scholarly journals Aurora Observations from the Principality of Transylvania from the 16th to the 18th Century CE

Solar Physics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 296 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Stangl ◽  
Ulrich Foelsche
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Auroral Oval ◽  
Maunder Minimum ◽  
Historical Source ◽  
Deep Minimum ◽  
First Time ◽  
Very High

AbstractWe focused on the period from about 1500 CE to 1800 CE and present a compilation of 78 different auroral sightings for the period from the geographical area of the former Principality of Transylvania, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary, and we give source quotations in English translation. Of the 78 potential aurorae, 23 are missing from the catalog of Rethly and Berkes (1963) and are introduced here for the first time into the scientific discourse on past solar activity. The region of Transylvania located around 46° northern latitude is a good geographical indicator for an auroral oval extending unusually far towards the Equator. The reports of seven celestial phenomena from Transylvania during the period of the Maunder minimum (1645 – 1715), which are considered genuine northern lights at a medium to very high probability level, suggest that even during this time of greatly reduced solar activity, aurorae penetrated down to near 45° latitude. Three of these potential aurorae, however, fall within the 18th century, when the Sun was already recovering from the deep minimum phase. Comparing the distribution of potential auroral sightings in Transylvania from the 16th to the 18th century clearly shows, in comparison with other aurora catalogs and with reconstructed solar activity, that high selectivity due to the historical-source situation (incomplete chronicles, lost reports, and lack of scientific interest on the part of chroniclers) makes statements about actual long-term distributions almost impossible. Furthermore, the catalog of Rethly and Berkes is shown to be rather incomplete and to contain several doubtful entries.

scholarly journals Climate history of the principality of Transylvania during the Maunder Minimum (MM) years (1645–1715 CE)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Stangl ◽  
Ulrich Foelsche
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Maunder Minimum ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Climate History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Solar Influence ◽  
First Time ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract. This paper deals with the climate in the former Grand Duchy of Transylvania, now one of the three major geographical provinces of Romania, within the so-called Maunder Minimum (MM) (1645–1715), an astrophysically defined part of the Little Ice Age (LIA), which was characterized by reduced solar activity. The historical data from Transylvania are compared with that from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This comparison for the period 1645–1715 shows good agreement but also reveals geographic characteristics of the region. For the first time, we present here a comparison between the four geographic areas in text and tabular form. Quotes from mostly German-language sources are reproduced in English translation. Furthermore, we examine for a longer period (1500–1950) the extent to which the climate of Transylvania might have been affected by long-term fluctuations in solar activity, as deduced from isotopic reconstructions from ice cores. This comparison suggests a certain solar influence but the agreement is not very pronounced. Future investigation in a pan-European context is needed to reach reliable statements. Some results are unexpected – like an unusually small number of severe winters during the last decades of the MM, where extreme cold was restricted to a few years, like the extreme winters 1699/1700 and 1708/1709.

Rainforest villages, eighteenth-century history

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 792-804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Price
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Memory Devices ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
First Time ◽  
New Settlements

Based on long term ethnographic work with the Saamaka, and with the benefit of hindsight, this paper unpacks the specific ways in which the descendants of these Suriname Maroons have constructed and transmitted the historical knowledge of their 18th-century ancestors, who escaped slave plantations and confronted the colonial powers from their new settlements in the depth of the forest. In the process, they created an original memory of these historical events— First-Time or Fesiten knowledge—and managed to keep it alive. The article explores the specific ontology, frames and idioms of this historical knowledge, as well as its ideological role, the (dis)connections to hegemonic colonial memory devices, its evolution in time, the ways of transmission, and the memory specialists that have kept and circulated it.

scholarly journals Long-term solar activity explored with wavelet methods

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 769-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Lundstedt ◽  
L. Liszka ◽  
R. Lundin ◽  
R. Muscheler
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Production Rate ◽  
Sunspot Number ◽  
Maunder Minimum ◽  
High Solar Activity ◽  
Solar Modulation ◽  
Group Sunspot ◽  
Group Sunspot Number ◽  
Wavelet Methods

Abstract. Long-term solar activity has been studied with a set of wavelet methods. The following indicators of long-term solar activity were used; the group sunspot number, the sunspot number, and the 14C production rate. Scalograms showed the very long-term scales of 2300 years (Hallstat cycle), 900-1000 years, 400-500 years, and 200 years (de Vries cycle). Scalograms of a newly-constructed 14C production rate showed interesting solar modulation during the Maunder minimum. Multi-Resolution Analysis (MRA) revealed the modulation in detail, as well as peaks of solar activity not seen in the sunspot number. In both the group sunspot number scalogram and the 14C production rate scalogram, a process appeared, starting or ending in late 1700. This process has not been discussed before. Its solar origin is unclear. The group sunspot number ampligram and the sunspot number ampligram showed the Maunder and the Dalton minima, and the period of high solar activity, which already started about 1900 and then decreased again after mid 1990. The decrease starts earlier for weaker components. Also, weak semiperiodic activity was found. Time Scale Spectra (TSS) showed both deterministic and stochastic processes behind the variability of the long-term solar activity. TSS of the 14C production rate, group sunspot number and Mt. Wilson sunspot index and plage index were compared in an attempt to interpret the features and processes behind the long-term variability.

