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meteorology and hydrography.
617
Meteorology and Hydrography.
From early historical times only scanty information is available regarding
mes of unusual heat or cold, wet weather or drought, good or bad harvests etc.,
■om which approximate data regarding climatic conditions can be collected,
he oldest regular meteorological observations carried out in any place within
le present boundaries of Sweden are those set on foot by the celebrated
(anish astronomer, Tycho Brahe, in 1582—97, at his observatory at Uranienborg,
a the island of Ven, which belonged to Denmark until 1658. The first regular
leteorological observations carried out by Swedes were arranged between 1720
ad 1740, with the support of the Society of Sciences of Uppsala, by E.
turman (1692—1729) and A. Celsius (1701—44), first at Uppsala and
sub-;quently at various other places in Sweden. The lack of exact thermometers,
owever, detracted considerably from the value of those observations. It was
ot until the middle of the eighteenth century that better conditions began to
revail, after Celsius and Linnæus had graduated the Centigrade thermometer,
fe possess fairly good observations from Uppsala, with some gaps, since 1739,
rom Stockholm since 1754, and from Lund since 1740. Barometers and
rain-auges were also used, but the observations taken with these instruments have
ittle value as regards modern requirements.
At an even earlier date, Swedish scientists had investigated the question of
he connection between the level of the waters of rivers and lakes and the
/eather, and also the rise of the land, or the so-called diminution of the water.
7. Hjärne (1641—1724) raised this question in 1694. E. Swedenborg (1688—
772) and D. Tiselius (1682—1744) studied it about 1720, and B. Wassenius
1687—1771) has left us several essays containing an essentially correct
ex-lanation of this connection, based on many years’ observations of the weather
nd of the level of Lake Vänern. We possess several fairly complete series
f measurements of the level of the water in some of the largest watercourses
a Sweden, dating from the second half of the 18th and the first half of the
9th century.
On the invitation of the "Societas Palatina", founded at Mannheim in
.780, the Academy of Sciences arranged, in 1785, for regular meteorological
bservations to be made at the principal educational institutions in the country
inder the supervision of the lecturers in mathematics. In this way valuable
eries of observations have been made extending over many years, although in
orne cases the gaps are numerous. Private individuals have also carried out
lighly valuable observations dating from this time.
In the years 1848 to 1852, A. Erdmann (1814—69), in conjunction with
H. Kreuger (1782—1858), instituted regular meteorological and hydrographical
bservations at twenty stations, namely Skeppsholmen at Stockholm,
Kungs-olmen at Karlskrona, and 18 lighthouses, 11 of .which were provided with
wind-gauge constructed by Kreuger. In 1850, these observations were placed
nder the supervision of the Academy of Sciences. In 1858, E. Edlund (1819—
8) established a system of so-called Second Class Stations, with meteorological
bservations three times a day on the barometer and the dry bulb and wet bulb
termometers, and with regard to the direction and force of the wind, clouds,
tmospheric precipitation, fog, dew, hoar frost, thunderstorms, aurora borealis,
tc., together with observations on maximum and minimum thermometers and
leasurements of the precipitation once every twenty-four hours. These
obser-ations have been continued since that time on almost the same plan, except
ar a few subsequent extensions, new stations having been gradually added.
rom the year 1873, they have been under the supervision of the Central
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