B.

Weather prediction

Background

Weather prediction is a part of branch of science called climatology or also known as

Weather Forecasting. Climatology and Weather Forecasting is important since it helps
determine future climate expectations. Using latitude, one can determine the likelihood of
snow and hail reaching the surface. Furthermore, in order to predict the weather the scientist
uses weather instruments which to discuss in this section.

Weather forecast techniques and instruments have come a long way since we started
attempting to predict the weather years ago. In addition, Weather forecast instruments are a
vital component in our application of science and technology in an attempt to predict future
conditions of the atmosphere for a given time and location. 

The following are the factors determined in order to predict weather:

 Temperature
 Atmospheric Pressure
 Atmospheric Humidity
 Precipitation
 Clouds

Most common instruments used to predict weather prediction are mostly instrument
invented back then and was just improve through time. Thus, instruments are mostly are basic
and simple which were innovated to increase accuracy and efficiency of use.
Temperature

Thermometer

A thermometer measures the degree of hotness or coldness of a given substance. It

operates on the principle of thermal expansion of the material used, e.g., liquids like mercury
and alcohol, metallic materials, etc. Mercury is one of the liquids very sensitive to changes of
temperature. When the substance measures to be warm, mercury expands and rises in the
capillary tube. When it cools, mercury contracts.

In order to measure the temperature range, a set of maximum and minimum

thermometers are used. A maximum thermometer has a constriction above the bulb that
permits the mercury to rise in the capillary tube but does not allow it to descend the capillary
tube unless the thermometer resets. The highest point that the mercury reaches indicates the
maximum temperature for the period. The minimum thermometer, on the other hand, gives
the lowest temperature. It uses colored alcohol (because of its low freezing point). It is place at
an angle of about 20° from the horizontal. The black float called index needle, pulled downslope
to the lowest temperature of the day by two forces; a) the surface tension at the top of the
alcohol column and b) the force of gravity.

Thermometer
Thermograph

A thermograph is an instrument that records air temperature continuously on graphing

paper. It usually consists of a cylinder made to revolve once each week by means of clockworks
inside. A sheet of graph paper is fasten on the outside. A pen point that rests on the paper
traces the temperature curve, according to the expansion and contraction of a sensitive
metallic coil or strip corresponding to the reading of a thermometer.

These instruments are house in a thermometer shelter, which has double-louvered

sides, and a double-top roofing designed to permit air to circulate freely through the shelter.

Thermograph
Atmospheric Pressure

Mercurial Barometer

A mercurial barometer is a simple barometer made by filling a glass tube 32 inches long
with mercury and inverting it so that the open end of the tube is below the surface of mercury
in a cistern. The height of the mercury column measured by sliding a Vernier attached on a
scale. To obtain accurate measurements, corrections made for temperature expansion of the
instrument, gravity and latitude. Values read in milli-bars, millimeters or inches of mercury.

Mercurial Barometer

Aneroid Barometer

An aneroid barometer made by removing the air from a thin, circular, metallic box. With
practically no air on the inside, the box would collapse. A spring installed to limit the collapse of
the box commensurate to the air pressure or weight of the column of air on the box. If one side
of the box is fixed, the other side will move due to changes in atmospheric pressure. The
surface of the metallic box corrugated in order for the box to collapse and return uniformly. The
movement of the spring causes a pointer to move over a scale of figure corresponding to the
readings of a mercury barometer.
 Aneroid Barometer

Barograph

A barograph is a recording barometer. The pen point that traces the pressure curve on
the paper made to move up or down by means of a series of levers attached to aneroid cells
(metallic boxes) in tandem. The use of aneroid cells in tandem provide a more pronounced
response to changes in atmospheric pressure than would be indicated by a single aneroid cell of
the same size.

Barograph
Atmospheric Humidity

Sling Psychrometer

The sling psychrometer consists of a dry and wet-bulb thermometer. The term bulb
refers to that portion of the glass tube where the mercury is stored. The dry and wet bulbs are
exactly alike in construction. The only difference is that the wet-bulb has a piece of muslin cloth
or wick wrapped around its bulb and which dipped in water shortly before reading the
psychrometer .

The weather observer firsts wets the cloth cladding the wet-bulb, whirls the
psychrometer a few times, then reads the wet-bulb. He reads the dry-bulb last. Normally, the
wet-bulb's reading will be lower than the dry-bulb's. The dry-bulb reading is the air
temperature. The difference between the dry and the wet-bulb readings will give, with the aid
of a psychrometric table, the dew point temperature and the relative humidity. (Dew point is
the temperature at which the water vapor will condense while relative humidity is the ratio of
the amount of water vapor actually present in the air to the maximum amount of water vapor
the air can hold at a given temperature).

Sling Psychrometer
Hygrometer

The other instrument used to measure humidity is the Hygrometer. The hygrometer is
less accurate than the psychrometer. It uses human hair from which the oil removed by using
ether. The hair becomes longer as the relative humidity of the air increases. This change can be
made to move an indicator needle, which moves over a scale, the graduations of which reads
from 0% to 100%.

Hygrometer

Hygrothermograph

The hygrothermograph records both relative humidity and temperature on graph paper
in the same manner as the thermograph and barograph do.

Hygrothermograph
Clouds

Ceiling Light Projector

A ceiling light projector projects vertically a narrow beam of light on to a cloud base. The
height of the cloud base is determined by using a clinometer located at a known distance from
the projector to measure the elevation angle included by the illuminated spot on the cloud, the
observe, and the projector. From trigonometry, the height of the cloud base is equal to the
distance of the observer from the ceiling light projector multiplied by the tangent of the
elevation angle.

