Data rescue of instrumental meteorological data records of European and US Naval ship logs sailing along Japan waters during the 1850s and 1860s

Before the establishment of a weather station network in Japan, European and U.S. naval ships sailed along the region’s coastal waters during the 18th and 19th centuries. Weather records observed using meteorological instruments onboard these ships provide valuable insights into the climate studies before the network’s establishment. These ship log weather records are stored in libraries and archives across various countries. In this study, we focus on the ship log weather records made on vessels sailing along Japan waters during this period. The earliest weather records in the vicinity of Japan were documented aboard the ship of Jame Cook’s third expedition in 1779. Historical tropical cyclone (TC) tracks for the 1850s and 1860s were also identified from these records. We focus on three tropical cyclone (TC) events in the vicinity of Japan during the period from 21 to 25 July 1853 observed by seven US Naval ship of Perry’s Japan Expedition fleet, on 23 and 24 September 1856 observed by Dutch Navy ship Medusa, and on 15 and 16 August 1863 during the bombardment of Kagoshima in Japan observed by eleven UK Navy ships. This research is part of the international data rescue efforts known as the Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth (ACRE) initiative. Data rescue activities in Asia are conducted under ACRE Japan, one of the regional branches of ACRE.