Editing Meteorology (section)

=== Meteorology after Aristotle ===
Meteorology continued to be studied and developed over the centuries, but it was not until the Renaissance in the 14th to 17th centuries that significant advancements were made in the field. Scientists such as Galileo and Descartes introduced new methods and ideas, leading to the scientific revolution in meteorology.

Speculation on the cause of the flooding of the Nile ended when [[Eratosthenes]], according to [[Proclus]], stated that it was known that man had gone to the sources of the Nile and observed the rains, although interest in its implications continued.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=26}}</ref>

During the era of [[Greece in the Roman era|Roman Greece]] and Europe, scientific interest in meteorology waned. In the 1st century BC, most natural philosophers claimed that the clouds and winds extended up to 111 miles, but [[Posidonius]] thought that they reached up to five miles, after which the air is clear, liquid and luminous. He closely followed Aristotle's theories. By the end of the second century BC, the center of science shifted from Athens to [[History of Alexandria#Roman era|Alexandria]], home to the ancient [[Library of Alexandria]]. In the 2nd century AD, [[Ptolemy]]'s [[Almagest]] dealt with meteorology, because it was considered a subset of astronomy. He gave several astrological weather predictions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=27}}</ref> He constructed a map of the world divided into climatic zones by their illumination, in which the length of the Summer solstice increased by half an hour per zone between the equator and the Arctic.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=28}}</ref> Ptolemy wrote on the [[atmospheric refraction]] of light in the context of astronomical observations.<ref>Smith AM, 1996. "Ptolemy's Theory of Visual Perception: An English Translation of the Optics", pp. 46. ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'' vol. 86, part 2.</ref>

In 25 AD, [[Pomponius Mela]], a Roman geographer, formalized the climatic zone system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paleorama.com/timelines/geography.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906121823/http://www.paleorama.com/timelines/geography.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 September 2012 |title=Timeline of geography, paleontology |publisher=Paleorama.com |quote=Following the path of Discovery }}</ref> In 63–64 AD, [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] wrote ''[[Naturales quaestiones]]''. It was a compilation and synthesis of ancient Greek theories. However, theology was of foremost importance to Seneca, and he believed that phenomena such as lightning were tied to fate.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=29–30}}</ref> The second book(chapter) of [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]]'s [[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]] covers meteorology. He states that more than twenty ancient Greek authors studied meteorology. He did not make any personal contributions, and the value of his work is in preserving earlier speculation, much like Seneca's work.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=30}}</ref>

[[File:Golden Gate Bridge as seen at twilight from Baker Beach.jpg|Twilight at [[Baker Beach]]|thumb]]
{{anchor|Middle Ages}}<!--linked-->
From 400 to 1100, scientific learning in Europe was preserved by the clergy. [[Isidore of Seville]] devoted a considerable attention to meteorology in ''[[Etymologiae]]'', ''De ordine creaturum'' and ''De natura rerum''. [[Bede|Bede the Venerable]] was the first Englishman to write about the weather in ''[[De natura rerum (Bede)|De Natura Rerum]]'' in 703. The work was a summary of then extant classical sources. However, Aristotle's works were largely lost until the twelfth century, including ''Meteorologica''. Isidore and Bede were scientifically minded, but [[Relationship between religion and science#Middle Ages and Renaissance|they adhered to the letter of Scripture]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=30–31}}</ref>

[[Islamic Golden Age|Islamic civilization]] translated many ancient works into Arabic which were [[Transmission of the Greek Classics|transmitted]] and translated in western Europe to Latin.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=31}}</ref>

In the 9th century, [[Al-Dinawari]] wrote the ''Kitab al-Nabat'' (Book of Plants), in which he deals with the application of meteorology to [[agriculture]] during the [[Arab Agricultural Revolution]]. He describes the meteorological character of the sky, the [[planet]]s and [[constellation]]s, the [[sun]] and [[moon]], the [[lunar phase]]s indicating [[season]]s and rain, the ''anwa'' ([[Astronomical object|heavenly bodies]] of rain), and atmospheric phenomena such as winds, thunder, lightning, snow, floods, valleys, rivers, lakes.<ref name="Fahd-815">{{citation |last=Fahd |first=Toufic |title=Botany and agriculture |page=815}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Morelon |first1=Régis |title=Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science |title-link=Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science |last2=Rashed |first2=Roshdi |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-415-12410-2 |volume=3 |pages=815–816}}</ref>

