Holocene flood frequency across the Central Alps – solar forcing and evidence for variations in North Atlantic atmospheric circulation

Wirth, Stefanie B.; Glur, Lukas; Gilli, Adrian; Anselmetti, Flavio S.

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.09.002

Cited by 223 publications

(230 citation statements)

References 97 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

210

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We also discuss the Gulf of Lions TERR-alkane record in relation with flood reconstructions from the Northern and Southern Alps (Wirth et al, 2013) and Bourget Lake sediments located in the Upper Rhone River catchment basin (Arnaud et al, 2012) to infer additional information on atmospheric circulation regime.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2a and c most of the CRs of the Gulf of Lions seem to correspond to higher values of UP10. This is less obvious prior to 7000 yr BP and for shorter events when age model uncertainties become limiting Wirth et al, 2013). (c) Total terrigenous fraction (%) indicates the Rhone river discharge into lake Bourget (Arnaud et al, 2012) (green curve).…”

Section: North-western Mediterranean Crsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We compared our record of TERR-alkanes to two regional reconstructions of flood intensity of the Northern and Southern Alps obtained from 15 lacustrine sediment cores (Wirth et al, 2013) and the reconstruction of the Lake Bourget paleohydrology (Arnaud et al, 2012). As can be seen from Fig.…”

Section: Holocene Flood Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Holocene climate variability in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lions)

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and land-derived input time series were generated from the Gulf of Lions inner-shelf sediments (NW Mediterranean Sea) using alkenones and high-molecular-weight odd-carbon numbered n-alkanes (TERR-alkanes), respectively. The SST record depicts three main phases: a warm Early Holocene ( ∼ 18 ± 0.4 • C) followed by a cooling of ∼ 3 • C between 7000 and 1000 BP, and rapid warming from ∼ 1850 AD onwards. Several superimposed multi-decadal to centennialscale cold events of ∼ 1 • C amplitude were also identified. TERR-alkanes were quantified in the same sedimentary horizons to identify periods of high Rhone River discharge and compare them with regional flood reconstructions. Concentrations show a broad increase from the Early Holocene towards the present with a pronounced minimum around 2500 BP and large fluctuations during the Late Holocene. Comparison with Holocene flood activity reconstructions across the Alps region suggests that sediments of the inner shelf originate mainly from the Upper Rhone River catchment basin and that they are primarily delivered during positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: North-western Mediterranean Crsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Holocene climate variability in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lions)

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Wilhelm et al, 2012;Wirth et al, 2013;Corella et al, 2014). For instance, in Montcortés Lake (north-eastern Spain), a varved sediment core accumulating since the 14th century contains detrital layers associated with intense rainfalls (> 80 mm day −1 ) recording higher storm frequency during AD 1347-1400 and AD 1844-1894; both periods coincide with severe floods from the nearby River Segre (Corella et al, 2014).…”

Section: Multi-proxy Analysis Of Past Hydrological Extremesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative historical hydrology in Europe

Benito

Brázdil

Herget

et al. 2015

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. In recent decades, the quantification of flood hydrological characteristics (peak discharge, hydrograph shape, and runoff volume) from documentary evidence has gained scientific recognition as a method to lengthen flood records of rare and extreme events. This paper describes the methodological evolution of quantitative historical hydrology under the influence of developments in hydraulics and statistics. In the 19th century, discharge calculations based on flood marks were the only source of hydrological data for engineering design, but were later left aside in favour of systematic gauge records and conventional hydrological procedures. In the last two decades, there has been growing scientific and public interest in understanding long-term patterns of rare floods, in maintaining the flood heritage and memory of extremes, and developing methods for deterministic and statistical application to different scientific and engineering problems. A compilation of 46 case studies across Europe with reconstructed discharges demonstrates that (1) in most cases present flood magnitudes are not unusual within the context of the last millennium, although recent floods may exceed past floods in some temperate European rivers (e.g. the Vltava and Po rivers); (2) the frequency of extreme floods has decreased since the 1950s, although some rivers (e.g. the Gardon and Ouse rivers) show a reactivation of rare events over the last two decades. There is a great potential for gaining understanding of individual extreme events based on a combined multiproxy approach (palaeoflood and documentary records) providing high-resolution time flood series and their environmental and climatic changes; and for developing non-systematic and non-stationary statistical models based on relations of past floods with external and internal covariates under natural low-frequency climate variability.

show abstract

“…Dankers et al [2014] recently used so-called impact models, combining results from nine hydrological models and land surface models, in which each impact model is forced by five global climate models to [Støren et al, 2010] and the European Alps [Swier czyn ski et al, 2013;Vannière et al, 2013;Wirth et al, 2013]. These new detailed reconstructions reveal how the frequency of floods has varied during the 10,000 years before present (BP) This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.…”

Section: Adapting To An Uncertain Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

How Does Climate Impact Floods? Closing the Knowledge Gap

Paasche

Støren

2014

EoS Transactions

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Destructive floods impose severe consequences on societies, leaving havoc and death in their wake. Annually, an average of 9000 people are killed, and 115 million require immediate assistance or are displaced by floods worldwide. Because of population increase in flood‐prone areas alone, the number of people exposed to floods in North America is expected to almost double in 2030 compared to 1970 [National Research Council, 2013]. It is no wonder that floods are considered serious threats by government agencies and municipal planners, but the impact of climate change on these numbers is still somewhat uncertain.

show abstract

Holocene flood frequency across the Central Alps – solar forcing and evidence for variations in North Atlantic atmospheric circulation

Cited by 223 publications

References 97 publications

Holocene climate variability in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lions)

Holocene climate variability in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lions)

Quantitative historical hydrology in Europe

How Does Climate Impact Floods? Closing the Knowledge Gap

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About