scholarly journals What drives flood trends along the Rhine River: climate or river training?

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 13537-13567 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Vorogushyn ◽  
B. Merz
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Rhine River ◽  
Annual Maximum ◽  
The Past ◽  
Time Period ◽  
River Training ◽  
Detention Basins ◽  
Annual Maximum Series ◽  
Lower Rhine

Abstract. The Rhine River catchment was heavily trained over the past decades and faced the construction of the Rhine weir cascade, flood protection dikes and detention basins. For the same time period, several studies detected positive trends in flood flows and faced the challenge of flood trend attribution, i.e. identifying the drivers of observed change. The presented study addresses the question about the responsible drivers for changes in annual maximum daily flows at Rhine gauges starting from Maxau down to Lobith. In particular, the role of river training measures including the Rhine weir cascade and a series of detention basins in enhancing Rhine floods was investigated. By applying homogenisation relationships to the original flow records in the period from 1952 till 2009, the annual maximum series were computed that would have been recorded had river training measures not been in place. Using multiple trend analysis, the relative changes in the homogenised time series were found to be smaller up to about 20% points compared to the original records. This effect is attributable to the river training measures and primarily to the construction of the Rhine weir cascade. The increase in Rhine flood discharges was partly caused by the unfavourable superposition of the Rhine and Neckar flood waves. It resulted from the acceleration of the Rhine waves due to construction of the weir cascade. However, at the same time, the tributary flows across the entire Upper and Lower Rhine, which enhance annual Rhine peaks, showed very strong positive trends. This suggests the dominance of a large-scale driver such as climate variability/change which acted along with river training. In particular, the analysis suggests that the river training measures fell in a period with increasing flood trends driven by factors other than river training of the Rhine main channel.

scholarly journals Flood trends along the Rhine: the role of river training

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 3871-3884 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Vorogushyn ◽  
B. Merz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change Signal ◽  
Annual Maximum ◽  
The Past ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
River Training ◽  
Detention Basins ◽  
Rhine Catchment ◽  
Flood Flow ◽  
Lower Rhine

Abstract. Several previous studies have detected positive trends in flood flows in German rivers, among others, at Rhine gauges over the past six decades. The presence and detectability of the climate change signal in flood records has been controversially discussed, particularly against the background of massive river training measures in the Rhine. In the past the Rhine catchment has been heavily trained, including the construction of the Rhine weir cascade, flood protection dikes and detention basins. The present study investigates the role of river training on changes in annual maximum daily flows at Rhine gauges starting from Maxau down to Lobith. In particular, the effect of the Rhine weir cascade and of a series of detention basins was investigated. By homogenising the original flood flow records in the period from 1952 till 2009, the annual maximum series were computed that would have been recorded had river training measures not been in place. Using multiple trend analysis, relative changes in the homogenised time series were found to be from a few percentage points to more than 10 percentage points smaller compared to the original records. This effect is attributable to the river training measures, and primarily to the construction of the Rhine weir cascade. The increase in Rhine flood discharges during this period was partly caused by an unfavourable superposition of the Rhine and Neckar flood waves. This superposition resulted from an acceleration of the Rhine waves due to the construction of the weir cascade and associated channelisation and dike heightening. However, at the same time, tributary flows across the entire Upper and Lower Rhine, which enhance annual maximum Rhine peaks, showed strong positive trends. This suggests the dominance of another driver or drivers which acted alongside river training.

Since 1945: New Amenities, New Hazards

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
William B. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Scientist ◽  
World History ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Role ◽  
The Past ◽  
American Society ◽  
Service Employment