In 1021, [[Alhazen]] showed that atmospheric refraction is also responsible for [[twilight]] in ''[[Book of Optics|Opticae thesaurus]]''; he estimated that twilight begins when the sun is 19 degrees below the [[horizon]], and also used a geometric determination based on this to estimate the maximum possible height of the [[Earth's atmosphere]] as 52,000 ''passim'' (about 49 miles, or 79&nbsp;km).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frisinger |first1=H. Howard |year=1973 |title=Aristotle's Legacy in Meteorology |journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society |volume=54 |issue=3 |page=198 |bibcode=1973BAMS...54..198F |doi=10.1175/1520-0477(1973)054<0198:ALIM>2.0.CO;2 |issn=1520-0477 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[Adelard of Bath]] was one of the early translators of the classics. He also discussed meteorological topics in his ''Quaestiones naturales''. He thought dense air produced propulsion in the form of wind. He explained thunder by saying that it was due to ice colliding in clouds, and in Summer it melted. In the thirteenth century, Aristotelian theories reestablished dominance in meteorology. For the next four centuries, meteorological work by and large was mostly [[Commentaries on Aristotle|commentary]]. It has been estimated over 156 commentaries on the ''Meteorologica'' were written before 1650.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=32}}</ref> 

Experimental evidence was less important than appeal to the classics and authority in medieval thought. In the thirteenth century, [[Roger Bacon]] advocated experimentation and the mathematical approach. In his ''[[Opus Majus|Opus majus]]'', he followed Aristotle's theory on the atmosphere being composed of water, air, and fire, supplemented by optics and geometric proofs. He noted that Ptolemy's climatic zones had to be adjusted for [[topography]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=33}}</ref> 

[[St. Albert the Great]] was the first to propose that each drop of falling rain had the form of a small sphere, and that this form meant that the rainbow was produced by light interacting with each raindrop.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/dev/hillger/ancient.htm#magnus|title=Ancient and pre-Renaissance Contributors to Meteorology|access-date=16 June 2015|archive-date=2 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202181749/http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/dev/hillger/ancient.htm#magnus|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Roger Bacon]] was the first to calculate the angular size of the rainbow. He stated that a rainbow summit cannot appear higher than 42 degrees above the horizon.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Raymond L. Lee|author2=Alistair B. Fraser|title=The Rainbow Bridge: Rainbows in Art, Myth, and Science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZcCtT1ZeaEC&pg=PA155|year=2001|publisher=Penn State Press|isbn=978-0-271-01977-2|page=155}}</ref> 

In the late 13th century and early 14th century, [[Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī]] and [[Theodoric of Freiberg]] were the first to give the correct explanations for the primary [[rainbow]] phenomenon. [[Theodoric of Freiberg|Theoderic]] went further and also explained the secondary rainbow.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Theodoric of Freiberg and Kamal al-Din al-Farisi Independently Formulate the Correct Qualitative Description of the Rainbow {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/theodoric-freiberg-and-kamal-al-din-al-farisi-independently-formulate-correct-qualitative|website=www.encyclopedia.com|access-date=16 May 2020|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804003915/https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/theodoric-freiberg-and-kamal-al-din-al-farisi-independently-formulate-correct-qualitative|url-status=live}}</ref>

By the middle of the sixteenth century, meteorology had developed along two lines: theoretical science based on ''Meteorologica'', and astrological weather forecasting. The pseudoscientific prediction by natural signs became popular and enjoyed protection of the church and princes. This was supported by scientists like [[Regiomontanus|Johannes Muller]], [[Leonard Digges (scientist)|Leonard Digges]], and [[Johannes Kepler]]. However, there were skeptics. In the 14th century, [[Nicole Oresme]] believed that weather forecasting was possible, but that the rules for it were unknown at the time. Astrological influence in meteorology persisted until the eighteenth century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=33,36}}</ref>

