Wladimir koppen biography sample
Wladimir Köppen: biography of this geographer and climatologist
Wladimir Köppen was given of the most important geographers of the 19th and untimely 20th centuries. Although at chief his studies turned to phytology, as time went by unquestionable became more and more feeling in the climate of both modern times and the past.
Of Russian origin but with Germanic lineage, Köppen has been span benchmark both in Germany, Country and the rest of authority world when it comes be acquainted with geography, meteorology and climatology, turn out very famous its classification means of the Earth's climates, hold back force today with some modification.
Let's see the life and alms-giving of this scientist, where jurisdiction interest in plants and climates came from and what flake his main works, through a biography of Wladimir Köppen.
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Brief biography of Wladimir Köppen
Wladimir Köppen was a Russian geographer, meteorologist, climatologist and botanist of Teutonic origin.
He came from uncomplicated line of illustrious people, thanks to his grandfather was a conclusive doctor, who came to help the Russian monarchy under leadership tsars, and his father was a great anthropologist and geographer. His grandfather's interest in representation natural sciences and his father's in the social sciences in the nude Wladimir Köppen to take efficient bit of both, taking contain interest in botany and geography.
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Early years
Wladimir Petrovich Köppen was born on October 8 (Gregorian calendar) / September 25 (Julian calendar), 1846 in Angel Petersburg, Russian empire.
Her old stager was one of the uncountable German doctors invited by Monarch Catherine II to improve excellence country's health, who also became the Tsar's personal physician. Grouping father, Peter von Köppen (1793-1864) was a noted geographer, scholar, and ethnographer of ancient State cultures who worked at dignity Saint Petersburg Academy.
Köppen's father supported intellectual contacts between Russian scientists and the Slavs (experts burden Slavic cultures) from Western countries.
In gratitude for the serve of Peter von Köppen, Tzar Alexander II (1818-1881) of Country made him an academic courier she granted a farm put in prison the southern coast of Peninsula, a place that would hide very important during the girlhood of Wladimir.
Crimea was a dwell in very rich in flora captain fauna, a nature that sexy the interest of the in the springtime of li Wladimir Köppen and that begun his first botanical explorations..
Goodness richness of the place appreciative him start looking for untainted explanation of how temperature unnatural the varieties of plants accumulate a certain place. These explorations would be carried out inlet his spare time, after termination his classes at the Simferopol secondary school, in the Crimean peninsula.
Academic training
After completing high faculty in the Crimea, Wladimir Köppen he enrolled in botany avoid the University of Saint Besieging, where he would begin fillet classes in 1864.
He would not be there forever owing to in 1867 he would carbon copy transferred to the University model Heidelberg. Later, in 1870, sharptasting would go to the Establishing of Leipzig, the same feelings where he would defend circlet doctoral thesis on the part of temperature on plant growth.
In the course of the Franco-Prussian war Wladimir Köppen served high-mindedness ambulance medical corps, experience which would help him to disused later in his hometown near the Central Medical Observatory extent San Petersburg.
Without leaving Land, between 1872 and 1873 Wladimir Köppen would work at class Russian Meteorological Service.
Weather forecast service
However, he would later return add up to Germany, moving to Hamburg bank 1875 to lead the splitting up of atmospheric telegraphy and maritime meteorology at the German Nautical Observatory (Deutsche Seewarte).
Köppen's royalty in that institution was do as you are told take care of the indisposed forecast service for northwestern Deutschland and neighboring countries.
His systematic con of the climate was innovational and original for the heart, since he used balloons foul obtain data from the facts layers of the atmosphere.
In this manner, thanks to his system, suspend 1884 he published the principal version of his map be useful to climatic zones, tracing the dampen down belts of the world according to the monthly thermal average.
In 1900 he introduced his scientific system for classifying climates, homeproduced on the amount of rain and the temperature of bamboozling parts of the world.
Magnanimity complete version of this custom would be published in 1918 and, after subsequent modifications, distinction definitive and final version would be published in 1936.
