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Federation and MeteorologyBureau of Meteorology
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Table of Contents

Memories of the Bureau, 1946 to 1962

Foreword

Terminology

Prologue

Preface

Chapter 1: The Warren Years, 1946 to 1950

Chapter 2: International Meteorology

Chapter 3: The Timcke Years, 1950 to 1955
A Period of Consolidation
Aviation Services
Services for the General Public
Rockets and Atomic Weapons
Instruments and Observations
Climate and Statistics
International Activities
Training
Publications
Research
Central Analysis and Development
CSIRO
The Universities
The Meteorology Act
Achievements of the Timcke Years

Chapter 4: A Year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Chapter 5: The Dwyer Years, 1955 to 1962

Chapter 6: A Springboard for the Future

Appendix 1: References

Appendix 2: Reports, Papers, Manuscripts

Appendix 3: Milestones

Appendix 4: Acknowledgements

Appendix 5: Summary by H. N. Warren of the Operation of the Meteorological Section of Allied Air Headquarters, Brisbane, 1942–45

Endnotes

Index
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Central Analysis and Development

The staff of the CAWDS maintained a high level of service in producing analysis and prognostic statements during the Timcke years. John Lillywhite was promoted as OIC Training Section in 1952 and promoted to Deputy Director, Victoria, in 1953. My old friend A. K. (Keith) Hannay had been promoted in charge of the Central Analysis Office (CAO), formerly CAWDS.

It should be remembered that at the beginning of the Timcke era (1950) the radiosonde network had only been in place for a little over five years and the radar wind network had been planned but had not begun operating.

Southern Ocean analysis which had commenced with the beginning of observations from Heard and Macquarie Islands in 1948 was still in the developmental stage. The network of observations was woefully inadequate for the production of a precise analysis and did not permit an accurate prognosis of the Southern Ocean situation, but it made a remarkably useful contribution in increasing the accuracy of prognoses for southern Australia.

The CAO/CAWDS program included analysis of the upper levels of the troposphere. Observations from the progressively installed radar wind stations and prognosis for these upper levels involved the use of techniques using constant absolute vorticity trajectories.

One difficulty which reduced the effectiveness of the output of the CAWDS was the method of transmission of the analysis and prognostic charts. The position of isopleths on the chart was encoded using a series of five figure groups which on receipt at Divisional and field offices had to be replotted on charts. This difficulty was to be overcome by facsimile which saved much time and produced a superior representation of the CAWDS chart products. Ralph Holmes, as Inspector (Aviation), had the responsibility for telecommunications and badly needed the assistance of a telecommunications engineer. It would be some time before such a person joined Bureau staff.


Organisations in Australian Science at Work - Central Analysis Office (CAO)

People in Bright Sparcs - Hannay, Alexander Keith (Keith); Holmes, Ralph Aubrey Edward; Lillywhite, John Wilson; Timcke, Edward Waldemar

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Gibbs, W. J. 1999 'A Very Special Family: Memories of the Bureau of Meteorology 1946 to 1962', Metarch Papers, No. 13 May 1999, Bureau of Meteorology

© Online Edition Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre and Bureau of Meteorology 2001
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