Ceiling Light Projector

Ceiling Balloon

Another way of determining the height of the cloud base is by using a ceiling balloon. A
ceiling balloon is a meteorological balloon whose rate of ascent has been predetermined. Filled
with gas lighter than air, usually hydrogen, and released. The time of release and the time the
balloon disappears into the cloud were record. The time difference multiplied by the rate of
ascent will give the height of the cloud base.
Advance Instruments for Weather Prediction

Weather Satellites Provide a 'Space-eye' View

One of the newer 'kids on the block' weather satellites are the highest tech options
available to weather forecasters. They are able to view and gather large amounts of data about
the Earth's weather and climate with unparalleled views.

Either they tend to hold asynchronous orbits (therefore covering the entire Earth's
surface) or geostationary (thereby focusing on a single spot for extended periods). As early
as 1946 ambitions, to put cameras into space was already being develop. 

The first weather satellite, Vanguard 2, reached Earth's orbit in February 1959. This
sparked the beginning of a proliferation of weather satellite launches over the next 5 decades.

From orbit, they are privy to unobstructed views of the Earth's cloud systems and are
able to gather information on anything from ocean temperatures to spotting wildfires or
sandstorms.

Weather satellites are unique in that they are able to offer meteorologists views of
weather systems over large-scale areas offering the ability to observe weather patterns hours
or days before more conventional systems like weather radar.

They are often employ to track and monitor large-scale weather patterns like hurricanes
and El Nino.

Pyranometers

Pyranometers are a special type of weather forecast equipment used to measure solar

irradiance on a given planar surface. They were design to detect and record solar radiation flux
density (W/m2) within a wavelength range of 0.3 to 2.8 micrometers.

They have become the World Meteorological Organization's standard instrument and covered
under the International ISO 9060 standard. Such devices are tend to be calibrate using the
World Radiometric Reference that is maintain by the World Radiation Center in Switzerland.
 Pyranometers tend to comprise of following main components:

 A thermopile, which is a sensor made of thermocouples in series and coated with a

solar absorbing material. 
 A glass dome to restrict the wavelengths of light able to enter the device. It also
shields the thermopile from wind, rain, and convection
 An Occulting disc, which measures the diffuse radiation and blocks beam radiation
from the surface

These devices are normally passive and do not require any power supply at all. Modern
electronic pyranometers, on the other hand, do require a small amount of electrical input.

Pyranometers
Ceilometer

Ceilometers are devices that use lasers or other light sources to determine the height of
clouds or cloud bases; it is also use to determine cloud thickness. They also have applications
for determining aerosol concentrations and volcanic ash in the atmosphere.

They come in two general forms:

 Optical drum ceilometers use triangulation to determine cloud height from a spot of
light projected onto the base of clouds. These tend to consist of a rotating projector,
detector, and recorder. 
 Laser ceilometers consist of a vertically aligned laser and lidar receiver within the
same location. The time taken for the reflected light to return the lidar receiver
enables the device to determine cloud cover height. This technology can also be
prone to false positives because it affects by any form or particulate matter in the air
(dust, rain, smoke etc).

Ceilometers shown to be fatal to birds as for it causes disorientation from the light
beam emitted from them. 

  In the worst recorded ceilometer, non-laser light beam incident, approximately 50,000

birds from 53 different species died at Warner Robins Air Force Base in the United States during
one night in 1954.

Ceilometer
Stevenson Screen's

Although not technically a weather forecasting instrument, per se, the Stevenson

Screen is vital nonetheless. Also known as, an instrument screen, the Stevenson screen forms
the basic enclosure around meteorological instruments the world over.

The main purpose of this innovation is to protect instruments from precipitation and
direct heat radiation from the sun whilst allowing ambient air to circulate through to the
instrumentation inside.

This is important, as its absence would otherwise skew the results of any
instrumentation at the weather station dependent on exposure rather than actual local
weather patterns. 

Stevenson screens will tend to protect instruments like thermometers, hygrometers,

dewcells, barometers, and thermographs. 

They were the brainchild of Thomas Stevenson who was a Scottish civil engineer who
also designed lighthouses. His father was the famed Robert Louis Stevenson. Its current form is
the result of some minor changes over the years with its standardization coming into effect
in 1884.

Automated weather stations are progressively replacing Stevenson Screen type

monitoring stations the world over.

Stevenson Screen's
Buoys

Weather buoys have largely replaced weather ships as platforms for collections weather and
ocean data around the world. Moored versions have been in use since the 1950's with drifting
buoys commons since the later 1970's.

A large network of buoys was establish during the 1980's and 1990's around the Pacific Ocean
to study El Nino systems. The first recorded weather buoy was deployed in 1927 and they
became very popular during WW2.

They tend to be equipped with instruments to measure local temperature, wind speeds, and
barometric pressure to name but a few.

Buoys
REFERENCE/s

https://interestingengineering.com/15-weather-forecast-instruments-and-inventions-that-helped-
define-how-we-predict-the-weather?
fbclid=IwAR0dBAWK_qMeyljM9mfupUitteNuKp6PtgbGyGU7hfRwxjYIJD5jJiiBoJU

http://bagong.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/learning-tools/weather-instruments?
fbclid=IwAR0mFcZOHykTKZ0z39R_L93XjY_cr8WBM5PLaUFOPUFC1KwfzBFCf3ftndo

https://www.omicsonline.org/climatology-and-weather-forecasting-importance.php

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/?page_id=82