Rossby, Carl-Gustav (1898–1957)

CARL-GUSTAV ROSSBY WAS a Swedish-American meteorologist whose innovations in the study of large-scale air movement and introduction of the equations describing atmospheric motion were largely responsible for the rapid development of meteorology as a science. Rossby explained the large-scale motions of the atmosphere in terms of fluid mechanics and was one of the first scientists to notice the problem of global warming.

Rossby was born on December 28, 1898, in Stockholm, Sweden. When he was 20, he moved to Bergen, Norway, to study under pioneering atmospheric scientist Vilhelm Bjerknes at the Geophysical Institute. At that time, Bjerknes and his so-called Bergen School were making great progress in laying the foundations of meteorology as a science with their breakthroughs in the polar front theory and air mass ...