How extreme were the floods of River Rhine in the pre instrumental period? Peak discharges of the last 750 years. Assessed from documentary and instrumental evidence
Beginning of agricultural workings as proxies for mean spring-summer temperatures (!) and fine weather conditions (?). Creation of long multi proxy “agro-phenological” series starting from 1444 AD – 2012 AD
Historische Hydrologie. Rekonstruktion und Quantifizierung vorinstrumenteller Hochwasser basierend auf historischen Archivalien am Fallbeispiel von Basel, Zürich und Solothurn
Reconstruction of peak water levels, peak discharges and long-term occurrence of extreme- as well as smaller pre-instrumental flood events of river Aare, Limmat, Reuss, Rhine and Saane in Switzerland. Part II
With special thanks to Professors Michael Ariens and John Schmolesky for their insights and to Lu... more With special thanks to Professors Michael Ariens and John Schmolesky for their insights and to Luis Garcia for his research assistance. I. See 2 PATRICK J. ROHAN, ZONING AND LAND USE CONTROL § 11 (1988). 2. It has been said that Susan K. Brownmiller's comments on pornography in her book AGAINST OUR WILL: MEN, WOMEN AND RAPE (1975), initially opened the debate between feminists and liberals on a solution to the "pornography problem." See TAKE BACK THE NIGHT, 30-34
Historische Hydrologie im Spannungsfeld zwischen Hoch- und Niedrigwassern. Rekonstruktion und Quantifizierung vorinstrumenteller Hoch- und Niedrigwasser bei Basel – Eine 750 jährige Rheinhochwasserreihe
Historische Hydrologie. Rekonstruktion und Quantifizierung vorinstrumenteller Hochwasser in der Schweiz am Fallbeispiel Basels. Eine 750 jährige Rheinhochwasserreihe. Vorstellung des Projektes Historisch Hydrologische Datenbank der Schweiz (HHDS)
Extreme heat and drought in 1473 and their impacts in Europe in the context of the early 1470s
Regional Environmental Change
Droughts and heatwaves are both dangerous natural hazards with a potential significant impact on ... more Droughts and heatwaves are both dangerous natural hazards with a potential significant impact on human societies. In order to understand these hazards, it is important to examine such extreme events in the past. During the years 1471 to 1474, warm and dry weather conditions are described in most parts of Europe. Until now, these extraordinary years have not been examined in depth. Moreover, in spring 1473, a great drought and heat occurred in Europe. This heatwave facilitated a fast phenological development. During the summer and the autumn, temperatures were unusually high, and extremely dry weather conditions continued. In many places, the harvest began remarkably early, and there was abundant wine of a good quality. Fruit trees even bloomed for the second time in autumn. The heat and drought had a considerable impact on the environment and also caused damage to agriculture and society, including water shortages, harvest failures and rising food prices. The weather conditions of the years from 1471 to 1474 were outstanding during the fifteenth century and the heatwave and drought, as well as impacts on environment, economy, and society in the year 1473, were comparable to—if not more severe—than those in the year 1540. Learning from past climate anomalies like the 1473 drought in Europe is important for evaluating more recent and future climate extremes under increasing anthropogenic pressure.
Urban stream works in Central Europe 1200–1700: municipal administration, hydraulic engineering and flood reconstruction
Water History
Technical infrastructures for water supply since antiquity have long been investigated by enginee... more Technical infrastructures for water supply since antiquity have long been investigated by engineers, archaeologists, and historians, while hydraulic structures in rivers and brooks, in service before 1700, have hardly received any attention. The urgency for a better understanding of late medieval and early modern hydraulic activity in streams has recently arisen in Swiss flood research, which tapped into the copious serial inventories of municipal financial accounts. This contribution provides groundwork for further research. Based on sources from Fribourg (CH), Basel (CH), Regensburg (DE), and Wels (AT), the prevalent motives for the construction of contemporary stream works, their municipal management, and engineering techniques are investigated. The locally dispersed informations from sources and literature are integrated into a coherent overview of urban stream works in Central Europe for the period 1200–1700, including a typology according to hydraulic functions and physical structures. The results show that hydraulic construction in streams was led by principles of urban development, industry, and logistics, as well as protection against fluvial erosion and floods. The maintenance of stream works required large investments of financial, material, personnel, and organisational resources ranking among the highest expenses within municipal construction activity. Finally, the implication of anthropogenic stream interventions for pre-instrumental flood reconstruction is demonstrated with the example of Zurich (CH), and remaining desiderata within the field of research are stated.
Changes in climate affected human societies throughout the last millennium. While European cold p... more Changes in climate affected human societies throughout the last millennium. While European cold periods in the 17th and 18th century have been assessed in detail, earlier cold periods received much less attention due to sparse information available. New evidence from proxy archives, historical documentary sources and climate model simulations permit us to provide an interdisciplinary, systematic assessment of an exceptionally cold period in the 15th century. Our assessment includes the role of internal, unforced climate variability and external forcing in shaping extreme climatic conditions and the impacts on and responses of the medieval society in northwestern and central Europe. Climate reconstructions from a multitude of natural and anthropogenic archives indicate that the 1430s were the coldest decade in northwestern and central Europe in the 15th century. This decade is characterised by cold winters and average to warm summers resulting in a strong seasonal cycle in temperatur...
