CMOS Bulletin What is Meteorological Philately

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CMOS ETINBULL SCMO. ... 06 Vol.34 No.6. / decembre 20.ecem. er

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What is Meteorological Philately?by GarryToth 1 t Don Hillger2 and Bob Kochtubajda 1

Resume: La pnllatelie se pratique sous diverses formes. Certaines personnes s'interessent aux timbres-poste d'un seul pays,pendant que d'autres preferent etudier untheme particulier a travers des items philatellques emis n'importe ou dans Ie monde.II n'est pas difficile de trouver des timbres-paste, des plis premier jour et des feuillets souvenir qui traitent de la rneteorcloqie.Cesitemspeuvent ensuite se regrouper dans une collection specialiseequi presents de divers aspects du temps et du climat1. Introduction to PhilatelyWe all know about stamps. Some of us accumulated themas children. Philately is the collection and study of postagestamps and related postal items (e.g. cancellations andpostal envelopes and cards with pre-printed stamps). It is apastime for some and an area of serious research forothers. Ever since the first postage stamp vilas issued byGreat Britain on May 6, 1840 (the Penny Black), there havebeen people who collect and study stamps.Why do people collect stamps? The reasons are many. Asin any type of collection, there is a challenge in putting orderinto a large mass of material. Postage stamps can beminiature works of art, and so appeal to the esthetic senseof some people. Others are interested in the history ofpostal services as illustrated by postage stamps and relatedpostal items. Still others are interested in the minigeography lesson implicit in stamps, while a few have theurge to compete and win recognition in philatelicexpositions. And, of course, there is.a social aspect to thelocal "stamp club" meetings. It all boils down to peopledoing something they enjoy.Philatelists keep track of stamps through the use-of stampcatalogues that identify and number stamps, by date andcountry of issue. in North America, the American ScottStandard Stamp Cata/ogl.le ismost commonly used. Othersinclude the Stanley Gibbons from Great Britain, the Yvert etTellier from France and the Michel from Germany.Stamps are often issued in a special pane known as asouvenir sheet: a sheet including one or more stamps anda wide margin with artwork and/or an inscription describingthe.event being commemorated. Stamps are also found onspecial envelopes known as first day covers (FDCs):envelopes issued by the official postal authority of a countrywith a cancellation dated on the first day of issue of thestamps. Destined for collectors, most FDCs includeillustrative artwork known as a cachet.

Different people collect stamps in different ways. Thetraditional collection concentrates on all the different stampsissued by a single country. Another philatelic style involvesa particular topic. In such a collection, stamps from anycountry that relate to the topic are included. Topics are asvaried as people's imagination and interests. Some areinterested in historical, others in the arts,others in thesciences, and so on.

Figure 1: A Canadian souvenir sheet featuringSARSAT searchand rescue activities. A NOAA polar orbit ing weather satelli te isfound to the left of the sheet margin and also on two of thestamps.

Topical stamp collectors often like to collect stamps relatedto a topic they know well: doctors may collect medicine onstamps, while military people might gravitate toward topicsrelated to the armed forces. People with a scientificbackground find it natural to work with a scientific topic. Fora meteorologist who has some interest in philately, whatmore natural area of specialization Gould there be thanmeteorology and climate on stamps? It turns out that manysuch stamps that have been issued by countries around theworld.

I Environment Canada, Hydrometeorology and Arctic LaboratoryEdmonton, AB, Canada. Garry [email protected] & [email protected]

'2 NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) based atColorado State University, Cooperative Institute for Research in theAtmosphere, Fort Collins, CO, USA. [email protected]

