ABSTRACT
The foundations of dynamic and synoptic climatology were laid in the nineteenth century with the advent of weather maps, the study of cyclones, and theories of the general circulation. The great strides that have been made in these areas over the last thirty years can be attributed to several factors. First, the importance of the increased availability of gridded hemispheric and global meteorological fields and satellite data cannot be overemphasized. Until at least the 1970s the absence of such readily accessible data was hampering climatological research, as noted by Barry and Perry (1973, p. 448). The recent advent of the global reanalysis products and the Pathfinder satellite products is providing a continuing stimulus. Second is the increasing use of GCM simulations to diagnose large-scale processes and to treat their statistics as a surrogate for observational data. Third, there has been recognition of the importance of climatic processes on intraseasonal, interannual, and decadal-centennial time scales, fostered by the World Climate Research Program (WCRP). The current programmatic elements of the WCRP are: the Global Water and Energy Experiment (GEWEX), the Arctic Climate System (ACSYS), Climate Variability (CLIVAR), and Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate (SPARC). There is also a new project for Climate and Cryosphere (CliC). Information about these programs can be obtained via https://www.wmo.ch. Fourth, the establishment of several new climate journals in the 1970s and 1980s also contributed to the renaissance of dynamic and synoptic climatology by creating a wider visibility for publications about climate and for the related scientific community.
