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Graphical abstract Highlights • Summarizes major milestones in evolution of modern loess science from 1824 to 1964. • Provides historical account of how modern loess science originated from Rhine valley. • Gathers and interprets correspondences among the pioneers and their field travels. • Reveals how early studies on Chinese loess advanced understanding of loess formation. • Explains reasons for delay in dissemination of loess knowledge among Chinese scholars. Abstract Loess is the most important aeolian deposit of the Quaternary and plays an important role in explorations of the evolution of paleoclimate and paleoenvironment. In recent years, historians of science have been working on how loess research originated, developed, and was promoted in Europe in the early 19th century. The Chinese community has a clear history of the loess research from the late 20th century. However, it remains unclear when and how modern loess studies were communicated between western and eastern academic societies and who contributed to the development and dissemination of modern loess knowledge, especially from the western to the eastern societies. Based on books, essays, memoirs, travel notes, published letters, and other types of records from geologists, such as K. Leonhard (1779–1862), C. Lyell (1797–1875), and R. Pumpelly (1837–1923), the present study clarifies the way and process by which loess research originated from the Rhine valley and spread to Britain onto the United States and, in particular, China. It was discovered that loess was formally defined in 1824 in the Rhine valley. In the 1830s, L. Horner (1785–1864) and Lyell introduced loess research from the Rhine valley to Britain. At the same time, Lyell put forward the theory of the fluvial origin of loess and verified his theory by expanding study areas to the United States. In 1866, Pumpelly, the first foreign geologist investigating Chinese loess, put forward lacustrine formation of loess. Pumpelly's hypothesis was soon argued against in 1870 by F. von Richthofen (1833–1905), who thought loess was formed via an aeolian mode based on a wide investigation in the Loess Plateau of China. Although the above main hypotheses originated based on investigations of Chinese loess, they were not disseminated to China and received by Chinese scholars in a timely manner, and the local loess research in China launched almost 130 years later by the stimulation from work by scholars of the Soviet Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant triterpenoids are a diverse group of secondary metabolites with wide distribution, high chemical diversity and interesting pharmacological and antimicrobial properties. The first step in the biosynthesis of all triterpenoids is the cyclization of the 2,3-oxidosqualene precursor, catalyzed by oxidosqualene cyclases (OSCs), which have characteristic product specificities. Biosynthesis and functions of pentacyclic triterpenes have been poorly studied in grapevine. In this study, we first investigated the profile of triterpenoids present in leaf cuticular waxes from eight Vitis vinifera cultivars cultivated in the Upper Rhine Valley. Further quantification of triterpenoids showed that these cultivars can be divided into two groups, characterized by high levels of lupeol (e.g., Pinot noir) or taraxerol (e.g., Gewurztraminer) respectively. We further analyzed the OSC family involved in the synthesis of pentacyclic triterpenes (called VvTTPSs) in the sequenced V. vinifera 40024 genome and found nine genes with similarity to previously characterized triterpene synthases. Phylogenetic analysis further showed that VvTTPS1-VvTTPS3 and VvTTPS5-VvTTPS9 belong to the β-amyrin synthase and multifunctional triterpene synthase clade, whereas VvTTPS10 belongs to the lupeol synthase clade. We studied the expression of several members of the VvTTPS family following biotic and abiotic stresses in V. vinifera 40024 as well as in the eight healthy cultivars. This study further revealed that one candidate gene, VvTTPS5, which does not belong to the lupeol synthase clade, is highly expressed in lupeol-rich cultivars. VvTTPS3, VvTTPS5, VvTTPS6, VvTTPS7 and VvTTPS10 were highly upregulated by UV stress, but only VvTTPS3, VvTTPS5, VvTTPS6 and VvTTPS10 were upregulated following downy mildew and gray mold infections respectively. These results suggest differential roles of VvTTPS against environmental stresses in grape leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microsedimentological analyses were used to examine the first 56 m of a 500 m core near Heidelberg, Germany, in the Upper Rhine Valley. This core chronostratigraphically stretches from present day to 450 ka and includes proxy evidence supporting the presence of Würmian, Eemian and likely components of the Riss and Hoβkirch Stages. The sediment in the core reflects the geomorphic, biotic, pedogenic, and climatic processes. The sediments were deposited in a fluvial environment, at times, within a broad floodplain in the main channel, and also, at other times, some distance from the main river. These upper sediments act as indirect proxy evidence that indicate changes in climate over time illustrative of cool periglacial tundra-like conditions and of milder forested temperate environments from Hoβkirch to present day times. Within the sediments evidence can be found of an interglacial fossil soil followed later by a Holocene temperate climate up to present day. A strong link can be ascertained between macro- and micro-stratigraphic evidence, the latter revealing detailed and invaluable sources of information. This analysis permits the reconstruction of past climate and paleoenvironmental conditions. The application of microsedimentological analyses to the Mannheim Formation reveals a store of data that has been largely hidden when using only macro-sedimentological methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an analysis of the historical spatial distribution of hospitals and other medical facilities in Germany's Rhine river valley. Information is offered on medieval hospitals in cities including Alsace, Cologne, and Mainz, Germany, the influence of religious pilgrimages on hospitals' locations, and the regional distribution of Rhenish hospitals.

