A Methodology for Long-Term Monitoring of Climate Change Impacts on Historic Buildings

Abstract

A new methodology for long-term monitoring of climate change impacts on historic buildings and interiors has been developed. This paper proposes a generic framework for how monitoring programs can be developed and describes the planning and arrangement of a Norwegian monitoring campaign. The methodology aims to make it possible to establish a data-driven decision making process based on monitored decay related to climate change. This monitoring campaign includes 45 medieval buildings distributed over the entirety of Norway. Thirty-five of these buildings are dated to before 1537 and include wooden buildings as well as 10 medieval churches built in stone while the remaining 10 buildings are situated in the World Heritage sites of Bryggen, in Bergen on the west coast of Norway, and in Røros, which is a mining town in the inland of the country. The monitoring is planned to run for 30 to 50 years. It includes a zero-level registration and an interval-based registration system focused on relevant indicators, which will make it possible to register climate change-induced decay at an early stage.

Conservation issues and chemical study of the causes of alteration of a part of the Stave Church in Hopperstad (Norway)

“…The substance may react in different ways with the present pronounced climate change [46]. The climate at Hopperstad has recently been assessed by NIKU (on request by RA in relation to the "Stave Church Preservation Program") 4 [6,47,48]. Increased rainfall and moisture damage caused by mold growth and leakages were some of the concerns about the future climate at Hopperstad.…”

Monitoring Climate Change in World Heritage Properties: Evaluating Landscape-Based Approach in the State of Conservation System

“…Consequently, some studies have highlighted the importance of developing and operationalising landscape-based management frameworks to enable the safeguarding of heritage values and attributes while at the same time allowing for change [49,66]. However, discussion on the thresholds of 'acceptable change' remains at an early stage, particularly on the topics of climate change mitigation and adaptation fields [65,[67][68][69]; a larger focus has been on socioeconomic development and its impacts on WH properties [70][71][72].…”

“…The key elements in building heritage resilience include social/adaptive learning and the monitoring of changes [73,74]. Monitoring is a valuable tool for generating data and knowledge that can serve as a basis for informed decision making in managing WH properties within a changing climate environment [68,75].…”

Preservation of Distemper Painting: Indoor Monitoring Tools for Risk Assessment and Decision Making in Kvernes Stave Church

“…The examination was a follow-up of the assessment of consolidation methods for distemper decorative paints, as an answer to the constant need for greater knowledge on sturgeon glue as a consolidation material, and more specifically, for understanding which parameters are essential for successful results in consolidation treatments. In addition, the survey of conservative conditions of decorative distemper painted surfaces was also implemented in another recent project: "Environmental monitoring of the impact of climate change on protected buildings" started in 2017 and coordinated by NIKU [6]. An example of the mapping of conservation treatments obtained by the survey inside Kvernes stave church is depicted in Figure 5.…”

“…Challenges related to effective risk assessment of sites may include long-term monitoring plans coupled with analytical campaigns that are able to concurrently detect the conservation state of all the materials existing in a historic building. These risk assessments, recently in association with tools allowing the simulation of current or future scenarios, permit the creation of the most appropriate strategies for the management of monuments [6]. Conventional museums and archives' environmental set points are hard to follow when approaching the management of temperature and relative humidity conditions of historic churches [4], including unique wooden structures such as stave churches.…”