The attached file is a promo from our cousins, the Hydrological
Society, new book on "Groundwaters of NZ".

                  Bob McDavitt,

The attached file is a promo from our cousins, the Hydrological
Society, new book on "Groundwaters of NZ".

                  Bob McDavitt,

Hullo

The Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic
Society is holding their 9th National Conference at
the Univ. of Melbourne from 18-21 February, 2002.

They are calling for papers and the deadline for
abstract submission is 28 September.


More information can be found at http://www.amos.org.au


Richard Turner
secretarry, Met Soc.

R O Y A L  S O C I E T Y  O F  N E W  Z E A L A N D


Royal Society Alert 178                 31 May, 2001

16. EL NIÑO WORKSHOP  PRESENTATION SUMMARIES NOW ON-LINE

Droughts and floods are a fact of life for farmers in New Zealand.
Over the
last few decades we have realised that some of these droughts are
associated with the El Niño - Southern Oscillation, a large-scale
pattern
of ocean and atmosphere circulation variation across the Pacific
Ocean. The
1997/98 El Niño had a major impact on New Zealand agriculture. The
New
Zealand Institute of Economic Research estimated that the associated
drought resulted in a loss of $618 million (0.9%) to GDP. This bald
economic figure does not convey the stress, worries and hardship the
drought brought to farmers and the rural community.

The Royal Society Committee on New Zealand Climate organised a
workshop in
late 1998 on the 1997/98 El Niño while it was still fresh in the
minds of
those who were affected, and well-remembered by the scientists and
policy
advisers who predicted and monitored the resulting drought and its
effects.
The goal of the Committee was to share information and experience,
with the
hope that this would help New Zealanders deal better with similar
events in
the future. The Committee decided to place summaries of the
presentations
made at the workshop on the Internet, to provide a record people can
draw
on when they once again have to cope with an El Niño drought. These
summaries are now available at
http://www.rsnz.govt.nz/advisory/nz_climate/enso/index.php

Greetings

The Ministry of the Environment has just sent
the society a registration brochure for the 2001
State of the environment conference.

Relevant details are
Dates: 5-7 June 2001
Venue: Te Papa, Wellington
Fees: $250 if before May 18, $280 if after May 18.

The aims of the conference are to:
-Understand how to communicate environmental
information to change behaviour.
-Showcase outstanding examples and share ideas.
-Bring together the public and those working for the
environment.
-Raise awareness about the environment.

For more information see
www.soeconference.govt.nz

If you want a copy of the registration form
let me know.

Cheers
Richard
c/o NIWA
PO BOX 14-901
Kilbirnie, Wellington
New Zealand
Tel 64 4 386 0315
Fax 64 4 386 2153
e-mail r.turner@...

The following article on "The Science of Climate Change" was
published in the Royal Society of New Zealand ALERT dated 10 May 2001

"The Science of Climate Change"
The Royal Society of London recently drafted and circulated this
statement
on Climate Change, which the Royal Society Academy Council has
considered
and endorsed:

The work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
represents
the consensus of the international scientific community on climate
change
science. We recognise IPCC as the world’s most reliable source of
information on climate change and its causes, and we endorse its
method of
achieving this consensus. Despite increasing consensus on the science
underpinning predictions of global climate change, doubts have been
expressed recently about the need to mitigate the risks posed by
global
climate change. We do not consider such doubts justified.

There will always be some uncertainty surrounding the prediction of
changes
in such a complex system as the world’s climate. Nevertheless, we
support
the IPCC’s conclusion that it is at least 90% certain that
temperatures
will continue to rise, with average global surface temperature
projected to
increase by between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees centigrade above 1990 levels
by
2100. This increase will be accompanied by rising sea levels, more
intense
precipitation events in some countries, increased risk of drought in
others, and adverse effects on agriculture, health and water balance.

In May 2000, at the Inter Academy Panel (IAP) meeting in Tokyo, 63
academies of science from all parts of the World issued a Statement
on
Transition to sustainable development in which they noted that
“global
trends in climate change … are growing concerns”, and pledged
themselves to
work for sustainability  meeting current human needs while preserving
the
environment and natural resources needed by future generations. It is
now
evident that human activities are already contributing adversely to
global
climate change. Business as usual is no longer a viable option.

We urge everyone - individuals, businesses and governments - to take
prompt
action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. One hundred and
eighty-one
governments are Parties to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on
Climate
Change, demonstrating a global commitment to ‘stabilising atmospheric
concentrations of greenhouse gases at safe levels’. Eighty-four
countries
have signed the subsequent 1997 Kyoto Protocol, committing developed
countries to reducing their annual aggregate emissions by 5.2% from
1990
levels by 2008-2012.

The ratification of this Protocol represents a small but essential
first
step towards stabilising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse
gases. It
will help create a base upon which to build an equitable agreement
between
all countries in the developed and developing world for the more
substantial reductions that will be necessary by the middle of the
century.

There is much that can be done now to reduce the emissions of
greenhouse
gases without excessive cost. We believe that there is also a need
for a
major co-ordinated research effort focussing on the science and
technology
that underpin mitigation and adaptation strategies related to climate
change. This effort should be funded principally by the developed
countries
and should involve scientists from throughout the world.

The balance of the scientific evidence demands effective steps now to
avert
damaging changes to the earth’s climate.

===============================================================
         Meteorological Society of NZ -- Wellington Branch

                       Southern Excursions:
            An Investigation of the Holocene Climate of
                  Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica

During November/December 2000 researchers from the School of Earth
Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, spent 6 to 8 weeks
undertaking
field work in Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica as part of an
ongoing
study of the regions weather and climate. Fieldwork included
monitoring
local meteorological conditions with the deployment of an automatic
weather
station on the Victoria Lower Glacier, as well as the excavation of
5m snow
pits. Snow and ice samples collected from the snow pits are
undergoing
isotope analysis to enable the reconstruction of the regions climate
including its temperature and precipitation regimes. Regional wind
field
characteristics and larger scale synoptic circulation patterns are
also
being reconstructed with the aid of aerosol samples (dust) retrieved
from
the snow pack.

The presentation by three post-graduate students from the School of
Earth
Sciences will discuss some of the challenges and rewards of
undertaking
such fieldwork in Antarctica, as well as some of their initial
results.

Time: 2:00 pm,
Date: Tuesday 8 May
Venue: 1st Floor,  MetService Building, 30 Salamanca Road Kelburn

All welcome.

Hullo

I have just received pamphlets advertising a workshop
on "Climate Change: The IPCC third Assessment report and
implications for New Zealand"
This is sponsored by the NZ Climate Committee, the RSNZ, and
the National Science Strategy Committee on Climate change.
It is to be held on May 1 at the Wellington School of Medicine.

