Weekly Weather Event -Jonathan Martin's New Book
March 19, 2021After six years of research and writing, Professor Jonathan Martin published a new book this month, a biography of one of the pioneers within our field. Reginald Sutcliffe and the Invention of Modern Weather System Sciences covers the life and work of the foremost British meteorologist of the twentieth century, diving into the many accomplishments and groundbreaking developments he made in order to lay the foundations of modern metrology. This includes his work in applying the simplified quasi-geostrophic equations to the equations governing atmospheric behavior, using pressure as a vertical coordinate, and developing diagnostic equations for vertical movement.
Alongside the groundbreaking meteorology, this biography also covers social movements and other outside forces that lead Sutcliffe down his journey, including how weather forecasts impacted World War II. It also details how these advances help shape modern forecasting techniques, leading eventually to the one-day forecasts that would have seemed like a miracle not even a century ago.
Professor Martin’s new book is available at several online retailers, including Indie Bound. Please consider supporting this wonderful look into our field’s past.