Alexander Obukhov
Soviet Russian physicist and applied mathematician (1918–1989)
Alexander Mikhailovich Obukhov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Обу́хов; 5 May 1918 – 3 December 1989) was a Soviet and Russian geophysicist and applied mathematician known for his contributions to statistical theory of turbulence and atmospheric physics. He was one of the founders of modern boundary layer meteorology. He served as the Head of the theoretical department at Sternberg Astronomical Institute, a division of Moscow State University.
Obukhov's 1946 fundamental paper on a universal length scale for exchange processes in the surface layer was the basis for the derivation of the Monin–Obukhov similarity theory in 1954. The Monin–Obukhov similarity theory and the Monin–Obukhov length are named after him and Russian Academician Andrei Monin.
Early life and education
Obukhov was born on 5 May 1918 in Saratov. He finished high school in 1934 but could not write the entrance examination of Saratov University because he was too young. Therefore, he spent a year at Saratov Meteorological Observatory. Obukhov wrote and published his first paper in 1939. It was based on the work he had done at Saratov Meteorological Observatory.
The public source identifies “Alexander Obukhov” as soviet Russian physicist and applied mathematician (1918–1989). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Alexander, Obukhov and Soviet.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4330048. VIAF identifies the subject as 77683217. The Library of Congress control number is n83018697. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1918, 1989, 1946 and 1954.
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This entry incorporates text from “Alexander Obukhov” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.