Speakers include
Bob Watson (Chair IPCC), Brett Mullan, Blair Fitzharris, David
Wratt, Peter Hodgson (Minister of the Environment),
Martin Manning, (Mark Howden, CSIRO), Paul Newton
(AgResearch), Dick Warrick (CLIMPACTS), Alistair Woodward
(Wellington School of Medicine), Margaret Lawton (Landcare),
Murray Ward (Min. Environment), Keith Joblin (AgResearch),
and Ralph Sims (Massey)

Online registration is available at
http://www.rsnz.govt.nz/secure/events/climate.php
I also have several Pamphlets - that were sent to me-
which also have registartion forms on them.

Richard
Secretary
Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc)
PO BOX 6523
Te Aro
Wellington
New Zealand
Telephone 04 386 0315
Fax       04 386 2153
e-mail r.turner@...

1.  From your President
RMS/EMS calendars are still available. They have asked us to notify
our members of this... if any of uou are interested then the details are

  8 pounds 50 per copy, or 35 pounds for 5,
  contact execsec@... or http://www.royal-met-soc.org.uk/

2.  From your Immediate past president
You have probably notices that Yahoo have taken over egrouos.
You need not worry ...you can do nothingm and your status will remain
unchanged
(you will still get these posted messages as before).
Or, if you want full access to the whole egroup, you will need to get a
Yahoo ID and
then link it to your egroups id and password...Go to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/metsocwn
and if you ever wish to post a message to this group (members only) send it
to
metsocwn@yahoogroups.com  (metsocwn@egroups.com also still works)

This may be of interest to members of the meteorological society.

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From:            Grant.Pearce@...
Subject:         Bushfire 2001 conference announcement
Date sent:       Wed, 17 Jan 2001 17:09:56 +1300

Please advertise the following conference announcement to your members of
your various societies. Thank you in advance.

===========
Conference Announcement:

Joint Bushfires/FRFANZ Conference 2001

The Australasian Bushfires Conference, Bushfire 2001 will be held from 3-6
July
2001 in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The theme for the conference is "Fire behaviour and its applications in
fire
management" and the programme will include sessions on:
- fire behaviour and fire danger rating
- fire weather and climate
- fire ecology/fire effects
- fire management
- firefighter safety

Bushfire 2001 will be held in conjunction with the Forest and Rural Fire
Association of New Zealand (FRFANZ) 11th Annual Conference which will have
the
related theme "Fire weather and fire behaviour - what everybody should
know" and
will run from 4-6 July 2001.

Current plans include joint and concurrent sessions, a joint field trip and
conference dinner, trade displays and a poster session.

For registrations and more detailed information, visit the conference
website:
http://www.forestresearch.co.nz/site.cfm/bushfire

or  contact:
bushfire.conf@...

Happy 2001 everyone...and here's some good news to start off the year...

This is the item which appeared in the recent American Met Soc. (AMS)
Newsletter:

"Dr. Richard Rosen, vice president and chief scientist at the Research and
Development Division of Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc., in
Lexington, Massachusetts, has been elected President-Elect by the AMS
membership. He will serve as President in 2002."

  Rick is also a member of the Meteorological Society of New Zealand - he was
signed up by Dr Neil Gordon when he visited here around 1986 for the AMS
Southern Hemisphere Meteorology meeting, and he has continued membership
ever since.

This is another first - a member of our Society to be elected as President
of the AMS!


PS: Newsletter progress...They got to the printers before Christmas, and are
now being printed... should be out in next few weeks.


Bob McDavitt...Newsletter editor

Dear all:

See below - recent piece from the latest Royal Society Alert.

Jim Renwick

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------

From: moderator@... [mailto:moderator@...]
Sent: Thursday, 14 December 2000 16:03
To: Multiple recipients of rsnz-list - Sent by
Subject: 14/12/2000 Royal Society Alert 158


R O Y A L  S O C I E T Y  O F  N E W  Z E A L A N D

Royal Society Alert 158                         14 December 2000

2. New appointments at University of Otago
3. Geological Society of NZ and NZ Geophysical Society Awards

++++++++++SNIP+++++++++++

2. NEW APPOINTMENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO

The University of Otago is pleased to announce promotions for 26
senior academic staff. The new appointments in Dunedin,
Christchurch, and Wellington, comprise 7 new Professors, 15
Associate Professors, 3 Professorial Research Fellows, and one
Clinical Associate Professor.

The new Professors are:

*Professor Robert Ballagh FRSNZ (Physics)
Professor Ballagh is a theoretical physicist specialising in
laser and atomic physics. He has achieved widespread recognition
for his investigations of the basic quantum and electromagnetic
processes, and for the innovative methods he has devised to
solve the complex equations involved. He was elected a Fellow of
the Royal Society of New Zealand in November.

*Professor Blair Fitzharris MRSNZ (Geography)
Professor Fitzharris is a leading climatologist and geographer.
His research focus is climate change and its likely future
impacts on global snow and ice and their future contributions to
sea level rise. He holds a distinguished appointment to the
Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change which is the major
source of independent scientific information for governments.

+++++++++++++SNIP

3. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND AND THE NEW ZEALAND
GEOPHYSICAL SOCIETY AWARDS

The following awards were announced at the recent joint
conference of the Geological Society of New Zealand and the New
Zealand Geophysical Society:

*Geophysics Prize, for an outstanding geophysical paper: Jointly
to HELEN ANDERSON (MoRST) and TERRY WEBB (IGNS).

*W. A. Pullar prize for research in tephrochronology: DENNIS
EDEN (Palmerston North), for his work on multi-sourced distal
tephras.

++++++++SNIP

The AGM is being held as part of the Symposium 2000
Conference in Christchurch in November.

The venue for the AGM will be in the Jobberns Room, Level 4,
Dept. of Geography.  The time will be 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday
21st November.

Agenda for the 21st AGM of the New Zealand Meteorological
Society.

1. Attendance and Apologies

2. Confirmation of minutes of previous AGM

3. Matters Arising:
Lateness of Journal Publications.
Society Logo quality.
Letter of congratulations to Royal Society for their 150th
anniversary in April 2000.

