A Discussion of Australian Meteorology ¹

Abstract

THE meteorology of the southern hemisphere presents a specially attractive field of study. The large area of water surface conduces to much simpler conditions than are to be found to the north of the Equator, and here, if anywhere, the meteorologist may hope to discover the fundamental principles underlying the general movements of the atmosphere. On the other hand, he has to face the relative paucity of data. The meteorological organisations of the three great land areas are still young, and our knowledge of what is happening over the sea is woefully small as compared with the completeness with which we are able to track down changes occurring over the great trade routes of the North Atlantic. The present discussion forms a recapitulation and a completion of work published from time to time from the Solar Physics Observatory, of which abstracts have appeared in previous numbers of NATURE (lxx., p. 177; lxxiv., p. 352). At the outset we congratulate Dr. Lockyer on his success in bringing together a vast amount of information and on the skill with which he has marshalled the facts deduced therefrom.