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| Herbert Riehl | |
|---|---|
| Name | Herbert Riehl |
| Birth date | January 19, 1915 |
| Birth place | Hildburghausen, Germany |
| Death date | December 17, 1997 |
| Death place | Ames, Iowa, United States |
| Fields | Meteorology, Atmospheric Science |
| Institutions | University of Chicago, Colorado State University, Florida State University, Iowa State University |
| Alma mater | University of Giessen, University of Marburg, New York University |
| Known for | Tropical meteorology, monsoon dynamics, atmospheric convection |
| Doctoral advisor | Carl-Gustaf Rossby |
Herbert Riehl Herbert Riehl was a pioneering meteorologist and atmospheric scientist whose work established modern tropical meteorology and transformed research on monsoons, convection, and climate dynamics. He trained under leading figures of twentieth-century atmospheric science, led influential departments and research groups, and mentored a generation of scientists who shaped institutions and programs across the United States and internationally. Riehl's scholarship linked theoretical developments, observational programs, and applications in weather prediction and climate understanding.
Born in Hildburghausen, Germany, Riehl emigrated amid the interwar scientific milieu, receiving early training at the University of Giessen and the University of Marburg before relocating to the United States to study under prominent mentors. At New York University and later at the University of Chicago, he worked with luminaries such as Carl-Gustaf Rossby and interacted with contemporaries affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Harvard University, Columbia University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. His doctoral work connected to programs and institutions including the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Meteorological Society, and research groups associated with NOAA predecessors. These formative associations linked him to networks involving Vilhelm Bjerknes, Jacob Bjerknes, Lewis Fry Richardson, Vilhelm Bjerknes Institute, and later collaborations that touched Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Riehl's academic appointments bridged major centers: early faculty roles linked him to the University of Chicago Department of Meteorology, collaborations with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, and later leadership at Colorado State University and Florida State University. He founded and directed research groups interacting with Iowa State University, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. His administrative and curricular activities intersected with programs at Cornell University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, Pennsylvania State University, and international universities including University of Tokyo, Australian National University, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge. Through visiting professorships and exchanges he worked with scholars from the Max Planck Society, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, and the University of Paris climate science communities.
Riehl articulated foundational theories in tropical meteorology, integrating ideas from Gulf Stream dynamics, Hadley cell conceptualizations, and moist convection theory developed alongside work by Jule Charney, Edward Lorenz, John von Neumann, and Lewis Fry Richardson. He produced influential studies on monsoon systems that connected to observational programs like the GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment, the Monsoon Experiment, and field campaigns coordinated with NOAA, NASA, and the National Science Foundation. His research engaged with phenomena studied by Vilhelm Bjerknes, Jacob Bjerknes, Syukuro Manabe, Kerry Emanuel, Roger Revelle, Walter Munk, and Sir Gilbert Walker. Riehl's work advanced understanding of convective available potential energy concepts related to studies by Arakawa Schubert frameworks, Raymond Pierrehumbert-type radiative-convective balance, and boundary-layer processes investigated by Ludwig Föppl-era theoretical roots. He contributed to tropical cyclone onset theory, connecting insights to Bjerknes feedbacks, ENSO research associated with C. H. B. Priestley-linked groups, and coupled atmosphere–ocean perspectives advanced at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory.
Riehl supervised and mentored students who became leaders at institutions such as Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Colorado Boulder, Penn State, University of Washington, Oregon State University, University of Maryland, Texas A&M University, University of Miami, and Rutgers University. His mentees contributed to programs at NOAA, the National Weather Service, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Japan Meteorological Agency, the Indian Meteorological Department, and research centers like the International Centre for Theoretical Physics. Through editorial and organizational service he influenced journals and societies including the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Monthly Weather Review, the American Meteorological Society, and international panels convened by the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization.
Riehl received major recognitions from the American Meteorological Society, the National Academy of Sciences, and international bodies including the Royal Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union. His honors connected him with prize lists alongside figures such as Carl-Gustaf Rossby, Gaspard de Prony-era pioneers referenced historically, and contemporaries like Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann, Vernon B. Leovy, and Edward Lorenz. He was invited to lectureships and symposia at institutions such as Harvard University, Princeton University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, Imperial College London, and international academies including the Royal Society.
In retirement Riehl remained active in scientific discourse, collaborating with researchers at Iowa State University, Florida State University, Colorado State University, University of Chicago, and international partners from University of Tokyo and Australian National University. His personal network included friendships and correspondences with figures tied to the history of meteorology like Vilhelm Bjerknes, Jacob Bjerknes, Carl-Gustaf Rossby, and later-generation scientists at NOAA and NASA. He died in Ames, Iowa, leaving a legacy reflected in programs and departments across universities and agencies including the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the American Meteorological Society.
Category:American meteorologists Category:1915 births Category:1997 deaths