1. ABOUT THE DISCIPLINE 'DYNAMIC METEOROLOGY' The name 'dynamic
meteorology' is traditional for designating a university course as well
as the scientific branch of meteorology as a whole. While there is no
need to abandon this name, it needs contemporary treatment and
specifications in its definition. A synonym for it could be 'dynamics
(more precisely, hydrodynamics or fluid dynamics) of the atmosphere'. It
suggests the relationship of this discipline to general hydrodynamics
and applied mathematics and its pronounced theoretical nature. Besides
the atmosphere, however, our planet has another (liquid) envelope - the
hydrosphere (world's ocean), which also concerns ocean dynamics and,
therefore, it is necessary to define, from a unified standpoint, the
subject and aims of the disciplines dealing with the dynamics of the
processes which take place in both fluid spheres. Such a unified
standpoint offers the so-called geophysical fluid dynamics. During the
past few years this description is encountered quite often in scientific
literature concerning the Earth as a planet. Obviously, a scientific
branch or a science is created whose subject is our planet and the
investigation methods are borrowed from classical fluid dynamics and
applied mathematics, including the most recent numerical methods. As can
be seen from its very suitable name, it is the dynamics of quite
definite geophysical fluids (atmosphere, ocean and even the liquid
inside of the Earth) and not of some abstract (often perfect) flUids, as
in classical hydrodynamics.
