Léon Teisserenc de Bort | |
|---|---|
 Léon Teisserenc de Bort | |
| Born | Léon Philippe Teisserenc de Bort (1855-11-05)5 November 1855 |
| Died | 2 January 1913(1913-01-02) (aged 57) |
| Known for | stratosphere |
| Awards | Symons Gold Medal (1908) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Meteorology |
Léon Philippe Teisserenc de Bort (5 November 1855 – 2 January 1913) was a Frenchmeteorologist and a pioneer in the field ofaerology. Together withRichard Assmann (1845-1918), he is credited as co-discoverer of thestratosphere, as both men announced their discovery during the same time period in 1902.[1] Teisserenc de Bort pioneered the use of unmanned instrumentedballoons and was the first to identify the region in theatmosphere around 8-17 kilometers of height where thelapse rate reaches zero, known today as thetropopause.
He was the son of an engineer. He began his scientific career in 1880, when he entered the meteorological department of the Bureau Central Météorologique (Administrative Centre of National Meteorology, a department of the French government) inParis underE. E. N. Mascart. In 1883, 1885 and 1887 he made journeys toNorth Africa to study geology and terrestrial magnetism, and during this period published some important charts of the distribution of pressure at a height of 4,000 metres. Between 1892 and 1896, Teisserenc de Bort was chief meteorologist to the Bureau.[2]
After his resignation from the Bureau in 1896, he established a private meteorological observatory inTrappes nearVersailles. There he carried out investigations on clouds and the problems of the upper air. He conducted experiments with high-flying instrumentedhydrogen balloons and was one of the first people to use such devices.[2][3]
In 1898, Teisserenc de Bort published an important paper inComptes Rendus detailing his researches by means of balloons into the constitution of the atmosphere.[2] He noticed that while the airtemperature decreased steadily up to approximately 11 kilometers of height, it remained constant above thataltitude (up to the highest points he could reach). In other words, he discovered an indication of atemperature inversion or at least of a zero lapse rate above this altitude. For many years he was uncertain whether he discovered a truephysical phenomenon or whether his measurements suffered from a systematicbias (indeed, the first measurementsdid have a positive temperature bias as the instruments were liable to radiative heating bysolar radiation). That is why Teisserenc de Bort carried out 200+ more balloon experiments (with a substantial part of them being held during the night to eliminate radiative heating) until 1902, when he suggested that the atmosphere was divided into two layers.
During the years that followed, he named the twolayers of the atmosphere known as the "troposphere" and the "stratosphere". This naming convention has since been maintained, with (higher-altitude) layers that were subsequently discovered being given names of this sort. After Teisserenc de Bort's death in 1913, the heirs donated the observatory to the state so that the research tasks could be continued.
He also carried out investigations near Viborg inDenmark 1902-1903,[4] inSweden and over theZuider Zee, theMediterranean and the tropical region of theAtlantic, and fitted out a special vessel in order to study the currents above thetrade winds. He was elected a fellow of theRoyal Meteorological Society in 1903, honorary member in 1909, and was awarded theSymons Gold Medal of the Society in 1908. He collaborated withHugo Hildebrandsson inLes bases de la météorologie dynamique (1907).[2]
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