As quoted in the introduction, this book “sets out the details of observational procedure in accordance with international recommendations,” and there is no doubt that this has been well achieved. To anyone wishing to set about the observation of any items concerning the weather in such a way as to make his data strictly comparable, not only among themselves but with data from other recognized authorities, this book is a necessity. Glaciologists should be particularly interested where the observation of snowfall is concerned, and this subject is discussed in considerable detail. On page 50 definition is given of granular snow and of the terms slight, moderate and heavy snowfall, which could be usefully circulated to observers in the B.G.S. Snow Survey.
Chapter 6 deals with the State of the Ground and most certainly concerns the glaciologist. Two scales of code figures for recording the state of the ground run concurrently, one the Washington Scale and the other the Crop Weather Scale. The former, introduced on 1 January 1949, has apparently replaced the latter at normal climatological stations. This is most unfortunate for future study or research into this climatological element, because the same code figure is used for “ice, slush or firm or settled snow” so that only the observer himself will ever know with which his area was covered. The older code scale, retained at Crop Weather stations, may not have been faultless, but is certainly more explicit in its description and one feels that the Washington Conference might have formulated a more precise scale.
On pages 115 and 117 details are given of the measurement of snowfall by rain gauges and its corresponding depth expressed as rainfall. The measurement of snow lying on the ground is also dealt with.
The book is well printed, with good illustrations, and the format is excellent, complete with useful appendices and an index.