If the average citizen's surroundings defined the national climate, then the United States grew markedly warmer and drier in the postwar decades. Migration continued to carry the center of population west and began pulling it southward as well. The growth of what came to be called the Sunbelt at the "Snowbelt's" expense passed a landmark in the early 1960s when California replaced New York as the most populous state. Another landmark was established in the early 1990s when Texas moved ahead of New York. In popular discussion, it was taken for granted that finding a change of climate was one of the motives for relocating as well as one of the results. It was not until 1954, though, that an American social scientist first seriously considered the possibility. The twentieth-century flow of Americans to the West Coast, the geographer Edward L. Ullman observed in that year, had no precedent in world history. It could not be explained by the theories of settlement that had worked well in the past, for a substantial share of it represented something entirely new, "the first large-scale in-migration to be drawn by the lure of a pleasant climate." If it was the first of its kind, it was unlikely to be the last. For a set of changes in American society, Ullman suggested, had transformed the economic role of climate. The key changes included a growth in the numbers of pensioned retirees; an increase in trade and service employment, much more "footloose" than agriculture or manufacturing was; developments in technology making manufacturing itself more footloose; and a great increase in mobility brought about by the automobile and the highway. All in one way or another had weakened the bonds of place and made Americans far freer than before to choose where to live. Whatever qualities made life in any spot particularly pleasant thus attracted migration more than in the past. Ullman grouped such qualities together as "amenities." They ranged from mountains to beaches to cultural attractions, but climate appeared to be the most important, not least because it was key to the enjoyment of many of the rest. Ullman did not suppose that all Americans desired the same climate. For most people, in this as in other respects, "where one was born and lives is the best place in the world, no matter how forsaken a hole it may appear to an outsider."

Getting to Scale with Good Educational Practice

1996 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Elmore
Keyword(s):  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
School Organization ◽  
Progressive Movement ◽  
Successful Teachers ◽  
The Past ◽  
Incentive Structures ◽  
Children And Young Adults

How can good educational practice move beyond pockets of excellence to reach a much greater proportion of students and educators? While many children and young adults in school districts and communities around the country have long benefited from the tremendous accomplishments of successful teachers, schools, and programs, replicating this success on a larger scale has proven to be a difficult and vexing issue. In this article, Richard Elmore addresses this problem by analyzing the role of school organization and incentive structures in thwarting large-scale adoption of innovative practices close to the "core" of educational practice. Elmore then reviews evidence from two attempts at large-scale reform in the past — the progressive movement and the National Science Foundation curriculum reform projects — to evaluate his claims that ambitious large-scale school reform efforts, under current conditions, will be ineffective and transient. He concludes with four detailed recommendations for addressing the issue of scale in improving practice in education.

scholarly journals Assessing the Ability of Disability Organizations: An interprovincial comparative perspective

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Levesque
Keyword(s):  
New Governance ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
The Past ◽  
Technological Capacity ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Tax Returns ◽  
Personnes Handicapées ◽  
Canadian Provinces ◽  
Governance Arrangements

ABSTRACT Despite much effort put toward Canadian social policy renewal in the past decade, innovations in programming have been stifled due in large part to a lack of funding and accountability issues. This is clearly evident in the disability policy field related to labour market programming for persons with disabilities where the packaging of programs has continually changed; however, the actual contents have largely remained the same. The focus on federal-provincial dimensions has come to marginalize the role of disability organizations in the process, yet it is these organizations that governments may enter into partnership with in new governance arrangements to foster new programming. This article reviews data from charitable tax returns for the time period 2005–2010 to assess the human, financial, and technological capacity of Canadian disability organizations in five Canadian provinces, in order to implement innovative programming. Résumé Malgré beaucoup d'efforts au renouvellement de la politique sociale canadienne dans la dernière décennie, les innovations dans la programmation ont été étouffées en grande partie à l'absence de questions de financement et de responsabilité. Cela est très évidente dans le domaine de la politique handicap lié à la programmation du marché du travail pour les personnes handicapées où l'emballage des programmes a constamment changé mais le contenu réel est restés largement pareilles. L'accent sur les dimensions provinciales fédérales est venu à marginaliser le rôle des organisations de personnes handicapées dans le processus, mais ce sont ces organismes que les gouvernements peuvent entrer en partenariat avec de nouveaux modes de gouvernance pour favoriser la nouvelle programmation. Cet article examine les données de bienfaisance des déclarations de revenus pour la période 2005–2010 pour évaluer les capacités humaines, financières et technologiques des organisations de personnes handicapées canadiennes dans cinq provinces canadiennes à mettre en œuvre des programmes novateurs.

