Explore how winds and ocean currents shape our weather, with clear, accessible explanations.
This edition collects Professor William Ferrel’s Popular Essays on the Movements of the Atmosphere, presenting his ideas on how temperature differences drive atmospheric and oceanic motion. The text blends observation with bold theories to explain phenomena like trade winds, cyclones, tornadoes, and water spouts, while noting uncertainties and the effort to show that proposed causes can account for observed effects.
Ferrel divides the work into two parts: the winds of the atmosphere and the motions of the ocean. He describes large-scale patterns, how pressure and rotation influence cyclones, and how boundary factors like landmasses affect weather. The essays discuss both well-supported observations and the reasoning behind new forces proposed to explain longstanding puzzles in meteorology.
- How warming and cooling create air and water movements that drive global wind belts
- Why cyclones follow curved paths and how rotation and pressure shape their routes
- The connection between atmospheric motions and ocean currents near the equator and toward the poles
- How extreme weather events like tornadoes and water-spouts form and behave
Ideal for readers of science history and weather topics, especially those curious about early theories of atmospheric motion and the forces shaping our climate.