4. President's annual report

5. Audited balance sheet and the income and expenditure
accounts for the preceding financial year.


6. Subscription Rate .

Motion tabled by the committee:
“That this committee propose to the AGM that  the
subscription level for the 2001/2002 financial year be
$75.00 (Institutional)/$25.00 (Ordinary),  and that the new
committee compile a review soon after the end of the next
financial year (31July 2001).”
	 Moved Cliff Revell/Seconded Erick Brenstrum

7. Appointment of Auditor

8. Election of Officers.

9.  Discussion of matters raised by the members.
9a Motion tabled of the committee :
"That the proposal for a Merit Award Medal be accepted as
follows

* The Merit Award shall comprise a Medal, to be known as the
Edward Kidson medal, struck in commemoration of Dr Edward Kidson,
Director of the New Zealand Meteorological Service 1927-1939.

* The purpose of the award shall be to encourage advancement
of the science of meteorology and/or climatology and its
applications.

* The Award shall be available to anyone making a
significant current or recent contribution to the
understanding of New Zealand meteorology and/or climatology.

  An award shall be made for:
* an outstanding research paper in meteorology and/or
climatology published in a refereed scientific journal
during the preceding three years, or
*an original scientific paper on the influence of
meteorology and/or climatology or other meteorological
factors in any field of scientific or human endeavour or,
conversely, the influence of other sciences or endeavours on
meteorology and/or climatology, or
*a published report of a significant and novel scientific,
educational, social or economic application of meteorology
and/or climatology.

*The award shall generally recognize the scientific value of
the work and/or the practical value of the application of
meteorology and/or climatology at the national level and be
made every two years.

Selection of recipients shall comprise the following:

  *Nominations for the award shall be sought every two years
from members of the Society, other related societies,
research institutions, universities, and commercial
companies engaged in meteorological activities or weather
and climate-sensitive enterprises.

*The Committee of the Society shall appoint an Award
Selection Sub-committee comprising two members of the
committee and not less than two other appropriately
qualified persons to evaluate the nominations.

*The Award Selection Sub-committee shall assess the
nominations in terms of
	 i) the significance of the topic;
	 ii) the originality of the ideas and methods;
	 iii) the value of the results.

*The Award Selection Sub-committee shall submit its report,
with a list of not more than three nominations, in order of
merit, to the Committee of the Society who will make the
final selection.

*The Award Selection Sub-committee may decide not to
recommend an award, or the Committee of the Society may
decide not to make an award, if none of the nominations
submitted is considered to be worthy of an award."
Moved Don Thompson, seconded Brett Mullan

9(b) Other items raised by members.

The AGM is to be followed by some light refreshments
and some bubbly and cake
to celebrate the Society's 21st anniversary.


Bob McDavitt, President, 1 Nov 2000

From the Royal Society of New Zealand news sheet

  2001 WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANISATION RESEARCH AWARDS

Nominations are sought for the 2001 World Meteorological
Organisation (WMO) Research Awards for Young Scientists. The
purpose of the WMO Research Awards is to encourage young
scientists, preferably in developing countries, working in the
fields of meteorology and hydrology. Each award shall be made
for an outstanding scientific research paper. Awards shall be
made to young scientists not exceeding the age of 35 at the time
of the nomination. Workers in all fields of meteorology and
hydrology will be eligible. Only papers which have been
published in scientific journals will normally be eligible for
consideration; however, a summary of a successfully defended PhD
thesis would also be acceptable.

For for info goto http://www.rsnz.govt.nz/

FRESH PERSPECTIVES


Met Society is jointly hosting the FRESH PERSPECTIVES conference , along with the Hydro and Limnology Soc, in Christchurch  21 - 24 November 2000.

The conference committee would like to urge, invite, and cajole you all to think about contributing.  There is still room and time,  but you need to act quickly and get your abstract off by end of Wednesday 23 August.  

Go to http://ucar.canterbury.ac.nz/fresh/home.htm for more info, but HURRY.


                 Bob McDavitt,
       President  of Met Soc

Latest of the Ag/Hort Convention: ---

we need one more paper to make the Met Society sponsered workshop a great
event
  we need one more paper to make the Met Society sponsered workshop a great
event
   we need one more paper to make the Met Society sponsered workshop a great
event
    we need one more paper to make the Met Society sponsered workshop a great
event
      we need one more paper to make the Met Society sponsered workshop a
great event

NZIAS/NZSHS/MSNZ/ASNZ Convention 2000
"Managing the Impacts of Climatic Variability: The Noah Paradigm"
Palmerston North, 27-29 June 2000

1. NZSHS Guest Speaker
2. Abstracts (Yes, you still can. But hurry!)
3. Plenary speakers list
4. Early-bird registration discount

1. NZSHS Guest Speaker: Dr Gary Stutte, NASA
Dr Stutte is a leading NASA plant physiologist and will be presenting an
overview of NASA research towards developing a closed-system plant-based
food production system for a manned Mars mission.

2. Beat those Post-PGSF contract negotiation blues
The organising committee has received an encouraging response to the
invitation for abstracts. But yes, we realise that the March 31 deadline for
abstracts submissions was not ideal. And there is still room for more! So
we've extended the deadline till April 20, to help all you busy people.
Papers on a wide range of topics will be considered.

3. Noah Paradigm Plenary (Wednesday 28 June)
Confirmed speakers for the "Noah Paradigm" plenary include: Jim Salinger -
Senior Climatologist, NIWA
Roger Stone - Principal Research Scientist, Queensland Centre for Climate
Applications
Bruce Campbell -Science Leader, Ecosystem Biology, AgResearch
Dean Witters - Manager Director, CEDENCO Foods Ltd.
Alan Walker - Director, Policy Info & Regions Group, MAF Policy David
White - Director, AIT Consulting, A.C.T. Australia
George Pottinger - Southern Regional Manager-Rural, The National Bank of New
Zealand
Paul Reeves - Crop Insurance, Norwich Union
A presentation on management of pastoral agricultural systems will also be
included.

This informative day will be drawn together at its conclusion by a
"Challenge the Paradigm" session featuring representatives from across the
primary industry sectors.

4. Early-bird Registration Discount ends May 2
Register now, and save. Do it today!
(And please feel free to forward this message to your colleagues who, not
being members, who might benefit from the reminder. Spread the word. It's
going to be value-packed Convention!)

For more information, abstract forms, programme and registration details
etc., visit the Convention website

http://www.hortnet.co.nz/noah/

Hi all

  Just a reminder that the call for abstracts for our session at the the
Ag/Hort convention is near its deadline (31 March).  I've checked with the
organisers and they currently only have
received only 6 papers for the whole 3 days, so get tapping!

What follows is an email from the organising committee.....

bob McDavitt (Met Soc President)




Abstracts for the NZSHS/NZIAS Convention ("Managing the Impacts of
Climatic Variability: The Noah Paradigm":  27-29 June, Palmerston North)
are due Friday 31 March. Get those fingers moving!

Visit http://www.hortnet.co.nz/noah/ for abstract forms.

