A river gauge in which a weight suspended on a wire is lowered to the water surface from a bridge or other overhead structure to measure the distance from a point of known elevation to the water surface.

A semiconductor which exhibits rapid and extremely large changes in resistance for relatively small changes in temperature.

A local variation of the wind vector or any of its components in a given direction.

A protocol similar to RS232 which makes use of differential transmission to provide high speed data transmission over significantly longer distances.

The ratios, to the mean wind speed, of the average magnitudes of the component fluctuations of the wind along three mutually perpendicular axes.

A numbering system using a base number of 2 and having only two digits: 0 and 1. The fundamental system of representing information with electrical pulses.

The processing of the form or mode of a signal so as to make it intelligible to, or compatible with, a given device.

A photometer which measures the intensity of radiation as a function of the frequency (or wavelength) of the radiation.

Same as wind sock.

A cone-tipped metal rod designed to be driven downward into deposited snow or firn. The measured amount of force required to drive the rod a given distance is an indication of the physical properties of the snow or firn.

Video Display Terminal. An input and display device which includes a keyboard and a screen and allows a human to communicate with a computer.

A defective maximum thermometer of the liquid-inglass type in which the mercury flows too freely through the constriction. Such a thermometer will indicate a maximum temperature that is too low.

The temperature registered by a thermometer with its bulb at the level of the tops of the grass blades in short turf.

A device for computing certain psychrometric data, usually the dew point and the relative humidity, from known values of the dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures and the atmospheric pressure. One type is the circular slide-rule form and, like the psychromet ...

Temperarure at which a liquid solidifies under any given set of conditions. It may or may not be the same as the melting point or the more rigidly defined true freezing point or (for water) ice point.

A form of data transmission in which the bits of each character are all sent simultaneously, resulting in extremely fast communication but requiring a communication path for each bit. Compare to serial data transmission.

The state of the weather with respect to its effect upon the kindling and spreading of forest fires.

A unit of pressure used principally in oceanography. One decibar (10' dynes/cm2) equals 0.1 bar. In the ocean, hydrostatic pressure in decibars very nearly equals the corresponding depth in meters.

A feeble oscillatory disturbance of the earth's crust, detectable only by very sensitive seismographs. Certain types of microseisms seem to be closely correlated with pressure disturbances. See microbarm.

The record of an aneroid barograph.