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==Studies==
In [[1885]], Rotch was able to obtain basic data on the heights and movements of various [[cloud]]s by means of [[triangulation]] measurements. In [[1894]], Rotch became the first in the world to sound the atmosphere by lifting instruments on [[kite]]s. Ultimately kites sounded the [[Earth's atmosphere|atmosphere]] to an altitude of 5 kilometers and provided Rotch with information concerning fundamental upper air patterns of [[wind]], [[temperature]], and [[humidity]], as well as their relationship to surface weather patterns. In [[1904]], at the [[Louisiana Purchase Exposition|St. Louis World's Fair]], Rotch initiated the use of [[weather balloon|sounding balloons]] in the U.S. These balloons carried recording instruments beyond even the highest clouds to a height of 17 kilometers. Rotch and [[Leon Teisserenc de Bort]], discoverer of the [[stratosphere]], made extensive upper-air kite measurements from ships in the tropical and sub-tropical North Atlantic. These permitted publication in [[1911]] of a chart of aerial routes, thus pointing the way to the feasibility of [[transatlantic flight|transatlantic air travel]] aided by air patterns. Rotch became the first director of the observatory and maintained it at his own expense until his death in 1912, when he bequeathed it to [[Harvard University]] with an endowment of $50,000.
Under Rotch's leadership, the [[Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory]] quickly became famous for its pioneering studies of the upper atmosphere. The study of cloud heights, directions and velocities that Rotch carried out at the Blue Hill Observatory made significant contributions to the knowledge of clouds in the early years of the 20th century. In addition, Rotch was one of the first to suggest the use of [[surface weather analysis|daily maps]] at local [[National Weather Service|Weather Bureau]] stations to plot the direction of weather patterns.
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