When we read the Homeric and the Hesiodic poems, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Theogony, it looks as if weather is in the control of gods. It turns out when we turn to the very earliest Greek texts, the Homeric and the Hesiodic poems, there are quite a bit of weather in those poems as well. It’s one of the interesting things about reading Aristotle: he gives us a little bit of a history of meteorology, as well as giving his own ideas about meteorological phenomena as well. But we know from reading his work that many of his predecessors were interested in meteorological phenomena as well. Historian and Philosopher of Science Liba Taub on the definition of science, Aristotle, and the ancient ideas about volcanoes Now, Aristotle’s work on meteorology is the earliest full text that survived on the topic from Antiquity. The main way that we know that such an extensive list of natural phenomena were included in the study of meteorology is that when we go to Aristotle’s work called “The Meteorology”, he tells us at the very beginning exactly what the work studies, and he gives us a very long list of the things I just mentioned and more. For example, comets, but also geological or seismological phenomena, including earthquakes. It turns out though for the Ancient Greeks that the study of meteorology didn’t only include what we would call weather phenomena (things like snow, rain, hail, wind), but also included some things that we would regard as astronomical phenomena. It’s that word from which our modern word “meteorology” derives. The Greek word “meteora2 refers to lofty things, to things that are high up. They were interested in understanding what causes weather phenomena. In fact, the people who were probably the earliest scientists in Greece, the ancient Pre-Socratic natural philosophers, apparently also had quite a bit to say about weather too. It turns out that in Ancient Greece and Rome people were interested in weather as well. May engage in the design and development of new equipment and procedures for meteorological data collection, remote sensing, or for related applications.I’ve lived in England for about 20 years and ever since I moved here English people have been telling me that weather is one of their very favorite topics of discussion.Make scientific presentations, publish reports, articles or popular texts for specialists, users or the general public.Provide consultation and advice to outside agencies, professionals, or researchers regarding the use and interpretation of climatological information.Participate in studies of the effect of weather on the environment.Analyze the impact of industrial projects and human activity on the climate and quality of the air and work with the social science, engineering and economic communities to develop appropriate mitigation strategies.Develop and test mathematical computer models of weather and climate for experimental or operational use.
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