地理学における熱収支研究

Abstract

Heat balance at the earth's surface is a base for understanding the nature of the earth surface as Voeikov, Thornthwaite and others had suggested. The study of heat balance hac close relations not only with climatology, but also hydrology, glaciology, geomorphology and biogeography. Regimes of heat and water are two fundamental elements controlling physical features on the earth, and distribution and variation of these elements are explained through the analysis of heat balance. It may be said that heat balance study gives the methodology in physical geography which aims to explain many complex phemomena occurring near the earth's surface. This special volume of the Review is one of the results of activities of “Research Group of Heat Balance Climatology” in our Association. General explanation on heat balance of the earth is illustrated in the figure. Study of heat balance of the earth includes wide fields of the science ranging from satellite climatology to groundwater hydrology, limnology and oceanography. But the papers presented in this volume are mainly concerned with boundary layer climatology and thermal characteristics of the ground surface. These problems are especially important in understand ing the nature of the earth's surface, and they must be studied by geographers who know the complex system of the earth's surface. Recent progress in heat balance studies made by Japanese geographers are briefly reviewed in this article. Papers may be classified into four categories: (1) boundary layer physics; (2) local climatology and urban climatology, (3) hydrology, soil physics and glaciology; and (4) radiation balance. All the papers on heat balance presented in the Review, important papers published in other journals and books on this problem are listed in the bibliography for the last 15 years. The contributions of geographers on this field of the study mainly concentrate to urban climatology, radiation balance and hydrology. As seen from the bibliography, many papers were published in 1970's, and it seems that the heat balance method is getting a foundation in physical geography. For the future development of this method, we have several problems to be solved, for example, curricurum of geography in universities, research fund and application of the method.