Noctilucent Clouds, Krakatoa, and Nauscopia

Timothy Birdnow

I was reading something by Dr. Roy Spencer about noctilucent clouds, which form on the horizon. Dr. Spencer had this to say:

Turns out these clouds were also present as a result of the volcanic eruption of krakatoa:

According to Lance Pidgeon:

Dr. Spencer replied:
And Lance again:

So this got me to thinking and I remembered something.

In the late 18th century there was a man who became moderately famous named Etienne Bottineau because he could accurately predict when a ship or ships was coming into harbor. He won a lot of money making bets on it. His secret was something he dubbed Nauscopia - a "science" he claimed to have invented  that allowed him to find land when at sea and ships far out from land.

How did it work? Nobody knows for sure, but Bottineau explained that he had spent years studying the sky over the water and came to believe the oceans put out gases as a result of rotting vegetation and the like. Supposedly by studying the horizon he could detect minute changes in the gases. Reading about the noctilucent clouds makes me think of that; could these have been what Bottineau was studying to determine if a ship was coming? I think it may well have been.

At any rate, this is from the Smithsonian Magazine (showing it's not just an old wives tale):

Bottineau’s own story, told in biographical fragment and a memoir that he composed in about 1785, is as relatively straightforward as his description of nauscopie itself is stunningly opaque. Born in Anjou, probably some time in the early 1740s, he grew up in Nantes, where "being delighted with the appearance of the port and shipping, he came to the resolution of entering into the sea service.” Employment with the French East India Company and the French Navy followed, and "as early as the year 1762,” he wrote,

it appeared to me that a vessel approaching land must produce a certain effect upon the atmosphere, and cause the approach to be discovered by a practised eye even before the vessel itself was visible. After making many observations, I thought I could discover a particular appearance before the vessel came in sight: sometimes I was right, but more frequently wrong; so that at the time I gave up all hope of success.

In 1764, I was appointed to a situation in the Île de France: while there, having much leisure time, I again betook myself of my favorite observations….

The clear sky and pure atmosphere, at certain periods of the day, were favorable to my studies, and as fewer vessels came to the island, I was less liable to error than was the case off the coast of France, where vessels are continually passing…. I had not been six months upon the island when I became confident that my discovery was certain.”

I find this a rather fascinating story, and a rather sad one as his "science" was wholly lost to Mankind upon his death.

I don't know what he was waiting for, but he waited too long.

At any rate, I hope everyone enjoyed this little voyage into weather phenomenon and sea faring.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 09:29 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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