Not a climatologist? Don't worry. Please submit your paper or poster! Papers
on a variety of topics will be considered for supporting technical sessions
hosted by NZIAS, NZSHS, and Meteorological and Agronomy Societies.

The Convention will also feature a NCL-sponsored workshop: 'Studying
dynamic climatic impacts'.  Visit http://ncl.hort.cri.nz for more
information.

Bye,

Paul

_______________________________________________________________________
Paul T. Austin

The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand
Palmerston North Research Centre (National Climate Laboratory)
Private Bag 11-030                        Tel. +64-6-356-8080 extn 7774
Palmerston North, NZ                    Fax. +64-6-354-6731

The Met Society is (along with NZIAS) hosting one of the workshop sessions
in
the upcoming NZIAS/NZSHS annual convention being held in Palmerston North,
  27-29 June 2000.

This email is a hurry-up call for your papers at our session.
========================================================================
You MUST fill in the forms by 31 March, and I know you want to, so do it!
You MUST fill in the forms by 31 March, and I know you want to, so do it!
You MUST fill in the forms by 31 March, and I know you want to, so do it!
You MUST fill in the forms by 31 March, and I know you want to, so do it!
You MUST fill in the forms by 31 March, and I know you want to, so do it!
=========================================================================
Our session goes by the title: "Agriculture and Climatic Variability"
(Tuesday  27 June, mainly afternoon)

It focuses on managing impacts of climatic variability on
New Zealand's primary production systems.

The website  http://www.hortnet.co.nz/noah/ has details of conference,
registration forms and application form for submitting papers.


The convention is called:  Managing the Impacts of Climatic Variability: The
Noah Paradigm.
The question has been asked: Why the 'Noah Paradigm'?
Answer: In the biblical story, it was Noah who took heed of the medium-to-
long term climate forecast he was given, adopted the recommended
adaptation strategy, took action within a suitable timeframe to avoid the
most
severe effects, used biological indicators (the behaviour of the raven
and dove, and the olive branch) to assess environmental performance
(by remote-sensing!), and then returned to his normal business when the pro-
offered risk assessment (the rainbow) indicated that this was the
appropriate
course of action. Hence, 'The Noah Paradigm'!

Keynote speakers :
Bruce Campbell  AgResearch
George Pottinger  National Bank of New Zealand
Jim Salinger  NIWA
Roger Stone 	 Queensland Centre for Climate Applications
Alan Walker 	 MAF Policy Info and Regions Group

Programme outline:
Tuesday 27 June Participating Society technical sessions &
		 	 Met Society Focus Session: 'Agriculture & climatic variability'
Wednesday 28 June Plenary Symposium: 'The Noah Paradigm'
Thursday 29 June Participating Society technical sessions &
			 NCL Workshop: 'Studying dynamic climatic impacts'

Again, the website is http://www.hortnet.co.nz/noah/

I have a copy of the convention brochure, registration form and paper
submission form here,
but I won't send them with this blanket email. If you want them email me at
mcdavitt@...
or check the website http://www.hortnet.co.nz/noah/

Thanks for your attention

Bob McDavitt
President,
Met Society
mcdavitt@...

The following notice comes to us via Dr. Jim Salinger on the Science council
of
The Royal Soc NZ:
(via Bob McDavitt)

Dear All

The next Royal Society of New Zealand Council meeting will be on
Thursday 30 March 2000.

Can you please pass to me any issues for raising, or
matters/events that you wish to be placed before Council.

Thank you

Regards

Jim Salinger
*****************************************************************
Dr Jim Salinger                   Tel: + 64 9 375 2053
NIWA                              Fax: + 64 9 375 2051
269 Khyber Pass Road              e-mail: j.salinger@...
Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand

News release from NZ Meteorological Society
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE,  issued 12:30pm Tuesday 23 November 1999

Sell the MetService? The Meteorological Society says NO!
Sell the MetService? The Meteorological Society says NO!
Sell the MetService? The Meteorological Society says NO!

The New Zealand Meteorological Society opposes the policy of selling the
State owned enterprise MetService Ltd.

"A private MetService is not the best model for meeting New Zealand's
present and long-term meteorological needs" said Dr Don Grainger, Senior
Lecturer at the University of Canterbury and the Meteorological Society
Christchurch Vice President. "It's the Government's duty to look after the
public good and maintain public safety. We can't see any wisdom in
transferring this duty to a private profit-motivated company. If weather
research and observations are sacrificed for commercial gain then we predict
that forecasting skill will decline."

At a recent meeting of the Meteorological Society, committee members
examined the Treasury Review of ownership of MetService.  The  Government
says there is nothing in this report which stops the service being sold, but
Met Society Christchurch Vice President, Dr Don Grainger, sees it
differently.

"The report doesn't say much at all", said Dr Grainger. "Nowhere are the
submissions of the Meteorological Society and others acknowledged, and the
Society's concerns about the long-term desirability of selling  MetService
into private hands are not addressed at all".

The current National Government has deferred the sale until next year.
Labour's position according to its spokesperson on State owned enterprises,
Paul Swain, is for no sale.  David Wright, the SOE spokesperson for the
Alliance says this his party is consistently opposed to the sale of any SOE.
ACT's position on the sale of SOE's is that TVNZ should be top of the list,
and others should be done "on merit". And NZ First would stop state asset
sales.

ENDS

For more information, contact Met Soc. Christchurch Vice President,
Dr. Don Grainger,(03) 364 2987 Ext 6208 (Work) or (03) 341 3045 (Home).

Bob
As discussed in our telephone conversation a week ago I attach my comments
on the NZPA article and the KPMG report. Sorry that the comments are a bit
rushed. I have been away. Please telephone or email me if you require any
explanation.
The attachment is in MS Word for windows 6.0

Regards
John
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob McDavitt <mcd@...>
To: metsocak@egroups.com <metsocak@egroups.com>; metsocwn@egroups.com
<metsocwn@egroups.com>; Metsocch@Egroups. Com <metsocch@egroups.com>
Date: Friday, 29 October 1999 23:09
Subject: [metsocwn] News release about MetService


