The difference between the true value of some quantity and its observed value. Every observation is subject to certain errors. Systematic errors affect the whole of a series of observations in nearly the same way. For example, the scale of an instrument m ...

A type of pressure-tube anemometer, named after the inventor.

Physical equipment used in data processing. Compare to firmware, software.

An increase in the central pressure of a pressure system; opposite of a deepening. More commonly applied to a low rather than a high.

Of or pertaining to rain.

See hydrologic accounting.

A clock-driven instrument mounting which automatically and continuously points in the direction of the sun. It is used with a pyrheliometera,hen continuous direct solar radiation measurements are required.

The component of the radiosonde which includes the modulating blocking oscillator and the radiofrequency carrier oscillator.

General term for any device that measures precipitation: principally a rain gauge or snow gauge.

See gain.

A magnetometer of the electromagnetic type which is used to measure the horizontal intensity of the earth's magnetic field.

Winds from the four cardinal points of the compass; that is, north, east, south, and west winds.

An estimate of the temperature of an incandescent body, determined by observing the wavelength at which it is emitting with peak intensity (its color) and using that wavelength in Wien's law.

Operation mode of a communication circuit in which each end can transmit and receive, but not simultaneously.

A warm, dry wind on the lee side of a mountain range, the warmth and dryness due to adiabatic compression upon descent.

A polariscope consisting of a specially constructed double plate polarizer and a tourmaline plate analyzer. Polarized light passing through the instrument is indicated by the presence of parallel colored fringes, while unpolarized light results in a unifo ...

The decrease of an atmospheric variable with height, the variable being temperature, unless otherwise specified.

Cathode Ray Tube. A display element, consisting of a vacuum tube and screen, used with computers.

Any soft, gentle breeze.

A record obtained from a meteorograph. A chart in which meteorological variables are plotted against time.