The study of loess began in the Rhine valley, and Charles Lyell played a major role in this development. He included a section on loess in the ‘Principles of Geology’ (in 1833) and with the widespread distribution of this important book loess became known. His views on loess changed as successive editions were produced and his first proposal, that loess was produced by a sudden flood changed, after discussion with H.G. Bronn, to a concept of gradual deposition. He had some interaction with Samuel Hibbert and this helped to shape his views on loess. The first published reference to loess in English was probably in Hibbert's 1832 book on the Neuwied volcanoes. By the time of the 5th edition of the Principles in 1837 Lyell was acknowledging eleven fellow scholars who had influenced his loessic endeavours, they were: Bronn, Leonhard, Boue, Voltz, Noeggerath, Steininger, Merian, Rozet, Von Meyer, Hibbert and Horner. The most influential of his associates were probably Bronn, Leonhard, Hibbert and Horner, although Horner only joined the list in 1837. Lyell may have observed loess on a brief visit to the Eifel region in July 1831; talking with Hibbert later that year there was certainly discussion of the ‘Loess from Kruft to Andernach’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on an N-S-oriented crustal-scale cross section running east of the Rhine Valley in Vorarlberg, western Austria, we address the Alpine nappe stack and discuss the boundary between Central and Eastern Alps. For our cross section, we used surface geology, drillings and reinterpreted seismic lines, together with published sections. The general architecture of the examined area can be described as a typical foreland fold-and-thrust belt, comprising the tectonic units of the Subalpine Molasse, (Ultra-)Helvetic, Penninic and Austroalpine nappes. These units overthrusted the autochthonous Molasse along the south-dipping listric Alpine basal thrust. The European Basement, together with its autochthonous cover, dips gently towards the south and is dissected by normal faults and trough structures. The seismic data clearly show an offset not only of the top of the European Basement, but also of the Mesozoic cover and the Lower Marine Molasse. This indicates an activity of the structures as normal faults after the sedimentation of the Lower Marine Molasse. The Subalpine Molasse is multiply stacked, forming a triangle zone at the boundary with the foreland Molasse. The shortening within the Subalpine Molasse amounts to approximately 45 km (~67 %), as deduced from our cross section with the Lower Marine Molasse as a reference. The hinterland-dipping duplex structure of the Helvetic nappes is deduced from surface and borehole data. There are at least two Helvetic nappes needed to fill the available space between the Molasse below and the Northpenninic above. This is in line with the westerly located NRP20-East transect (Schmid et al., Tectonics 15(5):1047-1048, ; Schmid et al., The TRANSMED Atlas: the Mediterranean Region from Crust to Mantle, ), where the two Helvetic nappes are separated by the Säntis thrust. Yet in contrast to the Helvetic nappes in the NRP20-East transect, both of our Helvetic nappes comprise Cretaceous and Jurassic strata. This change is explained by an eastward down-stepping of the Säntis thrust along a pre-existing, approximately N-S striking lateral ramp bounding an inverted Jurassic graben structure below the Rhine Valley. This causes the Säntis thrust to detach the base Cretaceous west of the Rhine Valley and the base Jurassic units east of it. This graben-controlled change in detachment level leads to the formation of quite different nappe stacks on either side of the Rhine Valley and a 'fault-controlled' appearance of the boundary between the Central and Eastern Alps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some regions the exposure to railway noise is extremely concentrated, which may lead to high residential annoyance. Nonacoustical factors contribute to these reactions, but there is limited evidence on the interrelations between the nonacoustical factors that influence railway noise annoyance. The aims of the present study were (1) to examine exposure-response relationships between long-term railway noise exposure and annoyance in a region severely affected by railway noise and (2) to determine a priori proposed interrelations between nonacoustical factors by structural equation analysis. Residents (n = 320) living close to railway tracks in the Middle Rhine Valley completed a socioacoustic survey. Individual noise exposure levels were calculated by an acoustical simulation model for this area. The derived exposure-response relationships indicated considerably higher annoyance at the same noise exposure level than would have been predicted by the European Union standard curve, particularly for the night-time period. In the structural equation analysis, 72% of the variance in noise annoyance was explained by the noise exposure (Lden) and nonacoustical variables. The model provides insights