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Books > Professional & Technical > Technology: general issues > Inventions & inventors
Despite being perhaps the foremost British meteorologist of the
twentieth century, Reginald Sutcliffe has been understudied and
underappreciated. His impact continues to this day every time you
check the weather forecast. Reginald Sutcliffe and the Invention of
Modern Weather Systems Science not only details Sutcliffe's life
and ideas, but it also illuminates the impact of social movements
and the larger forces that propelled him on his consequential
trajectory. Less than a century ago, a forecast of the weather
tomorrow was considered a practical impossibility. This book makes
the case that three important advances guided the development of
modern dynamic meteorology, which led directly to the astounding
progress in weather forecasting-and that Sutcliffe was the pioneer
in all three of these foundational developments: the application of
the quasi-geostrophic simplification to the equations governing
atmospheric behavior, adoption of pressure as the vertical
coordinate in analysis, and development of a diagnostic equation
for vertical air motions. Shining a light on Sutcliffe's life and
work will, hopefully, inspire a renewed appreciation for the human
dimension in scientific progress and the rich legacy bequeathed to
societies wise enough to fully embrace investments in education and
basic research. As climate change continues to grow more dire,
modern extensions of Sutcliffe's innovations increasingly offer
some of the best tools we have for peering into the long-term
future of our environment.
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