Bergeron, Tor Harold Percival

▪ Scandinavian meteorologist

born Aug. 15, 1891, Godstone, near London, Eng.

died June 13, 1977, Stockholm, Swed.

      Swedish meteorologist best known for his work on cloud physics.

      He was educated at the universities of Stockholm and Oslo, from the latter of which he received his Ph.D. in 1928. He taught at the University of Stockholm (1935–45) and the University of Uppsala, Swed. (1946–60). From 1918 to 1921 he was a student and co-worker of the pioneering meteorologist Vilhelm Bjerknes (Bjerknes, Vilhelm) and was actively engaged in the development of new methods of weather forecasting.

      Bergeron was noted for his studies in the analysis of air masses and the formation of warm and cold fronts. He was also the first meteorologist to take into account upper atmospheric phenomena and their effect on weather. His theory on the origin of precipitation was instrumental in the further exploration of cloud physics. He wrote a number of works on such subjects as weather fronts, ice nuclei in clouds, methods and problems of weather forecasting, and the buildup of ice sheets.

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