Köppen Climate Classifications

Download or read book Köppen Climate Classifications written by Source Wikipedia and published by University-Press.org. This book was released on 2013-09 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 40. Chapters: Alpine climate, Boreal ecosystem, Continental climate, Desert climate, Humid continental climate, Humid subtropical climate, Ice cap climate, Koppen climate classification, Mediterranean climate, Oceanic climate, Semi-arid climate, Subarctic climate, Taiga, Tropical monsoon climate, Tropical rainforest climate, Tropical savanna climate, Wladimir Koppen. Excerpt: The Koppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Russian German climatologist Wladimir Koppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Koppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936. Later, German climatologist Rudolf Geiger collaborated with Koppen on changes to the classification system, which is thus sometimes referred to as the Koppen-Geiger climate classification system. The system is based on the concept that native vegetation is the best expression of climate. Thus, climate zone boundaries have been selected with vegetation distribution in mind. It combines average annual and monthly temperatures and precipitation, and the seasonality of precipitation. The Koppen climate classification scheme divides climates into five main groups, each having several types and subtypes. Each particular climate type is represented by a 2 to 4 letter symbol. Tropical climates are characterized by constant high temperature (at sea level and low elevations) - all twelve months of the year have average temperatures of or higher. They are subdivided as follows: Some of the places that have this climate are indeed uniformly and monotonously wet throughout the year (e.g., the northwest Pacific coast of South and Central America, from Ecuador to Costa Rica, see for instance, Andagoya, Colombia), but in many cases the period of higher sun and longer days is distinctly wettest (as at Palembang, ..."