Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere, atmospheric phenomena, and

atmospheric effects on our weather. The atmosphere is the gaseous layer of the
physical environment that surrounds a planet. Earth’s atmosphere is roughly 100 to 125
kilometers (65-75 miles) thick. Gravity keeps the atmosphere from expanding much
farther.

Meteorology is a subdiscipline of the atmospheric sciences, a term that covers

all studies of the atmosphere. A subdiscipline is a specialized field of study within a
broader subject or discipline. Climatology and aeronomy are also subdisciplines of the
atmospheric sciences. Climatology focuses on how atmospheric changes define
and alter the world’s climates. Aeronomy is the study of the upper parts of the
atmosphere, where unique chemical and physical processes occur. Meteorology
focuses on the lower parts of the atmosphere, primarily the troposphere, where most
weather takes place.

Meteorologists use scientific principles to observe, explain, and forecast our

weather. They often focus on atmospheric research or operational weather forecasting.
Research meteorologists cover several subdisciplines of meteorology to include: climate
modeling, remote sensing, air quality, atmospheric physics, and climate change. They
also research the relationship between the atmosphere and Earth’s climates, oceans,
and biological life.

Forecasters use that research, along with atmospheric data, to scientifically

assess the current state of the atmosphere and make predictions of its future state.
Atmospheric conditions both at the Earth's surface and above are measured from a
variety of sources: weather stations, ships, buoys, aircraft, radar, weather balloons,
and satellites. This data is transmitted to centers throughout the world that produce
computer analyses of global weather. The analyses are passed on to national and
regional weather centers, which feed this data into computers that model the future
state of the atmosphere. This transfer of information demonstrates how weather and the
study of it take place in multiple, interconnected ways.

Scales of Meteorology
Weather occurs at different scales of space and time. The four meteorological scales
are: microscale, mesoscale, synoptic scale, and global scale. Meteorologists often focus
on a specific scale in their work.
Microscale Meteorology
Microscale meteorology focuses on phenomena that range in size from a few
centimeters to a few kilometers, and that have short life spans (less than a day). These
phenomena affect very small geographic areas, and the temperatures and terrains of
those areas.

Tracking air pollutants is an example of microscale meteorology. MIRAGE-Mexico is a

collaboration between meteorologists in the United States and Mexico. The program
studies the chemical and physical transformations of gases and aerosols in the pollution
surrounding Mexico City. MIRAGE-Mexico uses observations from ground stations,
aircraft, and satellites to track pollutants.

Mesoscale Meteorology
Mesoscale phenomena range in size from a few kilometers to roughly 1,000 kilometers
(620 miles). Two important phenomena are mesoscale convective complexes (MCC)
and mesoscale convective systems (MCS). Both are caused by convection, an
important meteorological principle.

Convection is a process of circulation. Warmer, less-dense fluid rises, and colder,

denser fluid sinks. The fluid that most meteorologists study is air. (Any substance that
flows is considered a fluid.) Convection results in a transfer of energy, heat, and
moisture—the basic building blocks of weather.

Synoptic Scale Meteorology

Synoptic-scale phenomena cover an area of several hundred or even thousands of
kilometers. High- and low-pressure systems seen on local weather forecasts, are
synoptic in scale. Pressure, much like convection, is an important meteorological
principle that is at the root of large-scale weather systems as diverse as hurricanes and
bitter cold outbreaks.

Low-pressure systems occur where the atmospheric pressure at the surface of the
Earth is less than its surrounding environment. Wind and moisture from areas with
higher pressure seek low-pressure systems. This movement, in conjunction with the
Coriolis force and friction, causes the system to rotate counter-clockwise in the Northern
Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, creating a cyclone. Cyclones
have a tendency for upward vertical motion. This allows moist air from the surrounding
area to rise, expand and condense into water vapor, forming clouds. This movement of
moisture and air causes the majority of our weather events.
Hurricanes are a result of low-pressure systems (cyclones) developing over tropical
waters in the Western Hemisphere. The system sucks up massive amounts of warm
moisture from the sea, causing convection to take place, which in turn causes wind
speeds to increase and pressure to fall. Hurricanes can be one of the most
devastating natural disasters in the Western Hemisphere.

Global Scale Meteorology

Global scale phenomena are weather patterns related to the transport of heat, wind,
and moisture from the tropics to the poles. An important pattern is global atmospheric
circulation, the large-scale movement of air that helps distribute thermal energy (heat)
across the surface of the Earth.

El Niño is linked with changes in air pressure in the Pacific Ocean known as
the Southern Oscillation. Air pressure drops over the eastern Pacific, near the coast of
the Americas, while air pressure rises over the western Pacific, near the coasts of
Australia and Indonesia. Trade winds weaken. Eastern Pacific nations experience
extreme rainfall. Warm ocean currents reduce fish stocks, which depend on nutrient-
rich upwelling of cold water to thrive. Western Pacific nations experience drought,
devastating agricultural production.

History of Meteorology
The development of meteorology is deeply connected to developments in science,
math, and technology. The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote the first major study of the
atmosphere around 340 BCE. Many of Aristotle’s ideas were incorrect, however,
because he did not believe it was necessary to make scientific observations.

A growing belief in the scientific method profoundly changed the study of meteorology in
the 17th and 18th centuries. Evangelista Torricelli, an Italian physicist, observed that
changes in air pressure were connected to changes in weather. In 1643, Torricelli
invented the barometer, to accurately measure the pressure of air. The barometer is still
a key instrument in understanding and forecasting weather systems. In 1714, Daniel
Fahrenheit, a German physicist, developed the mercury thermometer. These
instruments made it possible to accurately measure two important atmospheric
variables.
Military operations during World War I and World War II brought great
advances to meteorology. The success of these operations was highly dependent on
weather over vast regions of the globe. The military invested heavily in training,
research, and new technologies to improve their understanding of weather. The most
important of these new technologies was radar, which was developed to detect the
presence, direction, and speed of aircraft and ships. Since the end of World War II,
radar has been used and improved to detect the presence, direction, and speed of
precipitation and wind patterns.

The technological developments of the 1950s and 1960s made it easier and faster for
meteorologists to observe and predict weather systems on a massive scale. During the
1950s, computers created the first models of atmospheric conditions by running
hundreds of data points through complex equations. These models were able to predict
large-scale weather, such as the series of high- and low-pressure systems that circle
our planet.

TIROS I, the first meteorological satellite, provided the first accurate weather forecast
from space in 1962. The success of TIROS I prompted the creation of more
sophisticated satellites. Their ability to collect and transmit data with extreme accuracy
and speed has made them indispensable to meteorologists. Advanced satellites and the
computers that process their data are the primary tools used in meteorology today.

Meteorology Today

Today’s meteorologists have a variety of tools that help them examine, describe, model,
and predict weather systems. These technologies are being applied at different
meteorological scales, improving forecast accuracy and efficiency.

Radar is an important remote sensing technology used in forecasting. A radar dish is an

active sensor in that it sends out radio waves that bounce off particles in the
atmosphere and return to the dish. A computer processes these pulses and determines
the horizontal dimension of clouds and precipitation, and the speed and direction in
which these clouds are moving.

A new technology, known as dual-polarization radar, transmits both horizontal and

vertical radio wave pulses. With this additional pulse, dual-polarization radar is better
able to estimate precipitation. It is also better able to differentiate types of
precipitation—rain, snow, sleet, or hail. Dual-polarization radar will greatly improve
flash-flood and winter-weather forecasts.