The oldest known descriptions of glaciers are found in Icelandic literature from the 11th century. Scientific studies of glaciers were first undertaken in Switzerland some five hundred years later, ...and during the 19th century glaciology became important in geology, as it was evident that the glaciers were instrumental in the evolution of landscape. Regular meteorological service, with weather forecasting, was first established in France, where synoptic weather maps were published from 1863, but climatological research had been carried out before that date.
An analysis is presented of possible changes in the radiative terms of the Polar Ocean energy budget. Theoretical polar atmospheres are discussed with various changes in the radiation balance. It is ...concluded that the atmosphere is, at present, adjusted in the best possible way for the conservation of energy. Radiation budgets are presented, for various assumed conditions. The optimum surface conditions would occur with winter overcast and summer clear sky. The earth-atmosphere radiation budget is presented for an open Polar Ocean. Relatively minor variations in any term can result in a complete freeze-over or complete melting. The atmospheric advection required with an open Polar Ocean would decrease significantly from the present. It might even become, in winter, a heat export from the Polar Ocean.
An improved definition of the lacustrian thermocline is introduced, allowing a minimization of the random type fluctuations, with the aim of establishing more precise predictive models of the ...internal energy of lakes. The method consists first of determining the limits of the zone of thermal transition, referred to as the "thermoclinal zone", and then of defining the plane of the thermocline by calculating its depth, either from the temperatures or from the depths to the limits of this zone. Six new definitions, each borrowing more or less from existing concepts in the literature, are compared with the Brönsted and Wesenburg-Lund's definition. The best definitions are those for which the plane of the thermocline is defined from the mean temperatures to the limits of the thermoclinal zone. Of these, the most satisfactory is the one obtained from a mean thermal gradient limited to about twice the thermocline depth.
An improved definition of lacustrine thermocline is introduced, which permits a minimization of the random-type fluctuations, with the aim of establishing more precise predictive models of the ...internal energy of lakes. The method consists of determining the limits of the zone of thermal transition, referred to as the thermoclinal zone, and of defining the plane of the thermocline by calculating its depth, either from the temperatures or from the depths to the limits of this zone. Six new definitions, each borrowing more or less from existing concepts in the literature, are compared with the Bronsted and the Wesenburg-Lund definition. The best definitions are those for which the plane of the thermocline is defined from the mean temperatures to the limits of the thermoclinal zone. Of these, the most satisfactory is the one obtained from a mean thermal gradient limited to approximately twice the thermocline depth.
