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Atmosphere
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Impacts of Climate Change on Transportation Infrastructure, Networks and Nodes
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Impacts of Climate Change on Transportation Infrastructure, Networks and Nodes

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Climatology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 February 2023) | Viewed by 10469

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Stephanie Hänsel

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Deutscher Wetterdienst, Frankfurter Straße 135, 63067 Offenbach, Germany
Interests: regional climate variability and change; drought; extreme precipitation; heat; climate impacts; climate adaptation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A well developed, functional transport infrastructure that offers unrestricted use is of great importance for society and the economy. There is growing concern about the impacts of climate change on the transportation system as they may be connected with the destruction of transport infrastructure and limit the availability of transport services. This may lead to high socioeconomic losses. In many parts of the world, we have recently witnessed disruptions in transport infrastructure or transport limitations that were related to extreme weather events such river flooding, flash floods, low flow situations, storms, heat waves, fires, thawing permafrost, rising sea levels and landslides. Some of these events affected more than one mode of transport, posing the potential risk of more serious impacts on the transportation of goods and passengers.

With the continued warming of Earth’s surface, an increase in the intensity, frequency and duration of the adverse effects of climate change on transportation are expected in the coming decades. Thus, studies are needed that assess and address the impacts and risks for the transport system that are connected with climate change and extreme weather events. Adaption measures are crucial to increase climate resilience and secure a well-functioning transportation system and all connected services. It is important to act now, as many transportation assets such as bridges and tunnels are very long-lived, and planning and implementation processes are generally very time-consuming. Innovative solutions are required for climate change adaptation as well as sustainable development of the transport system resulting from a dialogue between science, policy and practice.

Dr. Stephanie Hänsel
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • flooding
  • heat waves
  • storms
  • flash floods
  • sea level rise
  • permafrost
  • landslides
  • fires
  • rail
  • road
  • waterways
  • intermodal transport
  • transport corridors
  • re-routing
  • transport disruption
  • impact analysis
  • risk analysis
  • adaptation options

