Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.1002/esp.70219 |
Licence  |
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| Title (Primary) | Fluvial deposits of the Ahr river (western Germany) reveal recurring high-magnitude flood events over the last 1,500 years |
| Author | Zielhofer, C.; Rabiger-Völlmer, J.
; Westermann, H.; Fischer, M.L.; Schneider, B.; Lindauer, S.; Khosravichenar, A.; Bauch, M.; Pohle, M.
; Werban, U.
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| Source Titel | Earth Surface Processes and Landforms |
| Year | 2026 |
| Department | MET |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Page From | e70219 |
| Language | englisch |
| Topic | T5 Future Landscapes |
| Data and Software links | https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.973867 https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.973935 https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.974990 |
| Supplements | Supplement 1 |
| Abstract | Floods are one of the most critical environmental threats
in Central Europe. In Germany, they are responsible for more than half
of the economic damage caused by environmental hazards. The magnitude of
the 2021 Ahr flood has far exceeded what was forecast in previous flood
hazard assessments. This was due to a significant underestimation of
hazards, as the former hydrological models considered instrumental
discharge records exclusively. Because the recording period only began
in the second half of the 20th century, high-magnitude flood events
prior to that period were not considered in flood hazard assessments.
Historical flood events from written sources were also not included in
official flood hazard assessments. In this study, we show the importance
of geomorphological records from Ahr flood deposits for reconstructing
past high-magnitude flood events. Our chemo- and lithostratigraphical
analysis of four recovered cores from the Ahr floodplain shows that
centennial- to millennial-scale high-energy flood deposits are not the
exception but the rule. The four floodplain sediment cores record the
catastrophic flood of 2021 and the two historical floods of 1804 and
1910, as well as a previously unidentified flood event dated
approximately to the end of the 5th century A.D. In addition, the
geomorphological analysis in combination with near-surface geophysical
prospection shows that the Ahr floodplain is dominated by high-energy
flood deposits and that low to medium-magnitude flood events are not
preserved in the floodplain stratigraphy. The fluvial geomorphological
record proves that the 2021 flood event is not an exception in the Ahr
floodplain stratigraphy. In fact, at least three other flood events have
been identified in the last 1,500 years that, based on
lithostratigraphic parameters, had a comparable magnitude. The results
document the high potential of floodplain archives for reconstructing
high-magnitude flood events in Central European rivers, allowing a
systematic reassessment in terms of the occurrence and frequency of
high-magnitude flood events. The occurrence of the large floods in the
Ahr valley does not show any clear coupling with the Central European
hydroclimatic history. However, what is noticeable is that the
historically documented high-magnitude Ahr floods occur during the
summer season, which is in parallel with high atmospheric moisture
loads. |
| Zielhofer, C., Rabiger-Völlmer, J., Westermann, H., Fischer, M.L., Schneider, B., Lindauer, S., Khosravichenar, A., Bauch, M., Pohle, M., Werban, U. (2026): Fluvial deposits of the Ahr river (western Germany) reveal recurring high-magnitude flood events over the last 1,500 years Earth Surf. Process. Landf. 51 (1), e70219 10.1002/esp.70219 |
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