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Figure 2: Three Canadian stamps: a) celebrating the 200ll J anniversary of Canada's f irst long-term weather observations from p singlelocation; b) featuring the Chinook wind: and cjcornmerrroratinq the International Hydrological Decade with t ipping bucket raingauge.2. Meteorology and PhilatelyThere are stamps that illustrate Various meteorologicalinstruments and radiosondes. Other stamps feature nationalmeteorological centres, or weather maps with fronts andisobars, ortropical storrnsvermeteerolcqical satellites, ormeteorologists. Climate is the theme of manymeteorological stamps, and climate change and thegreenhouse effect are referred to on a few. Since the late1980s, many sta mps relati ngto ozone have been produced,There arealso a large number of stamps that relate to theWorld Meteorological Organization. For example, the WorldMeteorological Day, which takes place each March 23, hasbeen celebrated by the WMO .sinCe1961. Through theyears since then, over 200 stamps that commemorate theWorld Meteorological Day have been issued by countriesaround the world. Similarly, 1973 marked the centenary ofinternational meteorological cooperation (the precursor tothe WMO, known as the International MeteorologicalOrganization, was founded in September, 1873 at theInternational Meteorological Conference in Vienna). Manystamps were issued to commemorate thatanniversary. TheWMO itself was proclaimed a United Nations Agency in1949. and came into formal existence in 1951. In 2000 and2001, 35 stamps were issued around the world tocommemorate the 50th anniversary of the WMO. Of coursesome of these stamps can have multiple meteorologicalthemes: many stamps issued in relation to the WMO alsoshow, for example, Stevenson screens, radiosondes andother meteorological instruments.International science programs have also been recognized.Research activities associated with efforts such as the 2ndInternational Pola r Year (1932-33), the InternatioilalGeophysical Year (1957-58), the International Years of theOuiet Sun (1964~65) and the I.ntarnational HydrolciglealDecade (1'965-1974) have appeared on many stamps.Some of these stamps contain meteorological elements.

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3. Canadian Meteorology-Related StampsHas Canada issuedanystamps related to meteorology?Yes, there are a few. The most recent, issued -in 2005, isfound in is a souvenir sheet of four different stampsfeatu ring SARSA T search and rescue activities (Scott 1831- Figure 1). A recent NOAA polar orbiting weather satellite(some of those sateHites carry the transponders used in theSARSAT program) is illustrated on one of those stamps andalso on the border of the souvenir sheet. A stamp from 1968(Scott 479 - Figu~e 2a), was issued for the 200lhanniversary of the first reqular weather observations inCanada: William Wales conducted weather observationsnear present-day Churchill for approximately one year, in1768. This stamp also shows a we:atherballoon and aweather radar antenna. The interested reader can consulthJtp://pe61.library.ualberta.ca/cocoon/peeI/39/3. html for afascinating summary of the observations taken by Wales.The chinook wind (Scott 1336 - Figure 2b) is included in aset of stamps issued to celeb rateCanad ian fol klore in 1991.Another stamp from 1968 (Scott 481 - Figure 2c), issued tocommemorate the International Hydrological Decade, alsoshows a tipping bucket rain gauge. Lastly, a stampfrom 199Q (Scott 1287 - Figure 3) com memorates the 15011 1anniversary of continuous weather observati.ons in Canada(they sta rted in 1840 in Toronto). This stam p features asummertime weather observation presented inthe standardplotting model one would find on a surface weatheranalysis. It is the only known stamp featuring all thestandard weather elements plotted together inthis way. Thebackground illustrates what the weather situation for thiscase might be like.

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Figure 3: Stamp honouring the 1501 11 anniversary of continuousweather observations in Canada and including a weather

observation in the standard surface plotting model.

Figure 4: Souvenlr sheet from Dominica of two stampsil lustrates a satel lite image and computer-generated weather

map. Surrounding the stamps are the eight Greek gods of wind:Boreas (north wind), Notus (south wind), Apeliotes (east wind),Zephyrus (west wind), Lips (southwest wind), Skiron (northwestwind), Eurus (southeast wind) and Kaikias (northeast wlnd),

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Figure 5:A recent first day cover issued by th British AntarcticTerritory illustrating the topic of climate change and related

research activities.

