Flood risk along the upper Rhine since AD 1480

Abstract

Abstract. This paper presents the occurrence, cause and frequency changes of floods, their development and distribution along the southern part of the upper Rhine River and of 14 of its tributaries in France and Germany covering the period from 1480 BC. Special focus is given on the temporal and spatial variations and underlying meteorological causes which show a significant change over space and time. Examples are presented how long-term information can help to improve transnational risk and risk management analysis while connecting single historical and modern extreme events.

Floodplains and Complex Adaptive Systems—Perspectives on Connecting the Dots in Flood Risk Assessment with Coupled Component Models

“…Risks are being more frequently analyzed from a dynamic rather than a static perspective [4,5]. Hence, many studies are dealing with changes of natural risks over recent decades and centuries [2,[6][7][8][9][10]. In addition, research on climate changes and its impact is the focus of future changes in risks [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

Paradigm and pragmatism: GIS‐based spatial analyses of Roman infrastructure networks and land‐use concepts in the Upper Rhine Valley

“…The feedbacks of the environmental conditions generate a seemingly strict separation of potentially usable and potentially unattainable space. In this case, the main driving factor is the locally very high groundwater level, which can lead to periodical flooding events temporally amplified by increased run‐off through the alpine aquifer (Himmelsbach et al, , ; Wetter et al, ). In this context, the low terrain roughness, the sedimentation regime of the river Rhine tributaries with the formation of sandy and loamy flood sediments and the corresponding soil development with a very weak drainage potential indicate low land‐use suitability.…”

“…The study area, which extends to both sides of the river Rhine, encompasses a constantly‐changing environment, with a dynamic river course that has produced different terrain morphologies over the long‐term depending on the geological base, the degree of erosion, and the intensity of land‐use (Himmelsbach, Glaser, Schoenbein, Riemann, & Martin, ; Lang et al, ; Peters & van Balen, ). Human interventions in the study area have led to repeated, purposeful, and continuous transformations of the broader landscape since the Neolithic (Burg, ; Faustmann, ; Mischka, ; Seidel & Mäckel, ).…”

Tracing Real-Time Transnational Hydrologic Sensitivity and Crop Irrigation in the Upper Rhine Area over the Exceptional Drought Episode 2018–2020 Using Open Source Sentinel-2 Data

“…Environmental analyses and diachronic system models in the Upper Rhine Area (URA) have experienced increased scientific attention within the past years, mostly because of the high climate and surface change vulnerability of the region [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] . Manifold research has been carried out, which focuses on hydrologic or groundwater discharge and flow connectivity [45] , plant species vulnerability [10], landcover change and land-use development [34,39,40,46,47], soil erosion [48], climate variability [33,49,50], and chain effects of different climatic stressors [8,[51][52][53].…”