>Today's News.......
>
>Your committee is working on updating the Met Society Policy
>statement covering the role of the State in Meteorology. In
>the meantime all members are invited to send  their comments
>about the attached news release to the committee c/-
>metsoc@egroups.com
>Our next meeting is 18 Nov.
>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
>Science, technology & health news
>Metservice, eyed for sale, posts huge return on capital
>The Meteorological Service, which the Government is eyeing
>for sale, today showed itself to be a nice little earner.
>Although its $3.2 million net profit posted today was down
>fractionally on last year's $3.58 million, it represented an
>astounding return of 61.5 percent on shareholders' funds.
>The earnings were from revenue for the year to June of
>$22.929 million, compared with $23.6 million last year.
>Much of the drop in earnings for the year to June was
>attributable to MetService having to hand over to the
>Government a "special dividend" of $5 million a year ago.
>Chief executive John Lumsden said this meant it had missed
>out on interest from some of the $5 million.
>The robust return on capital for the shareholding ministers,
>Finance Minister Sir William Birch and State Owned
>Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall, is expected to perk up
>private sector interest in acquiring the weather
>forecasters' cashflows.
>The Government has put any decision on selling MetService on
>the backburner until after the election.
>But earlier this year it forced legislation through
>Parliament under urgency to remove MetService and Vehicle
>Test New Zealand Limited (VTNZ) from State-owned enterprises
>statutes, allowing the Government to sell them.
>An independent study by consultants, KPMG, said there were
>no good public policy reasons for retaining public ownership
>of the weather bureau.
>Labour State Owned Enterprises spokesman Paul Swain has
>promised the MetService will remain in public ownership, if
>his party controls the next Government.
>Giant Japanese corporate Weather News International and
>United States internationals ACCU Weather, the Weather
>Channel and Jepperson have been mooted as potential buyers
>offshore, while in New Zealand, energy industry investor
>Infratil, MetService competitor Weather Workshop, as well as
>senior MetService staff and the National Institute of Water
>and Atmospheric research (Niwa) are thought to be
>interested.
>Niwa has commissioned a huge super computer which has the
>capacity to run in 30 minutes a computer model which can
>produce a 36-hour weather forecast for the nation.
>But Mr Lumsden said today that his operation was proving
>quite efficient without a big computer - instead it used the
>combined power of a network of desktop personal computers.
>"The cost of computing power is coming down," said Mr
>Lumsden.
>"We're able to service our computing needs internally by
>using a much cheaper but increasingly powerful PC
>equipment."
>More crucial than the number crunching was the human
>interpretation of data, to fine-tune predictions to specific
>localities.
>Mr Lumsden said MetService was making a name for itself in
>two key areas: aviation forecasting, and preparing
>information and graphics - not all of it weather forecasts -
>for media use.
>The MetService also made money from packaging information
>such as television programme listings and weather forecasts
>for newspapers, as well as forecasts for television
>networks.
>In Australia, competition from state-subsidised forecasters
>had cut back the number of newspapers serviced but now New
>Zealand was providing the weather package for Channel 9
>television, and was rolling out the technology to a
>Singapore broadcaster.
>In addition, it was packaging weather information and
>graphics for South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, and was
>providing aviation forecasts for China's Eastern Airlines.
>MetService even had a niche business forecasting the
>"weather" up among the jetstreams at 70,000 feet, for
>chartered Concorde flights.
>Mr Lumsden said the split-up of the old Weather Bureau into
>the day-to-day forecaster, MetService, and research, now
>done by Niwa, had given the forecaster better flexibility in
>targeting the research it wanted done. © New Zealand Press
>Association
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Essential Feynman Library for $7.99! A $96.65 value of
>3 books+6 audio tape set. Learn physics from Feynman
>renown for making complex ideas easy. Order NOW at
>Library of Science http://clickhere.egroups.com/click/1368
>
>
>eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/metsocwn
>http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
>
>
>
>

POSSIBLE SALE OF METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE OF NEW ZEALAND LTD (MetService).

Comments by J S Hickman;  14 November 1999   jhickman@...

Contents
	 1.  Introduction
	 2.  Specific Comments on: (A), NZPA Article (McDavitt, 29 October 1999);
				         (B), "MetService: Review of Ownership Options
                                                                 - Synopsis
for Public Release, KPMG August 1999."
	 3.  Discussion
	 4.  Recommendations

1.  Introduction

I have recently read the "Synopsis for Public Release" of the KPMG Scoping
Study report concerning the possible sale of MetService in addition to the
NZPA article on the same topic provided by Bob McDavitt, 29 October 1999.

Two important maters arising from consideration of both of the above are:

(A)  Issues addressed to the KPMG Scoping Study Reviewing the Crown's
Ownership Options for MetService through submissions by the Meteorological
Society of NZ, The Royal Society of NZ and by individuals such as myself are
not mentioned directly in the Terms of Reference for the Study.

The terms of reference specifically seek "comment on whether the current MOT
contract is commercially robust...", and are, in general, of this form and
not in the form of whether or not the present arrangements or the role of
MetService are the only or best options for meeting New Zealand's present
and long-term needs. The above-mentioned submissions attempted to delve
deeper than a simple economic/accounting evaluation of MetService and look
towards the long-term national good, in particular, with respect to
meteorological data networks, research and public services. These issues are
clearly not specifically included in the terms of reference for the Scoping
Study.

(B)  The free-market/globalisation/less government principles that
successive New Zealand Governments have relentlessly pursued since 1984 are
now being questioned by many in both the market place and politics in New
Zealand and elsewhere. Exhortations of the last 15 years that "there is no
alternative" to the purely market-led/globalisation policy are, in the
absence of empirical evidence to support this claim, being challenged. There
is a marked trend in thinking that departs from a strong and solely
market-led/globalisation conceptual base to one that includes this general
concept and also accommodates a fair amount of pragmatism to satisfy social
and national interests.

Now is the opportune time to open a new discussion with respect to the
possible sale of MetService and to encourage and lead thinking and debate on
the most suitable arrangements for the conduct of meteorology in New
Zealand.

The following Specific Comments and Discussion are presented within the
framework created by the above two considerations.

2.  Specific Comments

(A)  NZPA Article

(a)  Return on Shareholders Funds
The financial position seems to be so good that one could question the
sanity of anyone disposing of an investment that returns 61.5%. Guided by
the old investment rule that "if it looks too good to be true it probably
is" one could also question the validity of the interpretation of the
figures. (Figures don't lie, but liars figure). Perhaps the initial
valuation of MetService was not all that realistic. It may be that although
present returns are high, assessed future returns are not, either because of
loss of market share or large foreseen capital expenditure. The financial
return statement requires amplification before it makes sense in terms of
any possible sale.

(b)  Public Ownership
The statement "An independent study by consultants KPMG said there were no
good public policy reasons for retaining public ownership of the weather
bureau" may well be correct. But I have not read their Synopsis in a way
that confirms this statement. Neither Parts 5 nor 6 of their Synopsis
contains this statement. There may be no good public policy reason why a
publicly owned company should carry out some of the work currently carried
out by MetService. In discarding this work the baby should not be thrown out
with the bath water. I consider that there are very good public policy
reasons for retaining public ownership of national meteorological data
networks, data collection, archiving, research and a public weather/climate
services programme. I have set these reasons out in my memo on the Role of
the State and in my submission to the KPMG Scoping Study (copy of latter
given to
Dr Mullan).

