Deriving Wind Force Terms from Nautical Reports Through Content Analysis. The Spanish and French Cases

Authors: Prieto, M.¹; Gallego, D.²; García-Herrera, R.³; Calvo, N.⁴

Source: Climatic Change, Volume 73, Numbers 1-2, November 2005 , pp. 37-55(19)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

Records of wind strength taken onboard Spanish and French ships during the 1750–1850 period have been digitized and examined using content analysis techniques to derive the equivalent wind strength in terms of the current Beaufort scale, this conversion being a key step in any attempt to compare ancient records with modern climatologies. During the analysis it was evident that Spanish and French officers used a great number of different terms to describe the wind force. However, when the records are analyzed and homogenized, a broadly common and essentially narrow vocabulary was identified, indicating that, at this period, a great effort had been made to regulate the maritime language. Using contemporary dictionaries and navigation manuals, an equivalence was established between the original wind force terms and the Beaufort scale.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10584-005-6956-2

Affiliations: 1: Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CRICYT), C/Adrián Ruiz Leal, s/n, Parque General San Martín, 5500, Mendoza, Argentina, 2: Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Carretera de Utrera Km. 1, 41013, Sevilla, Spain, 3: Departamento de Física de la Tierra II, Universidad Complutense, Avenida Complutense s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain, Email: rgarciah@fis.ucm.es 4: Departamento de Física de la Tierra II, Universidad Complutense, Avenida Complutense s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain,

Publication date: 2005-11-01