[[Gerolamo Cardano]]'s ''De Subilitate'' (1550) was the first work to challenge fundamental aspects of Aristotelian theory. Cardano maintained that there were only three basic elements- earth, air, and water. He discounted fire because it needed material to spread and produced nothing. Cardano thought there were two kinds of air: free air and enclosed air. The former destroyed inanimate things and preserved animate things, while the latter had the opposite effect.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=36–37}}</ref>

[[René Descartes|Rene Descartes]]'s [[Discourse on the Method]] (1637) typifies the beginning of the [[Scientific Revolution|scientific revolution]] in meteorology. His scientific method had four principles: to never accept anything unless one clearly knew it to be true; to divide every difficult problem into small problems to tackle; to proceed from the simple to the complex, always seeking relationships; to be as complete and thorough as possible with no prejudice.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=37}}</ref>

In the appendix ''Les Meteores'', he applied these principles to meteorology. He discussed terrestrial bodies and vapors which arise from them, proceeding to explain the formation of clouds from drops of water, and winds, clouds then dissolving into rain, hail and snow. He also discussed the effects of light on the rainbow. Descartes hypothesized that all bodies were composed of [[Atomism#Atomist renaissance|small particles]] of different shapes and interwovenness. All of his theories were based on this hypothesis. He explained the rain as caused by clouds becoming too large for the air to hold, and that clouds became snow if the air was not warm enough to melt them, or hail if they met colder wind. Like his predecessors, Descartes's method was deductive, as [[Meteorological instrumentation|meteorological instruments]] were not developed and extensively used yet. He introduced the [[Cartesian coordinate system]] to meteorology and stressed the importance of mathematics in natural science. His work established meteorology as a legitimate branch of physics.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frisinge |first=H. Howard |title=The History of Meteorology: to 1800 |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-1-940033-91-4 |pages=37–40}}</ref>

In the 18th century, the invention of the thermometer and barometer allowed for more accurate measurements of temperature and pressure, leading to a better understanding of atmospheric processes. This century also saw the birth of the first meteorological society, the Societas Meteorologica Palatina in 1780.<ref name="Börngen">{{cite journal |last1=Börngen |first1=Michael |last2=Foken |first2=Thomas |title=150 Years: The Leipzig Meteorological Conference, 1872, a Milestone in International Meteorological Cooperation |journal=Meteorologische Zeitschrift |date=2022 |volume=31 |issue=5 |pages=415–427 |doi=10.1127/metz/2022/1134 |bibcode=2022MetZe..31..415B |s2cid=251295416 |ref=Börngen2022|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In the 19th century, advances in technology such as the telegraph and photography led to the creation of weather observing networks and the ability to track storms. Additionally, scientists began to use mathematical models to make predictions about the weather. The 20th century saw the development of radar and satellite technology, which greatly improved the ability to observe and track weather systems. In addition, meteorologists and atmospheric scientists started to create the first weather forecasts and temperature predictions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-02-25 |title=Weather Forecasting Through the Ages |url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/WxForecasting/wx2.php |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov |language=en |archive-date=22 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122122952/https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/WxForecasting/wx2.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the 20th and 21st centuries, with the advent of computer models and big data, meteorology has become increasingly dependent on numerical methods and computer simulations. This has greatly improved weather forecasting and climate predictions. Additionally, meteorology has expanded to include other areas such as air quality, atmospheric chemistry, and climatology. The advancement in observational, theoretical and computational technologies has enabled ever more accurate weather predictions and understanding of weather pattern and air pollution. In current time, with the advancement in weather forecasting and satellite technology, meteorology has become an integral part of everyday life, and is used for many purposes such as aviation, agriculture, and disaster management.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}