 

 which operate according to well-defined laws. 

 If this were not true, it would be impossible to 

 forecast with even a small amount of accuracy. 



Physics is devoted to finding and defining 

 problems as well as to reaching their solutions. 

 Physics not only teaches a person to be curious 

 about the physical world around him but also 

 gives him a means of satisfying his curiosity. 

 Physics is the basic science that deals with 

 motion, force, and energy as shown in the laws 

 of mechanics, electricity, magnetism, sound, 

 heat, and light. 



Your understanding of the weather elements 

 and your ability to analyze meteorological 

 situations depend upon your knowledge of the 

 application of some of the fundamental principles 

 of physics. This does not mean that you must 

 be able to understand all of the complicated 

 theories of meteorology; it does mean, however, 

 that you should have a fair working knowledge 

 of some of the more elementary aspects of 

 physics, as applied to the atmosphere as well 

 as other physical laws, in order to perform 

 your duties as an Aerographer's Mate in a 

 creditable manner. 



In order to accomplish this, an understanding 

 of mathematics will become important to an 

 ever increasing degree as you progress in your 

 studies of meteorology. 



The apprentice Aerographer's Mate requires 

 a basic knowledge of ratio, proportion, inter- 

 polation, percentage, and trigonometric functions 



of a right triangle. As you move further into 

 the field of meteorology, you will find it helpful 

 to increase your knowledge in this area by 

 referring to the training manuals entitled: 

 Mathematics, Vol. 1, NAVEDTRA 10069-C, 

 Mathematics, Vol. 2, NAVEDTRA 10071-B, or 

 Mathematics, Vol. 3, NAVEDTRA 10073-A. Not 

 to be overlooked as additional sources of 

 information are the many mathematic courses 

 offered by colleges. Information on these courses 

 and manuals may be obtained from your 

 Educational Service Office. 



DEFINITION OF METEOROLOGY 



Meteorology is defined as the study of 

 phenomena of the atmosphere. This includes not 

 only the physics, chemistry, and dynamics of 

 the atmosphere, but is extended to include many 

 of the direct effects of the atmosphere upon 

 the earth's surface, the oceans, and life in 

 general. The goals often ascribed to meteorology 

 are the complete understanding, accurate pre- 

 diction, and artificial control of atmospheric 

 phenomena. 



Meteorology may be subdivided, according 

 to the methods of approach and the applications 

 to human activities, into a large number of 

 specialized sciences. A few of the more common 

 ones are applied meteorology, dynamic meteor- 

 ology, synoptic meteorology, macro, meso, and 

 micro meteorology. 



EARTH-SUN RELATIONSHIP 



Although the solar system has many compo- 

 nents, we are primarily interested in only the 

 earth and the sun. In this section the effect the 

 sun has upon the earth is considered. 



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