Meteorology

I am doing my paper on meteorology. The word meteorology means the study of

the weather. I am stating many topics such as : How Meteorology got its name, The tools

meteorologists use to tell the weather, many ancient philosophers who were believed to

have created meteorology, how to become a meteorologist, what meteorologists really

do, how much money they make, and where they work. This paper will tell you

everything you need to know about meteorology.

The word meteorology comes from ancient Greek mythology. It takes its name

from the Greek word meteor on-something that happens high in the sky. The ancient

Greeks looked at clouds, rain, and wind and tried to understand how they are connected to

one another. The weather was important in their simple way of living because it affected

the farmers who cropped plants and their fishermen who sailed the waters. Today, our

way of living and our environment are affected even worsted by things in the atmosphere.

Aristotle is considered the father of meteorology. His book Meteorological,

written around 340 B.C., was the first major study of the atmosphere. Although some of

Aristotle's ideas about rain, hailstorms, and other kinds of weather were right, many were

not. Like other philosophers of his time, he believed that brains and reason alone could

lead to truth. He did not think it was necessary to observe the details of the world in order

to understand it.

For a very long time, the only features of the weather that could be measured

were wind direction and rainfall. The thermometer was invented around A.D. 1600, and

the barometer, which measures atmospheric pressure, came a few years later. Over the

next 200 years, devices were developed for measuring wind speed, humidity, and other

important qualities of the atmosphere. Scientists used these instruments to record the

periodical trends that are known as climate. However, they still did not understand the

behavior of thunderstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other weather phenomena.

By the mid-1800s, meteorologists began to realize that clouds, winds, and rain at

a particular place are produced by large weather systems that increase and change as they

move across the face of the earth. However, this knowledge was not very useful as long

as weather information could travel no faster than the weather itself. Then the telegraph

was invented, allowing weather reports to be sent out almost instantly. Future weather

over much of the United States and Europe was predicted by watching storms develop

and assuming that they would move eastward.

In the early 1940's World War II brought much more advancements in

Wartime technological developments such as radar proved to be valuable meteorological

observing systems. Meteorologists have developed many more new tools and techniques

for observing and studying the atmosphere since World War II. They probe the violent

cores of thunderstorms with radar and high-performance aircraft, and they use satellites

to observe hurricanes and other major weather systems. They develop many models

meteorology. Compared to 2000 years ago when ancient philosophers would stare at the

sky and try to guess what would happen we have improved dramatically.

A meteorologist is not just the guy on television telling us the highs and lows and

the chance of thunderstorms. Many radio and television weathercasters are professional

meteorologists, but others are reporters who are passing on information provided by the

National Weather Service or private weather forecasters. A meteorologist's education

usually includes a bachelor's or higher degree from a college or university. Many

meteorologists have degrees in physics, chemistry, mathematics, and other fields.

Meteorologists do many things, some of which may surprise you. They work in teaching,

weather forecasting, and other kinds of meteorology.

Many meteorologists use tools to determine the weather forecast such as

instrumental