Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Rudolf Oskar Robert Williams Geiger
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Quizzes
Michael Faraday (L) English physicist and chemist (electromagnetism) and John Frederic Daniell (R) British chemist and meteorologist who invented the Daniell cell.
Faces of Science
Quick Facts
Born:
Aug. 24, 1894, Erlangen, Ger.
Died:
1981 (aged 86)
Notable Works:
“The Climate near the Ground”
Subjects Of Study:
microclimate
See all related content
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

Rudolf Oskar Robert Williams Geiger

German meteorologist
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Rudolf Oskar Robert Williams Geiger (born Aug. 24, 1894, Erlangen, Ger.—died 1981) was a German meteorologist, one of the founders of microclimatology, the study of the climatic conditions within a few metres of the ground surface. His observations, made above grassy fields or areas of crops and below forest canopies, elucidated the complex and subtle interactions between vegetation and the heat, radiation, and water balances of the air and soil.

Geiger taught and conducted his research at several institutions in Germany and was director of the Meteorological Research Institute in the Bavarian Forest Service and of the Meteorological Institute of the University of Munich. He was the author of the classic treatise Das Klima der bodennahen Luftschicht (1927; The Climate near the Ground), a comprehensive survey of microclimatological observations and of the effects of microclimate on plants, animals, and humans. This book remains a valuable basic reference source in the study of climate.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.