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Mikhail Budyko's (1920-2001) Contributions to Global Climate Science Oldfield, Jonathan D University of Birmingham Mikhail Budyko's (1920-2001) contributions to Global Climate Science Oldfield, Jonathan D. DOI: 10.1002/wcc.412 License: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY) Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Citation for published version (Harvard): Oldfield, JD 2016, 'Mikhail Budyko's (1920-2001) contributions to Global Climate Science: from heat balances to climate change and global ecology', Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 682–692. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.412 Link to publication on Research at Birmingham portal Publisher Rights Statement: © 2016 The Authors. WIREs Climate Change published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. General rights Unless a licence is specified above, all rights (including copyright and moral rights) in this document are retained by the authors and/or the copyright holders. The express permission of the copyright holder must be obtained for any use of this material other than for purposes permitted by law. •Users may freely distribute the URL that is used to identify this publication. •Users may download and/or print one copy of the publication from the University of Birmingham research portal for the purpose of private study or non-commercial research. •User may use extracts from the document in line with the concept of ‘fair dealing’ under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (?) •Users may not further distribute the material nor use it for the purposes of commercial gain. Where a licence is displayed above, please note the terms and conditions of the licence govern your use of this document. When citing, please reference the published version. Take down policy While the University of Birmingham exercises care and attention in making items available there are rare occasions when an item has been uploaded in error or has been deemed to be commercially or otherwise sensitive. If you believe that this is the case for this document, please contact [email protected] providing details and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate. Download date: 29. Sep. 2021 Advanced Review Mikhail Budyko’s (1920–2001) contributions to Global Climate Science: from heat balances to climate change and global ecology Jonathan D. Oldfield* Edited by Matthias Heymann, Domain Editor, and Mike Hulme, Editor-in-Chief Mikhail Ivanovich Budyko (1920–2001) was a Soviet climatologist perhaps best known in the West for his contribution to understandings of climate change. He acted as director of the Main Geophysical Observatory (named after A.I. Voeikov) in Leningrad (St Petersburg) from 1954 and played an active role in advancing Soviet climate agendas within an international context. Three main stages in the development of Budyko’s work related to climate systems and global ecology (late 1940s-mid 1980s) are identified. The first period encompasses his early efforts devoted to understanding and quantifying the interrelationship between the lower atmosphere and the earth’s surface. This stage of his career was also characterized by a growing interest in regional- and global-scale pro- cesses, and was underpinned by collaborative work involving climatologists, physical geographers, and other cognate scientists. The second stage highlights the broadening of his global interest in order to engage more deeply with both natural and anthropogenic climatic and environmental change. The third stage reflects on the development of his expansive and evolutionary approach to the biosphere, and his insight into the formative role of climate with respect to the functioning of physical and biological processes. Furthermore, this later work also exhibited a strong belief in the ability of humankind to reflect wisely on its growing influence on the physical environment and respond appropriately. © 2016 The Authors. WIREs Climate Change published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. How to cite this article: WIREs Clim Change 2016. doi: 10.1002/wcc.412 INTRODUCTION in physical climatology and the development of his ideas to encompass global ecology and associated his review explores key areas of work associated work related to climate change. There has been lim- with the Soviet climatologist Mikhail Ivanovich ited attention devoted to the work and activities of T – Budyko (1920 2001) that emerged over the course of Soviet climatologists in the English-language litera- a long and distinguished career. In particular, it exam- ture. Budyko is something of an exception in this ines his substantive contributions to understandings regard due to the translation of a number of his texts into English. Nevertheless, Budyko and his compa- *Correspondence to: j.d.oldfi[email protected] triots remain subdued voices within the broader pub- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University lished work concerning the science of global climate of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK change. In view of the constraints of space, this review Conflict of interest: The author has declared no conflicts of interest focuses primarily on his main scientific ideas, their his- for this article. torical roots, substance, and development over time. © 2016 The Authors. WIREs Climate Change published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Advanced Review wires.wiley.com/climatechange The introduction to his festschrift, coinciding at various points during his career. In this sense, with his 80th birthday celebrations, suggested that Budyko’s ideas provide a lens through which to Budyko was ‘representative of that rare category of discern the long-held interest in understanding scientist, who comprehends the prospect for the devel- large-scale natural systems within Russian science. In opment of science before other specialists, and antici- particular, he drew from the ideas of individuals pates its priority tasks…’ (Ref 1, p. 4). Allied to this, it such as the biogeochemist and natural scientist stressed that much of his work, including elements of V.I. Vernadsky (1863–1945), climatologist his early initiatives, retained relevance in the contem- A.I. Voeikov (1842–1916), and pedologist porary period. The publication also commemorated V.V. Dokuchaev (1846–1903), and this aspect of his Budyko’s award of the Blue Planet prize by the Asahi work will be examined in more detail below. Glass Foundation, Japan, in 1998.2 This award, dat- ing back to the 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development, is given to individuals considered BACKGROUND to have made outstanding contributions toward sol- ving global environmental issues. In Budyko’s case, Budyko spent much of his academic career in Lenin- the award recognized his ‘establishment of physical grad (contemporary St Petersburg). He studied at climatology and his quantitative analysis of climate Leningrad Polytechnical Institute graduating from change.’ There is little doubt that Budyko made signifi- the engineering and physics faculty in 1942. He then cant contributions to both theoretical and applied moved to the Voeikov Main Geophysical Observa- branches of climate science. In addition, he also tory (GGO) where he worked on his postgraduate demonstrated an ability to be ‘creative’ in his Candidate of Science (approximately equivalent to a approach to scientific method allowing him to reveal PhD) on military meteorology, which he subse- insights into the workings of complex natural systems quently defended in 1944 at the relatively early age (Ref 3, p. 122 and Ref 4, p. 113). His approach was of 24 (Ref 4, p. 113). From this point on, his work both quantitative and interdisciplinary in nature and and intellectual interests became more focused he worked across a range of subdisciplinary areas around interdisciplinary concerns of the relationship including hydrology, geophysics, and physical geogra- between the lower atmosphere and natural processes phy in order to strengthen the foundations of a quanti- at the earth’s surface. As will be highlighted below, tative and physical climatology (e.g., Ref 5, p. 179). this interest provided the basis for his later initiatives For the purposes of this paper, three main stages regarding the global climate system and the earth’s in the development of his work are identified. The first biosphere. In terms of his overall career, Budyko period encompasses his early work devoted to under- remained at the GGO for the next 30 years, becom- standing and quantifying the interrelationship ing assistant director in 1951 and director in 1954, a between the lower atmosphere and the earth’s surface. position he would hold until 1972. He subsequently This stage of his career was also characterized by a acted as chair of the Soviet Scientific Council for the growing interest in regional- and global-scale pro- Problem of Climate and Agro-Climatic Resources. cesses, and was underpinned by collaborative work From the mid-1970s, he took up a new position lead- involving climatologists, physical geographers, and ing work on climate change at the State Hydrological other cognate scientists. The second stage highlights Institute. And, from 1989 he became involved with the broadening of his global interest in order to the Research Centre for Interdisciplinary Coopera- engage more deeply with both natural and anthropo- tion, Academy of Sciences (INENKO). Budyko genic climatic and environmental change. The third would also pick up a range of domestic and foreign stage reflects on the development of his expansive and honors during the course of his career including the evolutionary approach to the biosphere, and his Lenin Prize (1958) and the Gold Medal of the World insight into the formative role of climate with respect Meteorological Organization (WMO) (1987). He to the functioning of physical and biological pro- was inducted as a full member into the Russian cesses.
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