scholarly journals Rivers in the sky, flooding on the ground

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Ionita ◽  
Viorica Nagavciuc ◽  
Bin Guan
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Heavy Rainfall ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Rhine River ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Pressure Center ◽  
Atmospheric Rivers ◽  
Extreme Flooding ◽  
Large Scale Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Lower Rhine

Abstract. The role of the large scale atmospheric circulation and atmospheric rivers (ARs) in producing extreme flooding and heavy rainfall events in the lower part of Rhine River catchment area is examined in this study. Analysis of the largest 10 floods in the lower Rhine, between 1817–2015, indicate that all these extreme flood peaks have been preceded up to 7 days in advance by intense moisture transport from the tropical North Atlantic basin, in the form of narrow bands, also know as atmospheric rivers. The influence of ARs on the Rhine River flood events is done via the prevailing large-scale atmospheric circulation. Most of the ARs associated with these flood events are embedded in the trailing fronts of the extratropical cyclones. The typical large scale atmospheric circulation leading to heavy rainfall and flooding in the lower Rhine is characterized by a low pressure center south of Greenland which migrates towards Europe and a stable high pressure center over the northern part of Africa and southern part of Europe. The days preceding the flood peaks, lower (upper) level convergence (divergence) is observed over the analyzed region, which is an indication of strong vertical motions and heavy rainfall. The results presented in this study offer new insights regarding the importance of tropical moisture transport as driver of extreme flooding in the lower part of Rhine River catchment area and we show for the first time that ARs are an useful tool for the identification of potential damaging floods inland Europe.

scholarly journals On transposons and totipotency

2020 ◽  
Vol 375 (1795) ◽  
pp. 20190339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽  
Endogenous Retrovirus ◽  
Endogenous Retroviruses ◽  
Host Genome ◽  
The Past ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Mammalian Genomes

Our perception of the role of the previously considered ‘selfish’ or ‘junk’ DNA has been dramatically altered in the past 20 years or so. A large proportion of this non-coding part of mammalian genomes is repetitive in nature, classified as either satellites or transposons. While repetitive elements can be termed selfish in terms of their amplification, such events have surely been co-opted by the host, suggesting by itself a likely altruistic function for the organism at the subject of such natural selection. Indeed numerous examples of transposons regulating the functional output of the host genome have been documented. Transposons provide a powerful framework for large-scale relatively rapid concerted regulatory activities with the ability to drive evolution. Mammalian totipotency has emerged as one key stage of development in which transposon-mediated regulation of gene expression has taken centre stage in the past few years. During this period, large-scale (epigenetic) reprogramming must be accomplished in order to activate the host genome. In mice and men, one particular element murine endogenous retrovirus with leucine tRNA primer (MERVL) (and its counterpart human ERVL (HERVL)) appears to have acquired roles as a key driving force in this process. Here, I will discuss and interpret the current knowledge and its implications regarding the role of transposons, particularly of long interspersed nuclear elements (LINE-1s) and endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), in the regulation of totipotency. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Crossroads between transposons and gene regulation’.

scholarly journals Identification of Flood-Rich and Flood-Poor Periods by Using Annual Maximum Series of Floods in Spain

Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Luis Mediero
Keyword(s):  
Trend Analysis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Temporal Trend ◽  
Annual Maximum ◽  
Peak Over Threshold ◽  
Multi Temporal ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
General Concern ◽  
Stationary Behaviour ◽  
Annual Maximum Series

