Description

The federal government has been providing meteorological and climatological services to the public since 1870, but the provision of services specifically tailored to the engineering community has a much shorter history. Summarization of the vast volume of observational data to address specific environmental problems related to agriculture, architecture, transportation, public safety, human health, and engineering became economically feasible in the 1930s with the development of the punched card method of data processing. The utility of climatology as an applied science was not well recognized until World War II when its value in strategic and tactical planning became apparent. Since that time, the requirements for readily accessible climatological information addressing a myriad of specific weather-related problems have grown by leaps and bounds and have emerged as a significant industry. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of services and products available to the engineer from civilian agencies of the federal government with particular emphasis on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is the agency specifically charged with the responsibility for archiving the nation’s meteorological (weather) data and for describing the climate of the United States.

Citation: Symposium, ASHRAE Transactions, 1987, vol. 93, pt. 2, Nashville, TN

Product Details

Published:

1987

Number of Pages:

4

File Size:

1 file , 440 KB

Product Code(s):

D-NT-87-10-1