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 3663 KiB  
Article
Climate Change Impacts on Soil Erosion and Sediment Delivery to German Federal Waterways: A Case Study of the Elbe Basin
by Magdalena Uber, Ole Rössler, Birgit Astor, Thomas Hoffmann, Kristof Van Oost and Gudrun Hillebrand
Atmosphere 2022, 13(11), 1752; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13111752 - 24 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2310
Abstract
Climate change is an important driver of soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies. We use observation data from 193 locations in the Elbe River basin as well as spatially distributed erosion rates and sediment delivery simulated in the WaTEM/SEDEM to identify [...] Read more.
Climate change is an important driver of soil erosion and sediment delivery to water bodies. We use observation data from 193 locations in the Elbe River basin as well as spatially distributed erosion rates and sediment delivery simulated in the WaTEM/SEDEM to identify current erosion hotspots and to assess the impact of climate change on future erosion and sediment delivery. We further quantified the uncertainty of the modelling approach by using an ensemble of 21 combinations of global and regional climate models, different emission scenarios and stochastic erosion modelling. Erosion rates are highest on hilly arable land in the central part of the basin as well as in the northeast of Bohemia. Despite considerable differences between climate models and emission scenarios and considerable uncertainties of the erosion model, a future increase in soil erosion and sediment delivery is highly likely. Using the median of climate models and behavioral erosion models, this increase can be up to 14% higher in the far future (2071–2100) than in the reference period (1971–2000) using RCP 8.5. The increase is highest in the Czech part of the basin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change on Transportation Infrastructure, Networks and Nodes)
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21 pages, 9810 KiB  
Article
Negative Storm Surges in the Elbe Estuary—Large-Scale Meteorological Conditions and Future Climate Change
by Corinna Jensen, Tara Mahavadi, Nils H. Schade, Ingo Hache and Tim Kruschke
Atmosphere 2022, 13(10), 1634; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13101634 - 7 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2158
Abstract
Negative storm surges in the Elbe estuary can affect shipping as well as shoreline infrastructure. The significant reduction of water level caused by strong offshore winds can lead to extreme low water events, which endanger waterfront structures. The current study analyses the large-scale [...] Read more.
Negative storm surges in the Elbe estuary can affect shipping as well as shoreline infrastructure. The significant reduction of water level caused by strong offshore winds can lead to extreme low water events, which endanger waterfront structures. The current study analyses the large-scale meteorological conditions inducing such situations and possible future changes due to climate change. The analysis is based on tide gauge data from Cuxhaven, atmospheric reanalysis data and an objective weather classification approach. It is found that south-easterly wind directions in combination with strong gales favour extreme low water events at Cuxhaven. Furthermore, the analysis of a single model large ensemble of climate projections shows a significant decrease in the frequency of such conditions for the far future (2071–2100). Regarding future global mean sea level rise the simulation results of a sensitivity study indicate that water levels during such extreme events approximately follow the development of the mean sea level rise. Therefore, our study suggests that both meteorological conditions and mean sea levels in a warmer future climate will be less favourable for the occurrence of extreme low water events in the Elbe estuary. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change on Transportation Infrastructure, Networks and Nodes)
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16 pages, 3294 KiB  
Article
Implementing Hydrological Forecasting Services Supporting Waterway Management and Transportation Logistics Relating to Hydroclimatic Impacts
by Dennis Meißner, Bastian Klein and Barbara Frielingsdorf
Atmosphere 2022, 13(10), 1606; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13101606 - 30 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1352
Abstract
As recent years have shown, inland waterways are prone to hydroclimatic impacts. Dry spells, such as in 2003, 2015 or 2018, significantly affected freight transport as well as passenger shipping along Central Europe’s major inland waterways, such as the River Rhine. At the [...] Read more.
As recent years have shown, inland waterways are prone to hydroclimatic impacts. Dry spells, such as in 2003, 2015 or 2018, significantly affected freight transport as well as passenger shipping along Central Europe’s major inland waterways, such as the River Rhine. At the same time, heavy rainfall and the proceeding sea-level rise increasingly hamper the management of numerous inland waterways, such as the Kiel Canal. As prognostic information enables waterway stakeholders to take preventive measures regarding hydroclimatic impacts, the demand for extended-range hydrological forecasts tailored to the management and use of waterways is significantly increasing. Based on preliminary studies, the Federal Institute of Hydrology started developing preliminary extended-range forecast products for relevant gauges at the German waterways since 2015. Step-by-step operational services supplying these new forecast products have been set-up. For the River Rhine, a ten-day forecast has been publicly available since 2019. In 2022, a six-week forecast for Rhine and Elbe will further extend the waterway-related forecasting services in Germany. This article provides insight into the setting of these extended navigation-related forecasting services, where the communication of forecast uncertainties is still a major challenge. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change on Transportation Infrastructure, Networks and Nodes)
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28 pages, 31290 KiB  
Article
Impacts of Heavy and Persistent Precipitation on Railroad Infrastructure in July 2021: A Case Study from the Ahr Valley, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
by Sonja Szymczak, Fabia Backendorf, Frederick Bott, Katharina Fricke, Thomas Junghänel and Ewelina Walawender
Atmosphere 2022, 13(7), 1118; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13071118 - 15 Jul 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3674
Abstract
In contrast to river floods, the enormous erosion potential in catchments contributes significantly to the extent of damage to infrastructure in valleys. This paper investigates the impact of the heavy precipitation event of 14–15 July 2021 on the railroad in the Ahr valley [...] Read more.
In contrast to river floods, the enormous erosion potential in catchments contributes significantly to the extent of damage to infrastructure in valleys. This paper investigates the impact of the heavy precipitation event of 14–15 July 2021 on the railroad in the Ahr valley in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. In a first step, a detailed overview of the climatological and hydrological drivers using spatially high-resolved precipitation distribution and peak discharge modeling is provided, and the event is placed in a broader context by comparing it to past flash flood events from 1910 and 2016. In a second step, a detailed mapping of damages along the railroad line is performed using aerial photographs. The mapping revealed that bridges are the weakest point during a flood event and that they contribute to an increase and modification of the flood wave through backwater effects. Since flood events are expected to increase in the future, there is an urgent need to increase the resilience of transportation to this hazard and to answer the question of what magnitudes and return periods of events should be used in future sizing of rail infrastructure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change on Transportation Infrastructure, Networks and Nodes)
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