(c) Labour Part Spokesman (Paul Swain)
I consider that the Labour Party SOE spokesman, Paul Swain, be informed that
simply keeping the present MetService in public ownership is, whilst
laudable, insufficient within itself to give New Zealand the best in
meteorological services. A better data/research/
public service link is necessary in terms of the above-mentioned submissions
to the Scoping Study and consideration of this should be part of any future
assessment of options for MetService ownership, its structure and operation.

(d) NIWA - Super Computer
Mr Lumsden's comments re a super computer are unfortunate. Whilst it may be
very laudable and desirable to carry out operational tasks using the
combined power of a network of desktop PC's much research required to
improve these operational tasks still requires super computer facilities. I
hope that Mr Lumsden's comment, and that in the last paragraph of the NZPA
article, does not indicate that MetService is becoming too focused for its
own long-term good. I gain the impression that it may be.

(B)  KPMG: MetService: Review of Ownership Options - Synopsis for Public
Release


(a) General
I am deeply disappointed with the content of the KPMG Synopsis of its
"Review of Ownership Options". Sections 5 and 6 of the Synopsis give no
information on the key issue of the Scoping Study. It is a negation of any
democratic or consultative process to deny information on the essential
matters under consideration. This is an extreme action and outstanding
example of carrying application of the market-led/globalisation concept to
its limit when discussing a matter of national interest and importance.

Do the Priestly Caste find it necessary to limit the spread of information
and ideas because they cannot waste time dealing with the ignorant masses or
is it because they have no legitimate response to questions asked and ideas
presented by the knowledgeable few?

The Meteorological Society and all others interested in MetService and its
possible sale have been drastically short-changed in this report for public
release. It makes a mockery of the Minister for SOE's statement in
Parliament during the debate on legislation clearing the way for sale of
MetService that a report will be available.

(b) Executive Summary
Some detail given in the Executive Summary is not located in the main body
of the Synopsis.
Page 3, top para, RHS, states that there is a  WMO "requirement that calls
for NZ to maintain at least 33 weather observation stations". I assume that
this number of stations is that number agreed to by NZ at a meeting of WMO
RAV when the Regional Basic Synoptic Network (RBSN) was defined. The way in
which the RBSN is established is through a pooling of what each Member says
it will do and is NOT an external demand by WMO on Member States. The
statement is misleading if it is intended to give MetService Brownie Points
for doing more than "Big Brother" said it should do. "WMO requirement" is an
inappropriate phrase. (Appendix 2, p34 mentions that data are available from
"at least 40 stations".)

(c) Business
(i)  Part 1.1, para 1: the words "national meteorological service" (no
initial capitals).
I assume that the non-use of initial capitals is intended and draws a
distinction between the NZ situation with respect to public meteorological
services and that of other countries. For example, in Part 1.6, page 11,
(LHS) National Meteorological Service(s) (NMS) are mentioned. The "first
privately owned national meteorological service in the world" (page 5, LHS)
is, I assume, not a National Meteorological Service (NMS).   I am reminded
that in order to change a culture it is first necessary to change the use of
its language. There is a change in the Scoping Study in the use of the words
"national meteorological service", with or without initial capitals, and it
is important that when anyone uses the words we ALL know what is being
described.  A clarification of the terminology used is required.

(ii)  Part 1.2; page 6, diagram.
The NZ observational data released free of charge onto the Internet contains
essential instrumental data. It does not include equally essential
non-instrumental elements of an observation needed to describe "weather" as
it is understood in popular terms. Whilst this additional observational
information may be available to MetService and be used to provide detailed
weather forecasts for, say, airports and other specific locations it is not
widely available. The observational information available on the Internet is
thus incomplete in terms of the general meaning of the term "weather
observation" and the release of limited information does not provide
competing forecasters with a set of complete "weather" observations. The
"Government funded data" are incomplete and inadequate as a set of national
meteorological data. This deficiency requires correction.

(iii)  Part 1.2, page 7, Preparation of Forecasts, Table, RHS.
Warning and forecast services are set out. There is no information on the
dissemination of these forecasts. Where does one get the forecasts if they
do not have access to the Internet? Are the public forecasts on Teletext
those available under the MOT contract? Is weather information on the Web
Sites of many commercial organisations provided under the MOT contract or is
it specially prepared for these sites by MetService, or other providers, as
a commercial undertaking?

There is a serious conflict of interest where a provider is contracted by
the Government to provide public weather services through a contract to
which the public has no input, and the same provider tries to sell an
enhanced public service to the various news media. Similarly, the Warning
Services seem to be poorly related to the public forecasts now available
from several sources through the news media.

Again, with respect to Part 1.4 (page 9), one could ask "How much IPS-type
effort goes into the public forecasts prepared under the MOT contract?"
Forecasts for the public, prepared under the MOT contract deserve as intense
an effort in presentation as any other. Is this the case? Perhaps it is not
since the public forecasts prepared under the MOT contract appear to be
displaced from the news media, by others.

These matters are, of course, outside the direct terms of reference for the
Scoping Study. At the same time they seem to me to be relevant to issues
summarised in part 2.1 of the Synopsis.

(iv)  Part 1.6, page 11; Attitudes of other etc.
This seems to be a fair summary. At the same time, it raises the question as
to whether or not NZ should lead the charge to change the existing system to
one that, if others follow NZ's example, eventually becomes one controlled
to a large extent by undiluted commercial competition? MetService operates
successfully at present because of the historical co-operative system. An
entirely commercial system would eventually cost the NZ Government many
times the present contract price. Selling MetService would only accelerate
attainment of this outcome. A more co-operative attitude by NZ that more
nearly matched, say, the USA model would almost certainly prolong, if not
help cement in near-permanency the global co-operative system and the
relative low cost to NZ.

(d) Business Analysis
(i) Parts 2.2, 2.3; Data
The summary of the Commerce Commission's assessment of data access is
useful. Comments under (c)(iii) above refer to information required from a
meteorological data network for weather forecasting. Additional data are
required for other meteorological purposes but these are not addressed under
the terms of reference (see above Introduction and further comment under
"Discussion" below).

(e)  I have no specific comment on the remainder of the Synopsis.

3.  Discussion

The NZPA article summarises some aspects of the KPMG Synopsis for Public
Release and includes a view on Public Policy and ownership of MetService.
This view may have its origins in remarks made by an official, or minister,
when commenting on the KPMG Synopsis rather then in the Synopsis itself.

