Links between flood events in central Europe since AD 1500 and large‐scale atmospheric circulation modes

Jacobeit, Jucundus; Glaser, Rüdiger; Luterbacher, Jürg; Wanner, Heinz

doi:10.1029/2002gl016433

Cited by 92 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…For the last 500 years, the relationship between flood frequency in central Germany (e.g. rivers Main, Rhein, Elbe and Weser) and large scale atmospheric circulation was investigated in several studies (Sturm et al, 2001;Jacobeit et al, 2003 and2004;Mudelsee et al, 2004;Wanner et al, 2004). These studies showed that during flood rich periods flood favouring circulation modes occurred more frequent.…”

Section: Can We Explain the Fluctuations In Observed Flood Frequency?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies showed that during flood rich periods flood favouring circulation modes occurred more frequent. Jacobeit et al (2003) for example found that most winter flood events occurred during zonal circulation. However, two circulation modes characterised by an Atlantic low and Russian high pressure centre played an important role during flood rich periods as well.…”

Section: Can We Explain the Fluctuations In Observed Flood Frequency?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes in flood frequencies in Switzerland since 1500

Schmocker-Fackel

Naef²

2010

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

107

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In northern Switzerland, an accumulation of large flood events has occurred since the 1970s, preceded by a prolonged period with few floods (Schmocker-Fackel and Naef, 2010). How have Swiss flood frequencies changed over the past 500 years? And how does the recent increase in flood frequencies compare with other periods in this half millennium? We collected historical flood data for 14 Swiss catchments dating back to 1500 AC. All catchments experienced marked fluctuations in flood frequencies, and we were able to identify four periods of frequent flooding in northern Switzerland, lasting between 30 and 100 years (1560–1590, 1740–1790, 1820–1940 and since 1970). The current period of increased flood frequencies has not yet exceeded those observed in the past. We tested whether the flood frequency fluctuation could be explained with generalised climatic indices like solar activity or the NAO. The first three periods of low flood frequency in Switzerland correspond to periods of low solar activity. However, after 1810 no relationship between solar activity and flood frequency was found, nor could a relationship be established between reconstructed NAO indices or reconstructed Swiss temperatures. We found re-occurring spatial patterns of flood frequencies on a European scale, with the Swiss periods of frequent flooding often in phase with those in the Czech Republic, Italy and Spain and less often with those in Germany. The pattern of flooding in northern Switzerland and the Czech Republic seem to be rather similar, although the individual flood events do not match. This comparison of flooding patterns in different European countries suggests that changes in large scale atmospheric circulation are responsible for the flood frequency fluctuations

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Section: Can We Explain the Fluctuations In Observed Flood Frequency?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Can We Explain the Fluctuations In Observed Flood Frequency?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in flood frequencies in Switzerland since 1500

Schmocker-Fackel

Naef²

2010

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

107

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“…Differences in the causes of river floods can be detected between the western and central parts of Europe. Western Europe experiences flooding primarily during the cold half of the year due to zonal westerly circulation systems (Caspary, 1995;Jacobeit et al, 2003). Towards the east, warm half-year floods become more frequent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of extensive floods in western/central Europe

Gvoždíková

Müller

2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. This paper addresses the identification and evaluation of extreme flood events in the transitional area between western and central Europe in the period 1951-2013. Floods are evaluated in terms of three variants on an extremity index that combines discharge values with the spatial extent of flooding. The indices differ in the threshold of the considered maximum discharges; the flood extent is expressed by a length of affected river network. This study demonstrates that using the index with a higher flood discharge limit changes the floods' rankings significantly. It also highlights the high severity events.In general, we detected an increase in the proportion of warm half-year floods when using a higher discharge limit. Nevertheless, cold half-year floods still predominate in the lists because they generally affect large areas. This study demonstrates the increasing representation of warm half-year floods from the northwest to the southeast.

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“…Studies for historical flood events were presented for several regions in Europe (e.g. Bárdossy and Filiz, 2005;Jacobeit et al, 2003) but these usually focus on large-scale circulation patterns and their relation to flood events. Our approach uses information from historical data, such as meteorological and hydrological measurements to reconstruct past flood events and to understand their hydrometeorological causes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential of historical meteorological and hydrological data for the reconstruction of historical flood events – the example of the 1882 flood in southwest Germany

Seidel

Imbery

Dostal

et al. 2009

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. This paper presents a hydrometeorological reconstruction of the flood triggering meteorological situation and the simulation of discharges of the flood event of December 1882 in the Neckar catchment in Baden-Württemberg (southwest Germany). The course of the 1882 flood event in the Neckar catchment in southwest Germany and the weather conditions which led to this flood were reconstructed by evaluating the information from various historical sources. From these historical data, daily input data sets were derived for run-off modeling. For the determination of the precipitation pattern at the end of December 1882, the sparse historical data were modified by using a similar modern day precipitation pattern with a higher station density. The results of this run-off simulation are compared with contemporary historical data and also with 1-D hydraulic simulations using the HEC-RAS model.

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Links between flood events in central Europe since AD 1500 and large‐scale atmospheric circulation modes

Cited by 92 publications

References 14 publications

Changes in flood frequencies in Switzerland since 1500

Changes in flood frequencies in Switzerland since 1500

Evaluation of extensive floods in western/central Europe

Potential of historical meteorological and hydrological data for the reconstruction of historical flood events – the example of the 1882 flood in southwest Germany

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