scholarly journals Solar activity affects avian timing of reproduction

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 739-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel E. Visser ◽  
Juan José Sanz
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Timing Of Reproduction ◽  
Crucial Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

Avian timing of reproduction is strongly affected by ambient temperature. Here we show that there is an additional effect of sunspots on laying date, from five long-term population studies of great and blue tits ( Parus major and Cyanistes caeruleus ), demonstrating for the first time that solar activity not only has an effect on population numbers but that it also affects the timing of animal behaviour. This effect is statistically independent of ambient temperature. In years with few sunspots, birds initiate laying late while they are often early in years with many sunspots. The sunspot effect may be owing to a crucial difference between the method of temperature measurements by meteorological stations (in the shade) and the temperatures experienced by the birds. A better understanding of the impact of all the thermal components of weather on the phenology of ecosystems is essential when predicting their responses to climate change.

scholarly journals Climatology Characteristics of Ionospheric Irregularities Described with GNSS ROTI

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 2634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kacper Kotulak ◽  
Irina Zakharenkova ◽  
Andrzej Krankowski ◽  
Iurii Cherniak ◽  
Ningbo Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Geomagnetic Activity ◽  
Geomagnetic Storms ◽  
Auroral Oval ◽  
Ionospheric Irregularities ◽  
Moderate Intensity ◽  
Navigation Systems ◽  
Quiet Time ◽  
Magnetic Latitude

At equatorial and high latitudes, the intense ionospheric irregularities and plasma density gradients can seriously affect the performances of radio communication and satellite-based navigation systems; that represents a challenging topic for the scientific and engineering communities and operational use of communication and navigation services. The GNSS-based ROTI (rate of TEC index) is one of the most widely used indices to monitor the occurrence and intensity of ionospheric irregularities. In this paper, we examined the long-term performance of the ROTI in terms of finding the climatological characteristics of TEC fluctuations. We considered the different scale temporal signatures and checked the general sensitivity to the solar and geomagnetic activity. We retrieved and analyzed long-term time-series of ROTI values for two chains of GNSS stations located in European and North-American regions. This analysis covers three full years of the 24th solar cycle, which represent different levels of solar activity and include periods of intense geomagnetic storms. The ionospheric irregularities’ geographical distribution, as derived from ROTI, shows a reasonable consistency to be found within the poleward/equatorward boundaries of the auroral oval specified by empirical models. During magnetic midnight and quiet-time conditions, the equatorward boundary of the ROTI-derived ionospheric irregularity zone was observed at 65–70° of north magnetic latitude, while for local noon conditions this boundary was more poleward at 75–85 magnetic latitude. The ionospheric irregularities of low-to-moderate intensity were found to occur within the auroral oval at all levels of geomagnetic activity and seasons. At moderate and high levels of solar activity, the intensities of ionospheric irregularities are larger during local winter conditions than for the local summer and polar day conditions. We found that ROTI displays a selective latitudinal sensitivity to the auroral electrojet activity—the strongest dependence (correlation R > 0.6–0.8) was observed within a narrow latitudinal range of 55–70°N magnetic latitude, which corresponded to a band of the largest ROTI values within the auroral oval zone expanded equatorward during geomagnetic disturbances.

scholarly journals Long-Term Variability of Temperature and 14C in the Gulf Stream: Oceanographic Implications

Radiocarbon ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 449-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen M Druffel
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Gulf Stream ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Maunder Minimum ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North

Variability in temperature and 14C levels are recorded in coralline aragonite that grew in the Gulf Stream during the past four centuries. In particular, 18O/16O ratios reflect a decrease of ca 1°C in surface water temperature during the latter part of the Little Ice age. 14C levels also rose in the surface waters of the Gulf Stream and in atmospheric CO2 during the Maunder minimum. These observations indicate that ocean circulation may have been significantly different in the North Atlantic around the beginning of the 18th century.

