The rural ecology of the British drought of 1975–1976

Morren, George E. B.

doi:10.1007/bf01531467

Cited by 15 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Information on the locality and time of volcanic eruptions, as well as on the Volcanic Explosivity 1961 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 graph shows the correlation (n = 45, r = 0.39, P = 0.008) between the galactic cosmic ray flux and the annual growth anomaly. Instances of extreme weather are noted as follows: (I) in 1976 most parts of the UK experienced severe drought (Morren, 1980;Jarvis & Mullins, 1987;Kay, 2004), (II) Eskdalemuir recorded snow in June 1985 (Burt, 1985), (III) extreme cold and wet weather occurred in 1994 (UK MetOffice, 2008a,b) and (IV) 1995 was an especially warm and dry year in Scotland (Buckland et al, 1997;UK MetOffice, 2003), as in much of Europe. If anomalous years are excluded the correlation coefficient increases from 0.39 to 0.64 (r 2 = 0.41).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A relationship between galactic cosmic radiation and tree rings

2009

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Summary• Here, we investigated the interannual variation in the growth rings formed by Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) trees in northern Britain (55°N, 3°W) over the period in an attempt to disentangle the influence of atmospheric variables acting at different times of year.• Annual growth rings, measured along the north radius of freshly cut (frozen) tree discs and climatological data recorded at an adjacent site were used in the study. Correlations were based on Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients between the annual growth anomaly and these climatic and atmospheric factors.• Rather weak correlations between these variables and growth were found. However, there was a consistent and statistically significant relationship between growth of the trees and the flux density of galactic cosmic radiation. Moreover, there was an underlying periodicity in growth, with four minima since 1961, resembling the period cycle of galactic cosmic radiation.• We discuss the hypotheses that might explain this correlation: the tendency of galactic cosmic radiation to produce cloud condensation nuclei, which in turn increases the diffuse component of solar radiation, and thus increases the photosynthesis of the forest canopy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A relationship between galactic cosmic radiation and tree rings

2009

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“…The records show, for instance, that five of the 20 wettest 3‐month periods, five of the top 20 monthly values, and about a third of the highest 11‐day period and daily values are found before the 1940s. Some periods of water shortages or flood events that can be observed in the rainfall records have been widely reported, such as the drought that led to the decision to construct Scout Dike Reservoir in 1921 (Fox, ), the flood events after the winter of 1946/1947 (Met Office, ) and the drought that led to very low reservoir levels and water‐use restrictions in 1976 (BBC, ; Morren, ). In the winter of 1946/1947, a drier than average year was followed by a very cold winter and heavy snowfalls, combined with sustained rainfall (Figure a) taking place simultaneously with snowmelt, which led to a 200‐year return period flood in many areas in England (RMS, ), could be an example of those favourable conditions for significant erosion and sediment transport.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the winter of 1946/1947, a drier than average year was followed by a very cold winter and heavy snowfalls, combined with sustained rainfall (Figure a) taking place simultaneously with snowmelt, which led to a 200‐year return period flood in many areas in England (RMS, ), could be an example of those favourable conditions for significant erosion and sediment transport. In the summer of 1976, the driest 3‐month period on record (60 mm) came after the second lowest rainfall recorded for a 12‐month period (Figures and b), which caused severe drought (Morren, ). This dry period was followed by a year of above average rainfall, including a month of accumulated intense rainfall (210 mm, 10‐year return period).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making connections: changing sediment sources and sinks in an upland catchment