Currently, there is general concern about the non-stationary behaviour of flood series. Consequently, several studies have been conducted to identify large-scale patterns of change in such flood series. In Spain, a general decreasing trend was found in the period 1959–2009. However, a multi-temporal trend analysis, with varying starting and ending years, showed that trend signs depended on the period considered. Flood oscillations could influence the results, especially when flood-rich and flood-poor periods are located at the beginning or end of the series. In Spain, a flood- rich period in 1950–1970 seemed to lead to the generalised decreasing trend, as it was located at the beginning of the flood series. Nevertheless, the multi-temporal test can only find potential flood- rich and flood-poor periods qualitatively. A methodology has been developed to identify statistically significant flood-rich and flood-poor periods. The expected variability of floods under the stationarity assumption is compared with the variability of floods in observed flood series. The methodology is applied to the longest streamflow series available in Spain. Seven gauging stations located in near-natural catchments, with continuous observations in the period 1942–2014, are selected. Both annual maximum and peak-over-threshold series are considered. Flood-rich and flood-poor periods in terms of flood magnitudes and the annual count of exceedances over a given threshold are identified. A flood-rich period in the beginning of the series and a flood-poor period at its end are identified in most of the selected sites. Accordingly, a flood-rich period placed at the beginning of the series, followed by a flood-poor period, influence the generalised decreasing trend in the flood series previously found in Spain.

Viral burst size of heterotrophic prokaryotes in aquatic systems

2006 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 613-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verónica Parada ◽  
Gerhard J. Herndl ◽  
Markus G. Weinbauer
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Burst Size ◽  
Aquatic Systems ◽  
The Past ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Viral Particles ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Heterotrophic Prokaryotes

Viral burst size (BS), i.e. the number of viruses released during cell lysis, is a critical parameter for assessing the ecological and biogeochemical role of viruses in aquatic systems. Burst size is typically estimated by enumerating the viral particles in bacteria using transmission electron microscopy. Here, we review the average BS reported for different aquatic systems, present several hypotheses on the control of the BS and evaluate whether there are relationships between BS and bacterial activity parameters across systems. Based on reports from a variety of different aquatic environments, we calculated a mean BS of 24 and 34 for marine and freshwater environments, respectively. Generally, the BS increased with the trophic status of the environment and with the percentage of infected cells in marine populations. When diel dynamics were investigated or averages from large-scale environments were used, BS was positively related to bacterial production but no trend was detectable across systems. The across systems' finding that BS was significantly related to the frequency of infected cells (FIC) could be due to co-infection or superinfection. At any given site, BS seems to be influenced by a number of factors such as the size of the host cell and the viruses, the metabolic activity of the host and phage and host diversity. Thus, based on the available data collected over the past two decades on a variety of aquatic systems, some relations between BS and bacterial variables were detectable.

Disclosure of Scandinavian telecom companies’ corruption in Uzbekistan: The role of investigative journalists

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ester Pollack ◽  
Sigurd Allern
Keyword(s):  
Public Good ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Good For ◽  
Public Sectors

Transparency International’s yearly Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Scandinavia as one of the least corrupt regions in the world. However, during the past decades, large Scandinavian corporations in the telecommunications, oil and defence industries have – in their struggle for business contracts in other countries – been involved in several large-scale bribery scandals. There has also been a growing range of corruption cases in the Swedish and Norwegian public sectors. In many of these cases, investigative journalists have played a crucial role in the disclosure of corruption, sometimes cooperating across media organisations and countries, demonstrating the importance of journalism as a public good for democracy. In this article, we explore, discuss and analyse the work of and methods used by investigative journalists in revealing large-scale corruption related to the expansion of Nordic telecom companies in Uzbekistan.

scholarly journals Towards Sustainable River Management of the Dutch Rhine River

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik Havinga
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
River System ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
River Management ◽  
Rhine River ◽  
Inland Waterways ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
River Training ◽  
Improvement Programs

Two thousand years of human interventions has heavily modified the Dutch Rhine river. Situated in a densely populated and developed delta, the river and its infrastructure fulfil important societal functions: safety against flooding, inland waterways, nature, freshwater supply, and agriculture. Programs to improve individual functions increasingly lead to conflicts with other functions and therefore call for an integrated approach. This paper reviews the history of the Dutch Rhine and documents the sectoral improvement programs in recent decades, explaining adverse effects such as the large-scale bed degradation at rates of up to 4 cm per year. The lessons from the past are used to propose avenues for future integrated and sustainable river training and river management, arguing that mitigating adverse effects while maintaining societal functions requires a combination of recurrent sediment management measures and extensive structural measures that may change the layout of the river system.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document