scholarly journals Long-Term Characteristics of Midlatitude Mesosphere Summer Echoes (MSE) Observed with a VHF Radar at Wakkanai, Japan (45.4ºN)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadahiko Ogawa ◽  
Hidehiko Suzuki ◽  
Nozomu Nishitani ◽  
Yasuhiro Murayama ◽  
Seiji Kawamura
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Temporal Relationship ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
Vhf Radar ◽  
Summer Echoes ◽  
June July ◽  
Maximum Occurrence ◽  
Very High ◽  
Midlatitude Mesosphere

Abstract Midlatitude mesosphere summer echoes (MSE) at the VHF band (VHF-MSE) were observed for 13 years (2000-2002 and 2009-2018) with a 46.5 MHz radar at Wakkanai, Japan (45.4ºN, 141.8ºE). VHF-MSE are active during June-July and appear only in the daytime mainly at altitudes of 80-88 km with a maximum occurrence at 85 km and altitude extents of 1-4 km for a duration of about half an hour or more. The VHF-MSE occurrences are positively correlated with solar activity, but not with geomagnetic activity except for very high activity. Such long-term characteristics are mostly consistent with past VHF-MSE observations at higher midlatitudes in Europe.　No VHF-MSE were observed in 2002, 2014 and 2018, possible reasons for which are discussed. It is shown that cold ice particles in the upper mesosphere inducing MSE are advected from high latitudes to midlatitudes with equatorward wind. Thus, the MSE occurrences over Wakkanai are fundamentally controlled by both the solar activity and equatorward ice particle advection. One example of MSE at the HF band (HF-MSE) is presented to discuss spatial and temporal relationship between VHF-MSE and HF-MSE.

scholarly journals Historical records of solar grand minima: a review

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (S286) ◽  
pp. 383-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
José M. Vaquero
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Recent Progress ◽  
Maunder Minimum ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
Naked Eye ◽  
Solar Diameter ◽  
Grand Minimum ◽  
The Past ◽  
Grand Minima

AbstractKnowing solar activity during the past centuries is of great interest for many purposes. Historical documents can help us to know about the behaviour of the Sun during the last centuries. The observation of aurorae and naked-eye sunspots provides us with continuous information through the last few centuries that can be used to improve our knowledge of the long-term solar activity including solar Grand Minima. We have more or less detailed information on only one Grand minimum (the Maunder minimum in the second half of 17th century), which serves as an archetype for Grand minima in general. Telescopic sunspot records and measurements of solar diameter during Maunder minimum are available. In this contribution, I review some recent progress on these issues.

scholarly journals The first attempt to print Danilo’s Collection

2020 ◽  
pp. 33-50
Author(s):  
Branislav Todic
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
Historical Source ◽  
Language Style ◽  
Liturgical Texts ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time ◽  
Integral Work

The interest in the Collection of Hagiographies of Serbian Kings and Archbishops by Archbishop Danilo II (1324-1337) increased sharply in the 18th century, when it began to be used as a historical source, as well. Thus, at the beginning of the 18th century, it was used for the first time by Count Djordje Brankovic in the Slavo-Serbian Chronicles, while the first attempts to print it appeared in the second half of that century. The initiator was Timotej Jovanovic, prohegumen of the Chilandar Monastery, and it was a part of his ambitious plan to publish the old liturgical texts of Serbian saints, primarily of Chilandar founders. In 1780, he and his monk brother, hieromonk Teodosije, copied and edited Danilo?s Collection according to an older manuscript from 1553. Their copy (the Library of the Serbian Patriarchate, MS 45) is formed as a ?spiegel?, i.e. a prepared version for a printed book. In relation to the earlier copies of the Collection, the composition and content of the text were considerably changed. It was undoubtedly expected that the printed version of the book would be available to the diverse readership, who needed the text to be closer to them considering its language, style, and even its changed content. The printing of Danilo?s Collection was delayed due to the financial troubles in Chilandar and the death of Timotej Jovanovic in March 1781. The prepared manuscript was therefore handed over to Aleksa Kojic, a merchant from Osijek, so that he could try to find money for its publication. It is not known how hard Kojic worked on that. In the meantime, the History of Jovan Rajic was published (1794), in which there were many quotations from Danilo?s Collection that aroused great interest among the European scolars of that time and actualized the need to publish the integral work of Archbishop Danilo. Metropolitan Stefan Stratimirovic (1790-1836), a lover of philology and history, took on the publication of Danilo?s Collection, but when he received the manuscript of Timotej and Teodosije from Kojic in 1803 and compared it with an older copy, he found that it deviated much from the original. Therefore, he asked for a copy from 1553 to be sent to him from Chilandar, which the Chilandarians promised him as early as the beginning of 1804. That year, however, the Serbian uprising began, which completely occupied Metropolitan Stratimirovic, and put his literary and historical preoccu?pations on the back burner.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document