Characteristic surface energy balances for different climate types

Abstract

AbstractAn attempt is made to answer the question of whether the different climate types of the Köppen‐Geiger classification are also characterized by distinct annual courses of the surface energy balance terms. For this purpose the KöppenGeiger climate map was linked with Budyko's atlas of the heat balance of the Earth. For every climate area shown on the Köppen‐Geiger map (and classified by a certain combination of up to three letters) the annual course of the energy balance terms was extracted from Budyko's atlas and plotted as an energy balance diagram. Then the annual courses of the energy balance terms of all areas classified as equable by Köppen‐Geiger (i.e. being characterized by the same combination of up to three letters) and independent of where in the world they occur could be compared. It became evident from this that each climate type (characterized by a certain letter combination) shows a distinct structure for its energy balance diagram. Thus there is an unambiguous relationship between the Köppen‐Geiger classification and the distinctive structure of the annual course of the components of the surface energy balance. There is only one exception: the BSh climate, with its transitional character throughout the world.