Koeppen System For Climate Classification

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1. Explain the main principles of Koeppen system for climate classification. List the detailed classifications for Turkey and give your thoughts for these classifications in the lights of meteorological factors and climate controls affecting them. As a practice, show annual plots of monthly temperature and precipitation at two climatologically contrast stations in Turkey and discuss your results. (Dr. İsmail Yücel; 35 points).
Wladimir Koeppen developed the first quantitative climate classification in 1900. Koeppen’s system was based on the principle that plants integrate several climate elements. Koeppen fitted isolines of temperature and precipitation data to the five vegetation groups identified by the French botanist De Candolle, which were based on the late Greek climate zones: (1) A, the plants of the torrid zone; (2) C, plants of the temperate zone; (3) D and E, frigid zone (no plants); (4) B, for plants of the dry zone. Koeppen added sequential letters to account for moisture (rainfall), for a better description of maximum and minimum temperatures, for the seasonal distribution of rainfall (Sanderson, 1999), and for special features such as fog incidence.
B Climate Zone – Dry Zone: Can be seen at steppe and desert fields. This zone has more evaporation than precipitation. While the precipitation level is between 100 mm. to 700 mm. on steppe fields, it is between 50mm. to 350 mm. on deserts. If the annual precipitation is less than 50% of this threshold, the classification is BW (desert climate); if it is in the range of 50%-100% of the threshold, the classification is BS (steppe climate).
A third letter might be included to indicate temperature. The letter h signifies low-latitude climate with average annual temperature a...

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... be dry, wereas we are looking dry summers and wet winters and still constant precipitation. Another issue is the third letter as the warmest month is not above 22°C. As a result Artvin region is a good example for Cfb.
Nur Ceren ÇAKMAK
ESS 507 – 1476290

References
• Wikipedia ansiklopedi (25.4.2014). Retrieved from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification
• Klimatoloji Şube Müdürlüğü (n.d.) “İklim Sınıflandırmaları” Meteoroloji Genel Müdürlüğü, Kalaba, Ankara, Türkiye
• Michael Pidwirny (2011) “Köppen Climate Classification System” Source: NOAA
• Turkish State Meteorological Service (27.4.2014). Retrieved from, http://www.mgm.gov.tr/iklim/iklim-siniflandirmalari.aspx#sfU
• G. Sparovek, Q. De Jong Van Lier and D. Dourado Neto (2006) “Computer assisted Koeppen climate classification” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Wiley InterScience

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