1
|
Torbenson MC, Brázdil R, Stagge JH, Esper J, Büntgen U, Vizina A, Hanel M, Rakovec O, Fischer M, Urban O, Treml V, Reinig F, Martinez del Castillo E, Rybníček M, Kolář T, Trnka M. Increasing volatility of reconstructed Morava River warm-season flow, Czech Republic. JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY. REGIONAL STUDIES 2023; 50:101534. [PMID: 38145056 PMCID: PMC10739599 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrh.2023.101534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
Study region The Morava River basin, Czech Republic, Danube Basin, Central Europe. Study focus Hydrological summer extremes represent a prominent natural hazard in Central Europe. River low flows constrain transport and water supply for agriculture, industry and society, and flood events are known to cause material damage and human loss. However, understanding changes in the frequency and magnitude of hydrological extremes is associated with great uncertainty due to the limited number of gauge observations. Here, we compile a tree-ring network to reconstruct the July-September baseflow variability of the Morava River from 1745 to 2018 CE. An ensemble of reconstructions was produced to assess the impact of calibration period length and trend on the long-term mean of reconstruction estimates. The final estimates represent the first baseflow reconstruction based on tree rings from the European continent. Simulated flows and historical documentation provide quantitative and qualitative validation of estimates prior to the 20th century. New hydrological insights for the region The reconstructions indicate an increased variability of warm-season flow during the past 100 years, with the most extreme high and low flows occurring after the start of instrumental observations. When analyzing the entire reconstruction, the negative trend in baseflow displayed by gauges across the basin after 1960 is not unprecedented. We conjecture that even lower flows could likely occur in the future considering that pre-instrumental trends were not primarily driven by rising temperature (and the evaporative demand) in contrast to the recent trends.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Max C.A. Torbenson
- Department of Geography, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Rudolf Brázdil
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Geography, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - James H. Stagge
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering, Ohio State University, United States
| | - Jan Esper
- Department of Geography, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ulf Büntgen
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Geography, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Adam Vizina
- T.G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Water Resources and Environmental Modeling, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Hanel
- Department of Water Resources and Environmental Modeling, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Oldrich Rakovec
- Department of Water Resources and Environmental Modeling, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
- UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Milan Fischer
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Agrosystems and Bioclimatology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Otmar Urban
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Václav Treml
- Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Frederick Reinig
- Department of Geography, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Michal Rybníček
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Wood Science and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Kolář
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Wood Science and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Miroslav Trnka
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Agrosystems and Bioclimatology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Changes in Weather-Related Fatalities in the Czech Republic during the 1961–2020 Period. ATMOSPHERE 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos13050688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Fatalities associated with severe weather, collected from newspapers and other documentary sources, were used to create a corresponding database for the 1961–2020 period for the Czech Republic. Fatalities attributed to floods, windstorms, convective storms, snow and glaze ice, frost, fog, and other severe weather, on the one hand, and vehicle accident fatalities connected with rain, snow, glaze ice, fog, and inclement weather, on the other, were analysed separately for two standard periods, 1961–1990 and 1991–2020. The number of weather-related fatalities between these two periods increased in the flood, windstorm, and especially frost categories, and decreased for the convective storm and fog categories. For snow and glaze ice they were the same. Despite significant differences in both 30-year periods, the highest proportions of fatalities corresponded to the winter months, and in individual fatality characteristics to males, adults, direct deaths, deaths by freezing or hypothermia, and to hazardous behaviour. A statistically significant (p < 0.05) Spearman rank correlation between fatalities and climate variables was only found in the 1991–2020 period for snow/glaze ice-related fatalities, with the number of days with snow cover depth and frost-related fatalities having days with daily minimum temperatures below −5 °C or −10 °C. Despite the highest proportions of the rain and wet road categories being in the number of vehicle accident fatalities, a statistically significant correlation was only found for the category of snow-related fatalities in the number of days with snowfall. The results and conclusions of this study have to be evaluated in the broader context of climatological, political, economic, and societal changes within the country, and have the potential to be used in risk management.
Collapse
|
3
|
Developing a large-scale dataset of flood fatalities for territories in the Euro-Mediterranean region, FFEM-DB. Sci Data 2022; 9:166. [PMID: 35414083 PMCID: PMC9005609 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01273-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
This data paper describes the multinational Database of Flood Fatalities from the Euro-Mediterranean region FFEM-DB that hosts data of 2,875 flood fatalities from 12 territories (nine of which represent entire countries) in Europe and the broader Mediterranean region from 1980 to 2020. The FFEM-DB database provides data on fatalities' profiles, location, and contributing circumstances, allowing researchers and flood risk managers to explore demographic, behavioral, and situational factors, as well as environmental features of flood-related mortality. The standardized data collection and classification methodology enable comparison between regions beyond administrative boundaries. The FFEM-DB is expandable, regularly updated, publicly available, and with anonymized data. The key advantages of the FFEM-DB compared to existing datasets containing flood fatalities are its high level of detail, data accuracy, record completeness, and the large sample size from an extended area.
Collapse
|
4
|
Abstract
In the Czech Republic, tornadoes may reach an intensity of F2 and F3 on the Fujita scale, causing “considerable” to “severe” damage. Documentary evidence is sufficient to allow the creation of a chronology of such events, from the earliest recorded occurrence in 1119 CE (Common Era) to 2019, including a total of 108 proven or probable significant tornadoes on 90 separate days. Since only 11 significant tornadoes were documented before 1800, this basic analysis centers around the 1811–2019 period, during which 97 tornadoes were recorded. Their frequency of occurrence was at its highest in the 1921–1930, 1931–1940, and 2001–2010 decades. In terms of annual variations, they took place most frequently in July, June, and August (in order of frequency), while daily variation favored the afternoon and early evening hours. Conservative estimates of human casualties mention 8 fatalities and over 95 people injured. The most frequent types of damage were related to buildings, individual trees, and forests. Tornadoes of F2–F3 intensity were particularly associated with synoptic types characterized by airflow from the western quadrant together with troughs of low pressure extending or advancing over central Europe. Based on parameters calculated from the ERA-5 re-analysis for the period of 1979–2018, most of these tornadoes occurred over a wide range of Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) values and moderate-to-strong vertical wind shear. The discussion herein also addresses uncertainties in tornado selection from documentary data, the broader context of Czech significant tornadoes, and the environmental conditions surrounding their origins.
Collapse
|