Wladimir Köppen was a Russian scientist of German origin born in Saint Petersburg in 1846. During his life he showed interest in a large number of subjects, including meteorology, the study of climates, botany and paleogeography.
His most important contribution was the creation of a climatic classification system, which with some variations is still used today. Köppen divided the Earth's climate according to aspects such as temperature or the amount of rainfall that occurred in each area.
Köppen's interest in climate developed during his childhood and adolescence, when he resided in the Crimean peninsula. There he dedicated part of his time to study the plants and to compare the existing varieties with those of the forests of his place of origin. This led him to analyze the role of climate in geography and natural life..
The first works of this scientist were in the field of meteorology, first in Russia and later in Germany. His last years were spent in Austria, where he collaborated with the climatologist Rudolf Geiger in the writing of the five volumes of Manual of climatology, one of the most important works on this subject.
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Wladimir Petróvich Köppen was born on October 8, 1846, in Saint Petersburg (Russia), to German parents.
Köppen's family vocation had clear family roots. His grandfather had been one of the German doctors who had settled in Russia at the invitation of Empress Catherine II, who wanted to improve the sanitation of her country. Later, he became the Tsar's personal physician..
On the other hand, his father, Peter von Köppen, had worked as a historian and geographer at the Saint Petersburg Academy. His great work was rewarded by Tsar Alexander II with an estate on the Crimean coast.
It was on that peninsula, next to the Black Sea, where the young Köppen spent a good part of his childhood and adolescence. The future climatologist soon showed great interest in the botany of the area, as well as in the climate and how it affected the flora.
Köppen carried out the secondary stage of his studies still in Crimea, in the town of Simferopol. Upon completion, he moved to Saint Petersburg to study Botany at the University of that city..
During the course of his university studies, Köppen traveled frequently to the Crimea and noticed the changes in vegetation and climate that occurred in the more than 2,000 kilometers that separated the two places..
At the end of his studies in Saint Petersburg, the young man entered the University of Heidelberg (Germany). In this educational center, in 1870, he completed his doctoral thesis, which dealt with the relationship between development and vegetation..
The Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) represented a brief hiatus in the career of Köppen, who served in the ambulance corps during the conflict. Later, he returned to Saint Petersburg and obtained an assistant position at the Central Physical Observatory.
In 1874, he returned to move to Germany, specifically to the city of Hamburg. There he directed the atmospheric telegraphy division of the German Naval Observatory, which among other things had to monitor the formation of storms and the meteorological conditions that could affect navigation..
In the same job, Köppen developed in 1884 a study that, based on the average monthly temperature, divided the planet into climatic bands.
Six years later, he created his mathematical system for classifying climates, for which he took into account the amount of rain in each area and the temperature.
In 1919, Köppen left his post at the Hamburg Observatory. His next destination was Graz, in Austria, where he lived until the time of his death..
In 1930, he collaborated with the climatologist Rudolf Geiger in the edition of Climatology Manual, a great work of five volumes. However, Köppen could only see published three of those volumes, since he died on June 22, 1940.
After his death, Geiger continued to work on the climate classification system and made several modifications.
Köppen's works were recognized by various academic institutions who invited him to become a member. Thus, in 1922, he entered the Prussian Academy of Sciences.
Later, in 1925, he did the same at the Göttingen Academy of Sciences. Finally, in 1936, it became part of the German Academy of Natural Sciences Leopoldina.
When analyzing the scientific activity of Köppen, only his works that led to the creation of a world climate classification are usually mentioned. However, he actually showed interest in multiple topics and published more than 500 articles throughout his life..
Among other things, Köppen made a very important contribution to the evolution of German maritime meteorology. Likewise, in his articles he assiduously dealt with issues such as the safety of transport by sea in relation to meteorology or the climatic conditions of the continents and seas..
Before starting the elaboration of his classification, the scientist had used atmospheric balloons to study the upper layers of the atmosphere and the climate.
The first version of his climate zone map was presented in 1884 and included seasonal temperatures. The next step, already in 1900, was to incorporate other factors to improve the classification.
Another version, presented at the time as final, was published in 1918. Köppen, however, continued to incorporate modifications until a new map was obtained in 1936..
Köppen's interest in botany caused his first observations on the climate to be on the relationship between it and vegetation. Then, he used parameters such as temperatures and the amount of annual and monthly rainfall to develop the map..
The result was a climatic division of the world that included five main groups: the tropical, temperate, continental and polar climates..
Each of them was identified with a capital letter, from A (tropical rainy climates) to E (polar climates with snow). In turn, these groups were divided into other subgroups, also represented with a letter.
Another of Köppen's scientific interests was paleoclimatology, the branch of science that studies the climatic conditions of the planet throughout history..
Within this discipline, Köppen published in collaboration with Alfred Wegener, a well-known German scientist who was also his son-in-law, the work The climates of the geological past. This book was fundamental to give consistency to the theory of the ice ages disclosed by Milutin Milanković.
Wladimir Köppen not only dedicated his life to science, but also participated in many initiatives that aimed to solve social problems.
Among them, he was involved in trying to respond to the nutritional problems of the most disadvantaged. In addition, he promoted a school reform and defended the implantation of Esperanto as a way to achieve peace.
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