CD-Series: Climate and Biosphere, editor in chief H.Lieth
CD1 - Climate Diagram World Atlas
1st edit.: H.Lieth, J.Berlekamp, S.Fuest, S. Riediger
HTML Applications:  [Entry] [Documentation] [Sensitive Maps] [Search by Country] [Help]
Windows Applications:  [Diagram Editing] [Browse by GIS] [Static Maps]   Internet:  [Climate&Biosphere]




1. Forword
The climate diagram world atlas compiled by Walter and Lieth (1957-1966) has been in use continually since its appearance by geographers, phytosociologists, agronomists, and foresters. Soon after its completion, it entered school classes all over Europe especially after a short version was provided by Walter et al. (1975). Walter and Box have based a biome concept on the typisation - a concept which has been discussed in the literature intensively.
The original atlas was published in three large editions and has been sold out for over 20 years. Since then, atlas pages have been photocopied in unknown numbers. A new edition of the climate diagram atlas has been often requested.
The availability of data in digital form suggests a new version with interactive possibilities to draw own diagrams and make existing data and diagrams available for desktop publishing. Along with the development of computer capacities in the scientific laboratories, first attempts to construct diagrams through computer routines were undertaken by Ostendorf et al. (1981, 1982). The further step towards that goal was taken by H. Lieth and S. Riediger, the result of which was published in Lieth (1998). The plotting of diagrams was tested for a variety of climate stations in contrasting biomes.
The use of computer maps has become a standard tool in geography and ecology as well. Digital topographic data are available in the public domain that allow the generation of relief base maps and hence show a most important variable for the regional climate as a background for diagrams. At the present level of computer sciences, data sources in meteorology, geographical coordinates, and bioclimatological problems is it high time to provide our expertise for general application. The editors thank all colleagues who have encouraged, cooperated and critically reviewed our project. We hope that this first basic provision of the method and it's application will serve our colleagues.

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2. Data
The Global Historical Climatology Network version 2 temperature database was released in May 1997 from the National Climatic Data Center (Peterson 1997). The data set consists of monthly surface observations from ~7,000 stations from around the world. For this CD only stations with both temperature and precipitation information were selected and the remaining number of 3400 stations is the climate data foundation of the presented diagrams.
The topograhic foundation of the atlas application is a digital elevation model GTOPO30 from the U.S. Geological Survey's EROS Data Center (http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/landdaac/ gtopo30/gtopo30.html). By this data the generation of shaded relief maps led to the background which is used in the atlas application and which is also provided for the GIS applications on this CD.

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3. Climate Diagrams
Climate diagrams are brief summaries of average climatic variables and their time course. Originally aimed at visualizing those climatic variables and their dynamics that are particularly important for the vegetation (Walter 1957, Walter and Lieth 1961-1967), they have proven useful for a wide range of sciences, industry, and teaching. In bio- and geosciences, they have been used as an instrument to show the relationships between soil, vegetation, and climate. In agronomic sciences, they were used to indicate the range for certain crops. They are an aid for planning constructions. They indicate optimal travel schedules for the tourist industries. The main part of the diagram consists of the display of monthly averages for the scale that 20 mm of monthly precipitation (right ordinate) equals 10°C average temperature (left ordinate). Where the precipitation curve undercuts the temperature, the area between them has dotted lines (every 2 mm) indicating dry season and where the precipitation curve supercedes the temperature curve vertical lines are plotted at the middle position for each month (with tic marks every 2 mm) indicating moist season.
The astronomic summer is always in the middle of the diagram starting with January in the northern hemisphere and July in the southern hemisphere respectively.A very important ecological variable is frost. The diagram includes two different symbols for frost periods - a daily average minimum below zero (black box) and the absolute temperature minimum below zero (white box) during the observation period (Fig). Absolute maxima and minima are not provided in the original data set but can be entered for each station individually through a submenu in the program ClimatePlot32 (file->enter data manually). Use the respective lines left blank in the climate data table. The same ist possible for humidity values.
1 Country name, station location and elevation, station name

2 The length of the observation period for temperature and precipitation respectively

3 Annual average of temperature and annual precipitation sum

4 (red) Temperature curve

5 (blue) Precipitation time series

6 Indication of frost periods

7 Mean daily max. temperature for the warmest month

8 Mean daily min. temperature for the coldest month



4. Sensitive Maps and Search by Country

The Sensitive Maps option is an interactiv search for station diagrams based on sensitive maps with HTML browser technology, well known from Internet. From sensitive views of the world and continents you can zoom to tiles of 5x5 degrees and find topographic maps with climate station locations. You can click this station and get a diagram page with a diagram graphic and several more options such as obtaining high resolution graphics for use in manuscripts or viewing the station data. This program area includes 3400 stations. Some of these stations data were recorded less than 30 years (see the specification in the diagram graphic). The Search by Country option leads you to the station diagrams by country and city lists.

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5. Browse by GIS

With the free software ArcExplorer which includes a small basic GIS functionality you may load and browse the digital elevation model data, the station data, and the city locations. By zooming in and out you can shape the desired resolution and boundaries of your map. You may also download additional georeferenced data in the Shapefile format (see www.esri.com). See further Information in the Browse by GIS section.

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6. Diagram Editing
The program ClimatePlot32 is menu driven (see help). It runs exclusively under the WINDOWS operating system. You can load the climate diagrams of all stations available in the collection. You can modify size, resolution of the diagram in order to fit available space for printing. You can print a tabulation of the datra and You can enter data for new diagrams as well. For more information see the Diagram Editing option.

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7. Static Maps

Static Maps are continental topographic overview maps in different graphic formats (PDF, GIF) and in different sizes (DIN A1, A4). These maps only show the locations of those stations which were observed more than 30 years. Click the Map Icons to see more detailled graphics or go to the Static Maps for more information.



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8. Literature


Lieth, H. (1998), Ecosystems principles for ecotoxicological analyses, in: Schürmann, G. and Markert, B. edit. Ecotoxicology, New York, Wiley

Ostendorf, B., Lieth, H. and Lehker, H. (1981). KLIMAPLOT: A computer routine to plot climate diagrams. Veröff. Geobot. Inst. ETH Zürich 149-17.

Ostendorf, B., Lieth, H., and Lehker, H. (1982). KLIMAPLOT. In M. Müller: Selected climatic data for a global set of stations for vegetation science. Dr. W. Jung Publishers. The Hague, Boston, London.

Peterson T.C., Vose R.S. (1997), Global Historical Climatology Network version 2, ftp://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/ghcn/v2

Walter, H., Harnickell, E., and Mueller-Dombois, D. (1975) Climate-diagram maps of the individual continents and the ecological climatic regions of the earth. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

Walter, H., Harnickell, E., and Mueller-Dombois, D. (1975) Klimadiagramm-Karten der einzelnen Kontinente und die ökologische Klimagliederung der Erde : eine Erg. zu d. Vegetationsmonographien. Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart.

Walter, H. and Lieth, H. (1961-1967), Climate Diagram World Atlas, Jena, Fischer Verlag

Walter, H. and Box, E. (1976), Global classification of natural terrestrial ecosystems. Vegetatio 32, 75-81

Walter, H. (1976), Die ökologischen Systeme der Kontinente (Biogeosphaere) 131p., Stuttgart, Fischer Verlag