into several causal mechanisms underlying the formation of railway noise annoyance considering indirect and reciprocal effects. The concern about harmful effects of railway noise and railway traffic, the perceived control and coping capacity, and the individual noise sensitivity were the most important factors that influence noise annoyance. All effects of the nonacoustical factors on annoyance were mediated by the perceived control and coping capacity and additionally proposed indirect effects of the theoretical model were supported by the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First comprehensive environmental magnetism study of the Nussloch (Rhine River Valley, Germany) loess/palaeosol deposit.Bulk ferrimagnetic concentration parameters are dominantly controlled by variations in coarse-grained MD ferrimagnetic particles of detrital aeolian origin.The imprint of waterlogging-induced redoxomorphic processes on the magnetic record is observed by dissolution of fine-grained magnetic minerals.The interpretation of magnetic susceptibility variations alone within loess and palaeosol deposits following the wind-vigour or pedogenic enhancement models will be hindered by waterlogging-induced redoxomorphic processes, if present.Presently, most loess/palaeosol magnetic susceptibility records are interpreted as following either the wind-vigour model or the pedogenic enhancement model. However redoxomorphic processes induced by waterlogging, often referred to gleying in the loess literature, are also known to alter loess deposits but their impact on loess/palaeosol magnetic susceptibility records has received little attention. The reported rock magnetic study aims to characterize the mineral magnetic response of loess to waterlogging-induced redoxomorphic processes, thus improving our understanding of mineral magnetic changes within loess deposits with respect to environmental and climate conditions. The Nussloch loess-palaeosol deposit (Rhine Valley, Germany) was targeted because it is one of the best-studied Pleniglacial deposits for Western Europe in which numerous tundra gley intervals have been identified. Moreover, a comprehensive high-resolution environmental magnetism study has never been undertaken for this site.Various rock magnetism experiments were conducted at both room and low temperatures to characterise the composition, concentration and relative magnetic grain size of the mineral magnetic assemblage. The relative changes in magnetic parameters within the investigated loess interval are primarily controlled by (1) varying concentrations of coarse-grained ferrimagnetic particles of detrital (aeolian) origin and (2) dissolution of fine-grained ferrimagnetic particles related to in situ post-depositional alteration promoted by waterlogging-induced redoxomorphic processes. Goethite is found to be ubiquitous throughout the studied interval and is argued to have both a primary (aeolian) and secondary (in situ) origin. We conclude, that redoxomorphic processes induced by waterlogging, if present, will hinder the interpretation of magnetic susceptibility variations within loess and palaeosol deposits following the expected relationships dictated by the wind-vigour and the pedogenic enhancement magnetism models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The term ‘Loess’ entered the scientific vocabulary in 1824 in section 89 of ‘Charakteristik der Felsarten’ by Karl Caesar von Leonhard (a two page definition and description, plus details of a few locations). The term had been used before 1824, but Leonhard places it firmly into the literature. There were alternatives; Leonhard made a choice. Interest in loess developed in the early 1820s, perhaps in association with interest in the geology of the Rhine volcanoes. Possibly the first fairly detailed study of loess was by H.G. Bronn in 1830. After 1830 Hibbert, Horner and Lyell carried forward the study/appreciation of loess in English. Charles Lyell (in Principles of Geology) listed ten pioneers: Bronn, Leonhard, Boue, Voltz, Noeggerath, Steininger, Merian, Rozet, Von Meyer and Hibbert. Early ideas of loess formation emphasized the role of deposition from water, perhaps influenced by the advocacy of Boue for continent wide inundations. Leonhard was an important figure and deserves his position as the most significant loess pioneer. Lyell was largely responsible for the spread of interest in loess, via The Principles of Geology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The increasing fragmentation of forest habitats and the omnipresence of cultivars potentially threaten the genetic integrity of the European wild apple (Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill). However, the conservation status of this species remains unclear in Europe, other than in Belgium and the Czech Republic, where it has been declared an endangered species. The population density of M. sylvestris is higher in the forests of the upper Rhine Valley (France) than in most European forests, with an unbalanced age-structure, an overrepresentation