Daily Weather Observations in Sixteenth-Century Europe |
| |
| Authors: | Christian Pfister Rudolf Brázdil Rüdiger Glaser Anita Bokwa Franz Holawe Danuta Limanowka Old?ich Kotyza Jan Munzar Lajos Rácz Elisabeth Strömmer Gabriela Schwarz-Zanetti |
| |
| Institution: | (1) Institute of History, University of Bern, Unitobler, CH-3000 Bern 9, Switzerland;(2) Department of Geography, Masaryk University, Kotlá ská 2, CZ-61137 Brno, Czech Republic;(3) Institute of Geography, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany;(4) Department of Climatology, Institute of Geography, Jagellonian University, ul. Grodzka 64, PL 31-044 Cracow, Poland;(5) Institute of Geography, University of Vienna, Universitätsstrasse 67, A-1010 Vienna, Austria;(6) Institute of Meteorology and Water Management, P. Borowego 14, PL 30-215 Cracow, Poland;(7) Museum of Local History, Mírové nám. 1, CZ-41201 Litom ice, Czech Republic;(8) Institute of Geonics, P.O. Box 23, CZ-61300 Brno, Czech Republic;(9) Regional Studies Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-6001 Kecskemet, Hungary |
| |
| Abstract: | Thirty-two weather diaries written in astronomical calendars in central Europe in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are presented and discussed. Systematic weather observations were promoted by the rise of planetary astronomy and its application in astro-meteorology. The practice of keeping weather diaries spread from Cracow (Poland) to Ingolstadt (Germany) and from there to other universities. The data obtained from these sources provided the backbone for setting up series of precipitation indices for Poland, Germany and Switzerland. Monthly statistics of days with precipitation, snowfall and frost were computed by counting the relevant entries in the most important diaries. The results were compared with either those obtained from instrumental measurements in the same place or with those from modern instrumental measurements in a neighbouring place. The final results show that autumn was considerably colder in the early sixteenth century. April was considerably drier and July was wetter during the period 1508-1531 than during 1901-1960. In order to highlight the impact of weather patterns on grain prices in a year of crisis, the timing of wet and dry spells in southern Poland and southern Germany is compared for the year 1529. Winters became 1.7°C colder from 1564 to 1576 and the month of July tended to be wetter than in 1901-1960. Details noted in the diaries kept between 1585 and 1600 by the astronomers Brahe (near Copenhagen) and Fabricius (in the Ostfriesland region of northwestern Germany) closely agree. It rained more often in June and July and temperatures dropped. The winter months were more frequently dominated by winds from easterly directions, the frequency of snowfall was higher and a deficit occurred in precipitation. This points to a higher frequency of high pressure in the Fennoscandian area with cold air advection from the east or northeast. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