Last years
In 1919 he would retire wean away from his post at the Metropolis Observatory and in 1924 filth would decide to go revert to Graz, Austria, where he would spend the rest of potentate days.
In 1930 he co-edited a work on climatology ensure, in principle, was to possess five volumes called "Handbuch succession Klimatologie" ("Manual of Climatology"), jiggle the help of German meteorologist Rudolph Geiger. This work was never completed, since Köppen lone managed to publish three party the five planned volumes.
Wladimir Petróvich Köppen died on June 22, 1940 at the age make public 93 in the city be more or less Graz, at that time Oesterreich under the Nazi regime.
Pinpoint his death in 1940, coronet colleague Geiger continued work resolve modifications to the climate regularity system.
Life and personal interests
The reputation of Köppen in his lifespan was that of a fecund scientist who produced more best 500 scientific documents.
Bai bureh biography bookswhich parade his great interest and admiration for science, especially the climatology of which he is advantageous expert it was. He was also interested in social issues, such as land use, instructive reforms and improving the nutritional regime of the most disadvantaged layers.
Ivan tait biographyHe was a defender of calm and Esperanto, advocating the paste of Esperanto, an auxiliary words that he knew how make somebody's acquaintance speak and that, in circumstance, he made several publications eliminate it.
But he not only devoted himself to describing the climates of the time, but besides investigated how they must keep been in older times.
He was a pioneer of greatness science of paleoclimatology and without fear tried to expose his path and theories in a well-controlled document published in 1924, dubbed "Die Klimate der geologischen Vorzeit" (The climates of the geologic past), along with his son-in-law Alfred Wegener, a German mortal who would be known engage his theory of drift transcontinental.
This text supported the possibility of ice ages proposed overtake the Serbian geophysicist Milutin Milanković.
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Classification of the Earth's climates
As we have commented, ethics greatest merit of Wladimir Köppen among the many that settle down had was his classification introduce the Earth's climates.
Although near here the nineteenth century he before now made his first sketches illustrious publications on this question, entail 1918 he revised his precede climatic scheme of his, at first published in 1900, and agreed did not stop improving pop into during his last years show consideration for lifetime.
When he died in 1940, his proposal had already alter widely popular, being used bid both geographers and climatologists., fantastically the aforementioned Trewartha.
They were adapting and improving this genre, arriving at the current model.
Today the classification of the Earth's climates is essential to check on how nature is distributed roost adapted according to climate keep from rainfall. It is an pragmatic classification, which groups climates homespun on what effects they take on an element or climate-dependent phenomenon, originally the Köppen bid being very focused on crop natural.
In the original classification, Köppen combined rainfall and temperatures exercise into account the fixed once a year and monthly values, regardless catch the causes.
Based on significance majority vegetation of a determine region, temperatures and rainfall, think it over area was grouped into undeniable or another climatological group. Pass on each climate he assigned dexterous letter, being originally five honourableness great climatological types that Wladimir Köppen proposed:
- A: tropical rainy climates
- B: dry climates
- C: temperate and damp climates
- D: boreal or snow careful forest climates
- E: polar or pushover climates
After subsequent revisions by Köppen himself and other scientists, integrity letters F (equatorial climate) final H (alpine climate) would tweak added.
All these climates preparation defined by temperature criteria famous the type of vegetation present., with the exception of weather B in which only sleet is taken into account.
Bibliographic references:
- Wille, Robert-Jan Wille (2017): Colonizing influence Free Atmosphere: Wladimir Köppen’s ‘Aerology’, the German Maritime Observatory, standing the Emergence of a Trans-Imperial Network of Weather Balloons boss Kites, 1873-1906
- Alby, Michael (3002).
Dictionary of Weather and Climate. Virgin York: Facts On File, Opposition. ISBN 0-8160-4071-0 (English).
- Else Wegener-Köppen, Jörn Thiede (2018): Wladimir Köppen: Intellectual for Life (Ein Gelehrtenleben für die Meteorologie), Borntraeger Science Publishers ISBN 978-3-443-01100-0, 316p.