Wladimir Köppen: Scholar for Life / Ein Gelehrtenleben für die Meteorologie

About this book

Language: Bilingual in English and German

This is the complete English translation (and the original German language version) of the biography of famous and influential Russian-German meteorologist/climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940), edited by his daughter Else, with an updated bibliography of his publications.

Köppen's life stands out among the lives of many of his peers, in that he has made lasting contributions to atmospheric sciences and climatology (e.g. the Köppen-Geiger Classification of Climates which is still being used, and refined to this very day). He also made other important contributions to meteorological research and the organisation of weather services.

At the same time, Köppen has a scholarly publication record that spans eight (!) decades and comprises 560 publications. All this between many twists and turns in his life in Russia and Germany, moves, and unexpected events he had to endure, among them copious private problems such as the untimely deaths of two sons, the loss of a third, and later, the loss of his closest collaborator and son-in-law Alfred Wegener.

It is fascinating to read how the successful and influential Köppen managed to overcome all these personal quandaries, successfully building and refining his career in climate research until his death in 1940.

For those working in the sciences today, Köppen's autobiographic remarks bear witness, among other things, to the fact, that the nuisances of bureaucracy, theft of ideas, and heckling, grudges, and minor malevolence among peers are not new developments, but have been around from the beginning of the scientific disciplines, although Köppen never engaged in them.

Contents

Preface by the Köppen family   7
Preface by the editor: Wladimir Köppen’s scholarly legacy: A Rambler between close and distant Worlds and Times   13
Introduction   25

Part One: From the Memories written down by Köppen up to 1903   31
- General Reflections of the Eighty-five year old Köppen   31
- Ancestors and Childhood   33
- Student of the Natural Sciences 1864–1870   38
- Assistant at the Central Observatory in Petersburg 1872–1873   48
- Head of the Weather Service Department of the German Seewarte 1875–1879   55
- Meteorologist of the German Seewarte 1879–1919   63
- Children and Science 1879–1892   65
- Lots of Misery and many a Joy 1892–1903   71

Part Two: Life and Work 1903–1940. Scientific Work   81
- The Kite Station at Großborstel. Aerology   81
- The Years between 1903 and 1913   87
- Marine and Synoptic Meteorology   94
- Years of the First World War 1914–1918   105
- Climatology: The Classification of Climates   108
- Köppen and A. Wegener in Hamburg 1919-1924. Paleoclimatology   115
- Life and Research in Graz after 1924   119
- Handbook of Climatology   130
- Final Days 1939–1940   133
- List of Publications by Professor Köppen   133

Vorwort der Familie Köppen   175
Vorwort des Herausgebers: Wladimir Köppens wissenschaftliches Werk: Ein Wanderer zwischen nahen und fernen Welten und Zeiten   181
Einleitung   197

Erster Teil: Aus den von Köppen selbst niedergeschriebenen Erinnerungen bis 1903   203
- Allgemeine Betrachtungen eines Fünfundachtzigjährigen   203
- Vorfahren und Kindheit   205
- Student der Naturwissenschaften 1864–1870   210
- Assistent am Zentralobservatorium in Petersburg 1872–1873   221
- Leiter der Abt. Wetterdienst der Deutschen Seewarte 1875–1879   229
- Meteorologe der Deutschen Seewarte 1879–1919   238
- Kinder und Wissenschaft 1879–1892   240
- Viel Leid und manche Freude 1892–1903   246

Zweiter Teil: Leben und Schaffen 1903–1940. Wissenschaftliches Werk   255
- Drachenstation Großborstel. Aerologie   255
- Aus der Zeit 1903–1919   262
- Maritime und synoptische Meteorologie   269
- Kriegsjahre 1914-1918   281
- Klimatologie. Klassifikation der Klimate   285
- Köppen und A. Wegener in Hamburg 1919–24. Paläoklimatologie   292
- Leben und Forschen in Graz nach 1924 2  98
- Handbuch der Klimatologie   310
- Letzte Tage 1939–40   312
- Verzeichnis der Veröffentlichungen von Professor Köppen   313

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