Lexartza-Artza

Wainwright

2011

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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The effect of changes in catchment processes and conditions can be studied by using connectivity as a framework for understanding the feedbacks and interactions occurring within the system. The sediment record preserved in reservoirs can be a useful archive of catchment changes, but needs to be considered in conjunction with the different elements that compose and act on the system to take into account its complexity. Changing patterns of connectivity have been studied in the Ingbirchworth Catchment (Yorkshire, UK), using a multiple methodology approach combining the analysis of reservoir-sediment records with knowledge of recent land-use history, high resolution rainfall records, catchment characteristics and management aspects. Sedimentation rates inferred from reservoir-sediment cores from two reservoirs in the Ingbirchworth catchment show sedimentation peaks which coincide with periods of significant changes in the catchment, such as the introduction of arable crops, the establishment of land drainage and the widespread intensification and mechanization of agriculture. Rainfall patterns, including combinations of events such as droughts and increased precipitation, contribute to increased sediment transfer under catchment conditions in which more sediment and/or new pathways are made available due to catchment changes. Sediment fingerprinting supports the notion that changes in sedimentation rates are not just related to increased/reduced erosion and transport in the same areas, but also to the establishment of different pathways increasing sediment connectivity. The results demonstrate that typical calculations of catchment-area yields are not sufficient as sediment-contributing areas vary as a consequence of changing conditions. The study provides insights into the complex interactions influencing connectivity, such as the relation between catchment changes and climatic inputs, and the subsequent effect on catchment conditions and transfer networks.

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“…13 Measures included, for example, pumping water back up dams on the River Thames, despite the knock-on effects, including increased pollution and salinity, which affected farmers and other industries downstream. 14 By contrast, the 2006 drought emerged in the context of matured 'marketenvironmentalism', 15 in which the logic of engineering has been balanced by a need to incorporate the economics of supply (within market terms), those of the environment (in ecological terms) and those of demand -not so much in terms of ensuring continuity of supply for citizens, but relating to the need to maintain levels of service for consumers (invoking marketing rhetoric of customer accountability). The changed institutional context of water management is therefore one in which we also see a shift in the mix and indeed balance or primacy of knowledge bases that are involved in the definition and management of drought.…”

Section: Fluidity In the Definition Of Droughtmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought, demand and the scale of resilience: challenges for interdisciplinarity in practice

Medd¹,

Chappells²

2007

Interdisciplinary Science Reviews

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The drought in the south-east of England in 2004-06 generated important insights for contemporary interdisciplinary debates about what it means to build resilience in water management. First, there are a set of issues about the assessment and definition of drought at multiple levels of organisation -local, regional, national -and consequently about the interaction between scales at which building resilience is to be enacted. Drawing on interviews with regional water company managers in south-east England and a selection of households within their jurisdictions, this paper explores the contested framings of drought risk and the need to manage demand. We argue that definitions of drought are mediated by the institutional context of water management across different scales and by different disciplinary framings of water problems (from economics and geography, to sociology and environmental science). Second, chosen strategies of drought management are revealing of different disciplinary relationships to questions of scale. In particular we argue that the debate about building resilience to ensure 'security of supply' is framed predominantly through engineering logics, from technological fixes at the household level to large-scale reconfiguration of infrastructural networks. By contrast, sociological approaches suggest the need to explore resilience through a reconceptualisation of supply and demand as an ongoing process of co-management. We conclude by examining the implications that a more interactive and scale-sensitive conceptualisation of resilience-building in socioecological systems brings for interdisciplinary research agendas and integrated policy frameworks.[I]t is simultaneously a raw material (abstracted from a river), a product of the labour process (having been filtered, pumped, and chemically treated), and an instrument of labour (used not only in industrial manufacturing but also as a physiological requirement of workers) . . . water may serve multiple uses simultaneously, and be required to perform several functions in one circuit throughout the hydrological cycle. 1 Karen Bakker's quote reminds us of the everyday and institutionalised politics of water as it travels through the sociotechnical infrastructures that mediate the hydrological cycle. The challenges that the fluidity of water and its multiple roles, values and processes pose for water management have been recognised in the formulation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), an attempt to provide a coherent, comprehensive and arguably 'holistic' framework for water management. 2 Consequently the research world has been called upon to develop appropriate interdisciplinary approaches to sustainable water management, provoking much debate about what 'interdisciplinarity' and its variations

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The rural ecology of the British drought of 1975–1976

Cited by 15 publications

References 9 publications

A relationship between galactic cosmic radiation and tree rings

A relationship between galactic cosmic radiation and tree rings

Making connections: changing sediment sources and sinks in an upland catchment

Drought, demand and the scale of resilience: challenges for interdisciplinarity in practice

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