4. Meteorological Stamps from Around the WorldCanada, of course, has no monopoly on stamps related tometeorology. They have been issued by almost everycountry in the world. In this section we present just a fewexamples of the wide variety of International meteorologicalphilately stamps. In Figure 4 is a nice souvenir sheet fromDominica (Scott 360a), Issued for the centenary ofinternational meteorological cooperation in 1973, this sheetincludes two stamps showing a satellite photo and acomputer-generated weather map, possibly of mean sealevel pressure. In the border are found representations ofeight Greek wind ~ods. Figure 5 shows a recent first daycover including a set of stamps issued by the BritishAntarctic Territory (Scott 342-344 )with the theme of climatechange. In this case the theme of climate change isspecified on the envelope, and an Antarctic Iscene isillustrated. In Figure 6a is a German stamp (Scott 1102)with a weather map including fronts and isobars. This onewas also issued in 1973 for the centenary of internationalmeteorological cooperation. Hurricanes are found on quitea few stamps. Figure 6b depicts hurricane Gilbert on astamp from Belize (Scott 974). Clouds are also nicelyillustrated on same stamps. For example, Figure6c showsa cumulonimbus cloud on a stamp issued by Zimbabwe(new issue, catalogue number not yet known), Finally,another new issue from the French Southern and AntarcticTerritory (Figure 6d), includes a graphic of the increasingconcentration of atmospheric CO2 a t the Port Amsterdamobserving station during the last 25 years.5. Virtua.l Meteorology PhilatelyThere are many on-line sources for stamp information,including some with information on meteorology philately.The mast comprehensive Internet site for viewingmeteorological stamps and associated philatelic materialsis:

hltp':llwww,cim.colostate.edulrammfhillgerlweather.hlmThis website. contains detailed lists and many images ofstamps and postal items in various meteorologicalcategories, A detailed philatelic listing of scientific satellitesin general, and meteorological satellites in particular, isfound at:

http://www .cira.colostate. ed u/ ramm/h i Ilger/satell iles.himThese sites are a good starting point for someone whowants to get into meteorological philately t or a reference forsomeone already working in the field of weather andclimate. .6. ConclusionWe hope that the reader has enjoyed this brief tour throughthe wonderful world of meteorological philately. For thoseworking in the field of weather and climate, a thematicmeteorology philately collection is a fine way to combineprofessional interest with personal pleasure. The authorswould be pleased to correspond with people who wish tolearn more about weather and climate on stamps.

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Figure 6bFigure Ga

Figure 6e

Figure 6: Some examples of different stamps hightighting a) a ~eather map; b) hurricane Gilbert: c) CB cloud; and d) atmospheric CO2Increase.

Appel de mises en candidature pour lamedallle Timothy R. Parsons(sciences de la mer)

Nous solllcitons des mises en candidature pour la rnedailleTimothy R. Parsons, remise ades sdentifiques qulse sontdistinques dans un domaine de recherche multidisciplinairelie aux sciences de la mer. Veuillez nous les faire parvenird'ici Ie 28 tevrier 2007. E n 2006, Ken Denman et TrevorPlatt ont tous deux recu une medaille, Les chercheurs quiosuvrent au sein d'une institution eanadienne et dent lestravaux profitent au Canada sont adrnissibles, Une medaillesera decernee pour souligner une carriere extraordinaire ouune realisation recente extraordinaire. Peches et OceansCanada remettra la medaille Timothy R .. Parsons 2007

CMOS Bulletin SCMO VoL34, NQ.6

durant le conqres de la Societe eanadienne derneteoroloqie et d'oceanoqraphie, qui se tiendra en mal2007, a st. John's, Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador,Vous pouvez remplir Ie formulaire en ligne disponible aI'adresse su ivante :http://www.dfo~mpo.ge.ca/science/AWards/Parsonsf.htm.et nous Ie faire parvenir par telecopieur, au 613-990-0313,ou par la paste au :

Comite de la medailte Timothy R. ParsonsBureau de la promotion strateqlque des sciences200, rue K.ent, bureau 8W135Ottawa (Ontario) K.iA OE6-200-

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CMOS Bulletin What is Meteorological Philately