earth science

J. Cecil Alter

J. Cecil Alter is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand J. Cecil Alter rather than just read about it. In short: J. Cecil Alter (March 31, 1879 – May 20, 1964) was an American meteorologist, historian, and editor of the Utah Historical Quarterly.

Key takeaways

J. Cecil Alter belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect J. Cecil Alter to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of J. Cecil Alter from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

J. Cecil Alter (March 31, 1879 – May 20, 1964) was an American meteorologist, historian, and editor of the Utah Historical Quarterly. He moved to Salt Lake City in 1902 to work for the Salt Lake Weather Bureau, where he became the founder of a mountain snow survey system for anticipating streamflow.

Early life Alter was born on March 31, 1879, in Rensselaer, Indiana to parents John E. and Hattie (McColly) Alter. His father was a farmer, civil engineer, surveyor, and school teacher, which Alter also held positions in although he never stayed in school very long. After attending Valparaiso University, Northern Indiana Teachers Institute, and Purdue University, Alter settled upon meteorology as a career, joining the U.S. Weather Bureau in 1902.

Career While with the U.S. Weather Bureau, Alter was stationed in Salt Lake City, where he met his future wife Jennie O. Greene. He stayed there until 1941, with brief assignments across the United States including Medford, Oregon, and Cheyenne, Wyoming. Alter's experience led him to be placed in charge of various Weather Bureau exhibitions including the International Dry Farming Exposition, United States Department of Agriculture, and Panama Pacific International Exposition. He would later be recognized as the founder of a mountain snow survey system for anticipating streamflow. In 1911, Alter and James E. Church were given the responsibility of making systematic snow surveys in Tahoe and the watershed around Great Salt Lake. Independent from one another, they each developed the concept of the "snow course," which is described as "a series of sampling sites strung across a short distance, in order to reduce distortions caused by wind and drift." By 1917, Alter was given control of the Weather Bureau station in Salt Lake City. In his final year with the Weather Bureau station in Salt Lake City, Alter spent three months at the Central Weather Bureau in Washington, DC studying the latest scientific advances in meteorology. In August 1941, Alter left Salt Lake City to take charge of the weather and flood warning service in Cincinnati, Ohio. Alter eventually retired in 1949, being replaced by John H. Eberly, and died in 1964 in Los Angeles.

Beyond meteorology Beyond meteorology, Alter became interested in the history of Utah and published several publications. As chairman of the Utah State Parks Commission, he wrote for two local newspaper columns and published four books; Jim Bridger, Trapper, Frontiersman, Scout, and Guide: A Historical Narrative (1925), Through the Heart of the Scenic West (1927), Storied Domain (1932), and Early Utah Journalism. His final book, Early Utah Journalism, was based entirely on historical material from the Utah State Historical Society Publications. Alter was also appointed chairman of the Chamber's Smokeless City Committee in 1925, having previously written reports about the cities smoke pollution. During his stay in Utah, Alter was an honorary and life member of the Utah Historical Society and served as editor of the Utah Historical Quarterly. He continued his position as editor even after leaving the city for Ohio.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with J. Cecil Alter

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what J. Cecil Alter claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to J. Cecil Alter before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about J. Cecil Alter ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of J. Cecil Alter

In research: J. Cecil Alter appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses J. Cecil Alter in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: J. Cecil Alter is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1879 births, 1964 deaths, 20th-century American historians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for J. Cecil Alter outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study J. Cecil Alter in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what J. Cecil Alter means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain J. Cecil Alter out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is J. Cecil Alter in simple terms?

J. Cecil Alter (March 31, 1879 – May 20, 1964) was an American meteorologist, historian, and editor of the Utah Historical Quarterly.

Why does J. Cecil Alter matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study J. Cecil Alter?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on J. Cecil Alter.