The KPMG study, correctly, addresses its terms of reference. However, the
terms of reference appear to have been narrowly, rather then broadly,
addressed with the result that the Synopsis contains no direct reference to
matters raised by the Meteorological Society, The Royal Society, and myself,
in submissions made to those responsible for the study. Again, the title of
the Synopsis; "MetService: A Review of Ownership Options - Synopsis for
Public Release", August 1999, is misleading. The Synopsis contains no review
of ownership options. It is, in general, an inadequate piece of work
containing very little, if any, information not already available to those
making submissions, before preparation of their submissions.

Part 1.6. Business Environment and Competition could readily be expanded to
include a wider discussion of why "Meteorological organisations still tend
to follow an academic or public good approach to the ownership of data and
knowledge they create." At the same time it should include a general
scenario of what a fully competitive commercial global meteorological system
may be, including consequences for NZ in both economic and public good
terms. That is, the possible consequences of following the NZ model to the
extremities of its application. Such an extension of the discussion could
address many of the issues raised in the above-mentioned submissions to the
study.

4. Recommendations:

That;
1.  The Meteorological Society express extreme disappointment with the
publicly available           report of the KPMG study
	 "Met Service:
	 A Review of Ownership Options
	 -Synopsis for Public Release"
       in that
	 (a) the terms of reference have been narrowly rather then broadly
interpreted, and
	 (b) there is no reference to matters raised by the Meteorological Society,
Royal                              Society and others in submissions to the
study, and
	 (c) there is little if any, new information in the report, and
	 (d) the title of the report is not supported by its content.

2.  The Meteorological Society directly address political leaders and
ministers/spokesmen on      SOE's seeking a more comprehensive assessment of
issues arising in consideration of the       sale of MetService.

3.  The Meteorological Society make a public statement/press release giving
its assessment of      work carried out so far concerning the possible sale
of MetService and expressing a desire      for wider public debate on
meteorology and the public good.

Today's News.......

Your committee is working on updating the Met Society Policy
statement covering the role of the State in Meteorology. In
the meantime all members are invited to send  their comments
about the attached news release to the committee c/-
metsoc@egroups.com
Our next meeting is 18 Nov.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Science, technology & health news
Metservice, eyed for sale, posts huge return on capital
The Meteorological Service, which the Government is eyeing
for sale, today showed itself to be a nice little earner.
Although its $3.2 million net profit posted today was down
fractionally on last year's $3.58 million, it represented an
astounding return of 61.5 percent on shareholders' funds.
The earnings were from revenue for the year to June of
$22.929 million, compared with $23.6 million last year.
Much of the drop in earnings for the year to June was
attributable to MetService having to hand over to the
Government a "special dividend" of $5 million a year ago.
Chief executive John Lumsden said this meant it had missed
out on interest from some of the $5 million.
The robust return on capital for the shareholding ministers,
Finance Minister Sir William Birch and State Owned
Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall, is expected to perk up
private sector interest in acquiring the weather
forecasters' cashflows.
The Government has put any decision on selling MetService on
the backburner until after the election.
But earlier this year it forced legislation through
Parliament under urgency to remove MetService and Vehicle
Test New Zealand Limited (VTNZ) from State-owned enterprises
statutes, allowing the Government to sell them.
An independent study by consultants, KPMG, said there were
no good public policy reasons for retaining public ownership
of the weather bureau.
Labour State Owned Enterprises spokesman Paul Swain has
promised the MetService will remain in public ownership, if
his party controls the next Government.
Giant Japanese corporate Weather News International and
United States internationals ACCU Weather, the Weather
Channel and Jepperson have been mooted as potential buyers
offshore, while in New Zealand, energy industry investor
Infratil, MetService competitor Weather Workshop, as well as
senior MetService staff and the National Institute of Water
and Atmospheric research (Niwa) are thought to be
interested.
Niwa has commissioned a huge super computer which has the
capacity to run in 30 minutes a computer model which can
produce a 36-hour weather forecast for the nation.
But Mr Lumsden said today that his operation was proving
quite efficient without a big computer - instead it used the
combined power of a network of desktop personal computers.
"The cost of computing power is coming down," said Mr
Lumsden.
"We're able to service our computing needs internally by
using a much cheaper but increasingly powerful PC
equipment."
More crucial than the number crunching was the human
interpretation of data, to fine-tune predictions to specific
localities.
Mr Lumsden said MetService was making a name for itself in
two key areas: aviation forecasting, and preparing
information and graphics - not all of it weather forecasts -
for media use.
The MetService also made money from packaging information
such as television programme listings and weather forecasts
for newspapers, as well as forecasts for television
networks.
In Australia, competition from state-subsidised forecasters
had cut back the number of newspapers serviced but now New
Zealand was providing the weather package for Channel 9
television, and was rolling out the technology to a
Singapore broadcaster.
In addition, it was packaging weather information and
graphics for South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, and was
providing aviation forecasts for China's Eastern Airlines.
MetService even had a niche business forecasting the
"weather" up among the jetstreams at 70,000 feet, for
chartered Concorde flights.
Mr Lumsden said the split-up of the old Weather Bureau into
the day-to-day forecaster, MetService, and research, now
done by Niwa, had given the forecaster better flexibility in
targeting the research it wanted done. © New Zealand Press
Association

Hi all

  The AMOS 2000 conference is being held at the University of Melbourne 7-9
Feb 2000.

It is the 7th Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society National
Conference and 5th Australian Conference on the Physics of Remote Sensingof
the Atmosphere and Ocean.

The theme for the AMOS 2000 conference is the use and application of
meteorological and oceanographic information, although talks on all aspects
of meteorology and oceanography are welcome.

Sep 30 was deadline for papers but if you can get in quick you might still
have a chance.


Go to http://www.dar.csiro.au/res/amos2000/  for more info.

             Bob McDavitt

From the President of the Meteorological Society of New Zealand

Thanks for the work done by your committees in preparing the SPOs.

Here are some of our members ideas about the SPOs that touch on to
meteorology and climatology.

Natural Physical Hazards

1… Hey ,  what about droughts?  We think droughts in New Zealand are more
than just a rural problem. They influence our economy. They need special
attention.   All the bullet points under "Strategic Objectives - Managing
Volcanological Hazards" apply equally well to droughts.

2. Strategic Direction.  We urge that "Improved Forecasting of Hazards" be
inserted  as Strategic Direction number 2.  This is a natural follow-on from
"Defining the hazardscape" and a logical step before "Mitigation and
Planning", and should be an important component of any
research programme.