The heat waves of 2003 in Western Europe and 2010 in Russia, commonly labelled as rare climatic a... more The heat waves of 2003 in Western Europe and 2010 in Russia, commonly labelled as rare climatic anomalies outside of previous experience, are often taken as harbingers of more frequent extremes in the global warming-influenced future. However, a recent Climatic Change
How extreme were the floods of River Rhine in the pre instrumental period? Peak discharges of the last 750 years. Assessed from documentary and instrumental evidence
Beginning of agricultural workings as proxies for mean spring-summer temperatures (!) and fine weather conditions (?). Creation of long multi proxy “agro-phenological” series starting from 1444 AD – 2012 AD
Historische Hydrologie. Rekonstruktion und Quantifizierung vorinstrumenteller Hochwasser basierend auf historischen Archivalien am Fallbeispiel von Basel, Zürich und Solothurn
Reconstruction of peak water levels, peak discharges and long-term occurrence of extreme- as well as smaller pre-instrumental flood events of river Aare, Limmat, Reuss, Rhine and Saane in Switzerland. Part II
With special thanks to Professors Michael Ariens and John Schmolesky for their insights and to Lu... more With special thanks to Professors Michael Ariens and John Schmolesky for their insights and to Luis Garcia for his research assistance. I. See 2 PATRICK J. ROHAN, ZONING AND LAND USE CONTROL § 11 (1988). 2. It has been said that Susan K. Brownmiller's comments on pornography in her book AGAINST OUR WILL: MEN, WOMEN AND RAPE (1975), initially opened the debate between feminists and liberals on a solution to the "pornography problem." See TAKE BACK THE NIGHT, 30-34
Historische Hydrologie im Spannungsfeld zwischen Hoch- und Niedrigwassern. Rekonstruktion und Quantifizierung vorinstrumenteller Hoch- und Niedrigwasser bei Basel – Eine 750 jährige Rheinhochwasserreihe
Historische Hydrologie. Rekonstruktion und Quantifizierung vorinstrumenteller Hochwasser in der Schweiz am Fallbeispiel Basels. Eine 750 jährige Rheinhochwasserreihe. Vorstellung des Projektes Historisch Hydrologische Datenbank der Schweiz (HHDS)
Extreme heat and drought in 1473 and their impacts in Europe in the context of the early 1470s
Regional Environmental Change
Droughts and heatwaves are both dangerous natural hazards with a potential significant impact on ... more Droughts and heatwaves are both dangerous natural hazards with a potential significant impact on human societies. In order to understand these hazards, it is important to examine such extreme events in the past. During the years 1471 to 1474, warm and dry weather conditions are described in most parts of Europe. Until now, these extraordinary years have not been examined in depth. Moreover, in spring 1473, a great drought and heat occurred in Europe. This heatwave facilitated a fast phenological development. During the summer and the autumn, temperatures were unusually high, and extremely dry weather conditions continued. In many places, the harvest began remarkably early, and there was abundant wine of a good quality. Fruit trees even bloomed for the second time in autumn. The heat and drought had a considerable impact on the environment and also caused damage to agriculture and society, including water shortages, harvest failures and rising food prices. The weather conditions of the years from 1471 to 1474 were outstanding during the fifteenth century and the heatwave and drought, as well as impacts on environment, economy, and society in the year 1473, were comparable to—if not more severe—than those in the year 1540. Learning from past climate anomalies like the 1473 drought in Europe is important for evaluating more recent and future climate extremes under increasing anthropogenic pressure.
Urban stream works in Central Europe 1200–1700: municipal administration, hydraulic engineering and flood reconstruction
Water History
Technical infrastructures for water supply since antiquity have long been investigated by enginee... more Technical infrastructures for water supply since antiquity have long been investigated by engineers, archaeologists, and historians, while hydraulic structures in rivers and brooks, in service before 1700, have hardly received any attention. The urgency for a better understanding of late medieval and early modern hydraulic activity in streams has recently arisen in Swiss flood research, which tapped into the copious serial inventories of municipal financial accounts. This contribution provides groundwork for further research. Based on sources from Fribourg (CH), Basel (CH), Regensburg (DE), and Wels (AT), the prevalent motives for the construction of contemporary stream works, their municipal management, and engineering techniques are investigated. The locally dispersed informations from sources and literature are integrated into a coherent overview of urban stream works in Central Europe for the period 1200–1700, including a typology according to hydraulic functions and physical structures. The results show that hydraulic construction in streams was led by principles of urban development, industry, and logistics, as well as protection against fluvial erosion and floods. The maintenance of stream works required large investments of financial, material, personnel, and organisational resources ranking among the highest expenses within municipal construction activity. Finally, the implication of anthropogenic stream interventions for pre-instrumental flood reconstruction is demonstrated with the example of Zurich (CH), and remaining desiderata within the field of research are stated.
Changes in climate affected human societies throughout the last millennium. While European cold p... more Changes in climate affected human societies throughout the last millennium. While European cold periods in the 17th and 18th century have been assessed in detail, earlier cold periods received much less attention due to sparse information available. New evidence from proxy archives, historical documentary sources and climate model simulations permit us to provide an interdisciplinary, systematic assessment of an exceptionally cold period in the 15th century. Our assessment includes the role of internal, unforced climate variability and external forcing in shaping extreme climatic conditions and the impacts on and responses of the medieval society in northwestern and central Europe. Climate reconstructions from a multitude of natural and anthropogenic archives indicate that the 1430s were the coldest decade in northwestern and central Europe in the 15th century. This decade is characterised by cold winters and average to warm summers resulting in a strong seasonal cycle in temperatur...
The heat waves of 2003 in Western Europe and 2010 in Russia, commonly labelled as rare climatic a... more The heat waves of 2003 in Western Europe and 2010 in Russia, commonly labelled as rare climatic anomalies outside of previous experience, are often taken as harbingers of more frequent extremes in the global warming-influenced future. However, a recent Climatic Change
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