Wladimir Köppen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wladimir Köppen
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1921, photo by Friedrich Becks
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| Born | 25 September 1846 |
| Died | 22 June 1940 (aged 93) |
| Nationality | Russian/German |
| Alma mater | University of Saint Petersburg |
| Known for | Köppen climate classification |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Geography, meteorology, climatology, botany |
| Institutions | University of Heidelberg University of Leipzig |
Wladimir Peter Köppen (born September 25, 1846 – died June 22, 1940) was a famous Russian and German scientist. He was a geographer, meteorologist, climatologist, and botanist. Köppen is best known for creating the Köppen climate classification system. This system helps us understand and categorize different climates around the world. Even today, scientists still use his system with some updates. He also named the study of the upper atmosphere, calling it aerology.
Early Life and Education
Wladimir Köppen was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He lived there until he was 20 years old. His family had a strong connection to science. His grandfather was a German doctor who moved to Russia. Wladimir's father, Peter von Köppen, was also a well-known geographer and historian. He studied ancient Russian cultures.
Wladimir went to secondary school in Simferopol, Crimea. In 1864, he began studying botany at the University of St. Petersburg. He often visited his family's home on the Crimean coast. The different plants and landscapes there made him curious. He started to think about how climate affects the natural world.
In 1867, he moved to the University of Heidelberg in Germany. He earned his doctorate degree in 1870 from the University of Leipzig. His research focused on how temperature affects how plants grow. After his studies, he worked at the Central Physical Observatory in St. Petersburg.
Köppen identified five main climate groups. These groups match the five main types of plant life found on Earth:
- Tropical rainy climate
- Dry climate
- Warm temperature rainy climate
- Snowy and cold climate
- Polar climate
Contributions to Science
Köppen was a key person in starting modern climatology and meteorology. These are the studies of climate and weather. In the 1850s and 1860s, he studied ship reports. He learned about winds in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. From 1872 to 1873, he worked for the Russian weather service. He helped create daily weather maps.
In 1875, Köppen moved back to Germany. He became the head of a new department at the German naval observatory in Hamburg. His job was to create a weather forecasting service. This service was for northwestern Germany and nearby sea areas. After four years, he left this job to focus on his main interest: scientific research.
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Köppen started to study the climate in a very organized way. He even used balloons to collect data from high up in the atmosphere. In 1884, he published his first map of climate zones. This map showed how temperatures changed with the seasons. This work led to his famous Köppen climate classification system. He first published a full version of this system in 1918. He kept improving it throughout his life, with the final version coming out in 1936.
Besides describing different climate types, Köppen also studied paleoclimatology. This is the study of Earth's climates in the past. In 1924, he worked with his son-in-law, Alfred Wegener. They published a paper that supported the Milanković theory about ice ages. This theory explains how changes in Earth's orbit affect our climate. In 1911, he also helped write a popular textbook called The Thermodynamics of the Atmosphere.
Later in his life, Köppen worked with German climatologist Rudolf Geiger. They started a five-volume book called Handbuch der Klimatologie (Handbook of Climatology). It was never fully finished, but Köppen wrote three parts of it. After Köppen passed away in 1940, Geiger continued to work on improving the climate classification system.
Wladimir Köppen was a very productive scientist. He wrote over 500 papers. He was curious about many things throughout his life. In 1890, he helped create the first cloud atlas. Besides science, he cared about social issues. He spent time working on problems like land use, school reform, and helping people get enough food. He also strongly believed in using Esperanto to help achieve world peace. He even translated some of his writings into Esperanto.
He was married to Marie and had five children, including a daughter named Else. Marie's sister, Sophie, and her children also lived with the Köppens starting in 1888.
See also
In Spanish: Wladimir Köppen para niños