3. Too heavily weighted towards policy and planning.
This SPO should state clearly that PGSF funds are to be used for science,
for understanding how hazards happen. It must be made clear this there is
this no intention for this SPO to be an avenue for funding of the planning
responsibilities of, for example, regional councils. Also it should also be
made clear that research providers cannot be made responsible for the hazard
mitigation and planning aspects of the Strategic Directions, for they have
no such regulatory powers.  The research providers can, of course, be
suitably
encouraged to do the underpinning research needed by planners
and engineers.


Global Environmental Processes & Change SPO:

1. There is under-emphasis on "variability".  The Society has no official
standpoint on this, but we allow and encourage members to voice their
viewpoint, and many of our members have the view that there is  sufficient
evidence to show that the weather is becoming more wild and that the climate
is becoming more variable.
This SPO does mention "variability", but it seems to be an
afterthought, and does not receive the emphasis it deserves.
In our oceanic environment, particularly, year to year variability is
still poorly documented or understood.  Natural variability is a key
component of international global change research. The reason the
IPCC is so cautious about attributing the cause of observed climate
change to anthropogenic influences is because natural variability is
so large (and complex).  Also natural variation, occurring over a time
multidecadal time scale, obscures any anthropogenic trend.

ii) There is an overemphasis on international collaboration in this
SPO. This is a laudable aim, but the pendulum has now swung too
far in this direction.

As the portfolio is written at present, international collaboration
could be seen as the single most important reason for funding this
area of research.  This is a false impression (we hope!), and should
be corrected. For example, the first 2 Strategic Directions are
concerned solely with international programmes, which are also
mentioned again in Direction 3. In fact, Direction 3, which
emphasises the benefit of the research to New Zealand,  should be
Direction 1 and should be expanded beyond just the "changes in
... scope".

Well that's it,  the collective opinion of our membership on these SPOs.
Thanks for the opportunity for us to pass on our ideas,  this is
appreciated.  I hope you may be able to take a snippet or two from these and
any other contributions so that the final SPOs will fully reflect our
collective thinking,. This is a step forwards to the ultimate benefit of  us
all.

Bob McDavitt
President , Met Soc. NZ
Mcdavitt@...

Hi all
A reminder

  The future path for governmental funding for meteorological
and climatological research is under review..

  The Foundation for Research Science and Technology  are
asking for comments on their draft Strategic Portfolio
Outlines (SPOs)
http://www.frst.govt.nz/public/foresight/spo.htm

The deadline for comments on the SPO for Natural Physical
Hazards is Wednesday 15 Sept
This is a PDF file at
http://www.frst.govt.nz/public/foresight/spo/Hazards.PDF

The deadline for comments on the SPO for Global
Environmental Process and Change is Friday 17 September.
This PDF file is at
http://www.frst.govt.nz/public/foresight/spo/Hazards.PDF

Comments are to be sent to pgsf@...

I am reminding members with an interest in these SPOs to
submit their comments to FRST before deadline.

I am also inviting members to send any comments they may
have regarding these SPOs to me at Mcdavitt@... so
that we might be able to arrange a combined reply under the
auspices of the Meteorological Society.

Bob McDavitt , President  Met Soc.

Hi all

Flyer.doc has been added to the VAULT.  Its written in WORD
97 and is a doc which contains a flyer for Met Soc (one
page) and an application form 9one page).  You can print it
out and spread it round!

bob

Here's my list, to start stirring some meteorlogical
coservation amongst us.

The 10 most moving moments in meteorology in the last
millennium (according to bob)
I've attached Brett's ideas at the end (as of a few months
ago)

can any one top the following?

1. Evangelista Torrecelli was asked by Gallelio to
investigate why water pumps can only work over 10 metres.
After two years he completed this task and even designed a
device to measure the weight of the air.. a barometer.

2. The dutch mathematician Buys Ballot underlines the
relationship between pressure difference and (geostrophic)
wind.  At last, weather maps are born.  At the Great
Exhibition in London in 1840 they are sold for one penny
each. Taking into account inflation averaging 3% and the
exchage rate, that's something like $NZ9 in 1999.

3. Crimean War.  A storm sunk several French and British
ships on Novemeber 14, 1854. Meteorologists were able to
reconstruct the conditions on maps and realised that it
could have been predicted easily and warnings sent. Daily
weather maps and wind warnings soon follow.

4. World War One contributed many militaristic words such as
"frontal invasion" into the meteorological language.
Aviation meteorology starts flying.

5. World War Two brought us RADAR and at last we could map
the rain-making clouds and try and track them.  Also the
impact of jetstreams was only realised when Us tried to bomb
Japan with
bombers based in Japan.

6. 1950 marked the start of the World Meteorological
Organiztion, with national representatatives and the sharing
of weather data.

7. 1960.  Nimbus II is launched . Meteorological satellites
gave us a view from on top of the clouds, showing their
shape and sculpture.  Soon followed by Geostationary
Meteorological Satellites.

8. 1970's  Computer Models start forecasting our daily
weather (Richardson's dream of the 1920's). Global computer
models follow.

9. 1980's  Ozone hole detected.

10. 1990's Climate modelling finally good enough to mimic
the last 100 years predicts global warning for the next 100
years (1000 years?)

Half the most moving moments have been in the last 50
years...can anyone predict the next moving moment?


Brett's ideas....
Hi Bob

Yes, top ten for the millenium would be very interesting.
I'm sure
there are lots of possibilities, depending on whether you
focus on
the global scene or more locally.  A few of the top of my
head (&
cribbing from "Sails to Satellites" by John de Lisle) are:

1, 2, 3, ...: Involvement of famous historical figures like:
Fahrenheit,
Celsius, Pascal.

4: Discovery of sunspots by Galileo Galilei in 1611, three
years
after the invention of the telescope by Dutch craftsmen.
There
followed nearly 400 years of speculation, and still no
agreement, on
just how sunspot activity affects the Earth's weather.

5: 13 Dec 1642: First New Zealand weather report - of a
storm
experienced by Abel Tasman off the west coast of NZ.

6: ~1830: First lies told about NZ weather ( :-) ) - "The
climate of
New Zealand is decidedly temperate; ... It is no doubt
salubrious
and congenial to European constitutions. Those who come here
sickly are restored to health; the healthy become robust and
the
robust fat ..." (Rev. William Yate, missionary in Bay of
Islands).

7: 1861 - start of organised official meteorological
observations in
NZ, and of the New Zealand Meteorological Service, the
forerunner
of the current SOE.

I'm sure Erick can come up with heaps.  Maybe a competition
by
members for Most Significant, Funniest, etc?

Brett

A rainbow will be given to everyone who replies (says bob)

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