A fleet of more than 80 selected ships also radio valuable weather data to the Bureau when they are operating in Australian waters. Technological advances of recent years have done much to overcome the long-standing problems posed by Australia's physical size and location. The satellites' electronics also enable them to receive and transmit weather data from remote automatic weather stations, drifting ocean buoys, and from wide-bodied jet aircraft fitted with instruments to record and transmit weather data automatically during flight. The data include surface observations, radiation, rainfall, evaporation and upper-air measurements. Rainfall records, which form part of the data bank, have been collected for more than 100 years at some locations.
Climatological data have many applications in today's world.
Australia also has a number of co-operative arrangements in meteorology with other countries. Training courses are provided for overseas students, and the Bureau participates in the programs of the Australian Development Assistance Bureau. One such project involves the secondment of a number of Bureau officers to Saudi Arabia under government to government agreement, to provide management and supervisory assistance in developing the Saudi meteorological service. Another involves assistance to the Solomon Islands service through new and upgraded equipment, consumables, staff training and general scientific and technical support. One of the first products of this Research was a landmark publication in 1913 titled Climate and Weather of Australia , compiled by the then Commonwealth Meteorologist, H. A. Hunt, and two other distinguished meteorologists, Griffith Taylor and E. T. Quale.