of adults and a tendency to clump. We characterize here the ecology, age-structure and genetic diversity of wild apple populations in the Rhine Valley. We use these data to highlight links to the history of this species and to propose guidelines for future conservation strategies. In total, 255 individual wild apple trees from six forest stands (five floodplain forests and one forest growing in drier conditions) were analysed in the field, collected and genotyped on the basis of data for 15 microsatellite markers. Genetic analyses showed no escaped cultivars and few hybrids with the cultivated apple. Excluding the hybrids, the genetically “pure” populations displayed high levels of genetic diversity and a weak population structure. Age-structure and ecology studies of wild apple populations identified four categories that were not randomly distributed across the forests, reflecting the history of the Rhine forest over the last century. The Rhine wild apple populations, with their ecological strategies, high genetic diversity, and weak traces of crop-to-wild gene flow associated with the history of these floodplain forests, constitute candidate populations for inclusion in future conservation programmes for European wild apple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a report on a conference on the history of the Upper Rhine Valley in Germany and France during the First World War, held in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, from October 23-24, 2013. Topics of discussion included the historiography of World War I, battlefield tourism, and the experience of veterans from formerly German-occupied Alsace, France, and Lorraine, France, in postwar French society.

The article presents a report on a conference on the archaeology and history of the Upper Rhine region in Germany and France, held in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, from November 13-16, 2013. Topics of discussion included environmental archaeology, cultural landscapes, and the spaces of politics and power in the region in Antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Abstract: The presence of the mesocercarial stage of Alaria alata (Goeze, 1792) in wild boar meat represents a potential risk for human, but little is known about the circulation of mesocercaria in wild boar populations. Routine Trichinella inspection, mandatorily performed in wild boar in France, also allowed detecting mesocercaria. We analyzed the results of this detection in the carcasses of 27,582 wild boars hunted in 2007–2011, in 502 hunting areas of the Rhine valley. Prevalence was globally low (0.6%), but 12% of the hunting areas were affected. These were clustered in lowlands of the Rhine valley, and prevalence strongly decreased with increasing elevation. In the lowlands, prevalence doubled between 2007 and 2011. This time trend and the geographic aggregation of positive wild boars suggest risk management measures based on targeted surveillance, control and prevention. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents reports from multiple military history conferences including a November 14-15, 2013 conference in Rostock, Germany on the the role of globalization in the history of espionage, an October 23-24, 2013 conference in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany on military activities in the upper Rhine valley during World War I, and a March 26-28, 2014 conference in Berlin, Germany on the public opinion of World War I in central and Eastern Europe during 1914.

The article reports on a conference on the history of the Rhineland region of Holy Roman Empire and the Rhine River Valley from the late sixteenth to the early eighteenth centuries, convened in Bonn, Germany, from September 16-17, 2013. Topics of discussion revolved around military history and the social history of war, including during the the Eighty Years' War, the Thirty Years' War, and the War of the Spanish Succession.

The article discusses the role of topographical markers and other geographic features in the medieval history of the area surrounding the town of Xanten, Germany. The author seeks to link research on history and geography. Issues addressed include the military significance of the area's geomorphology from Roman times to the Middle Ages, the importance of the Rhine River for the overall character of the landscape, and the Battle of Birten, Germany, in 939, which cemented the claim of Holy Roman Emperor Otto I to the Rhineland, Germany.

Highlights: [•] Upper Rhine Valley has been a crossroads of oak post-glacial recolonization. [•] Migration history resulted in high genetic variation of chloroplast DNA. [•] Ecological characteristics of the species determined genetic diversity levels. [•] Site condition differentiation might have influenced migration dynamics. [•] High genetic variation within young stands points to human management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the influence the landscape of Alsace, France, on the work of German painter Christian Ernst Bernhard Morgenstern. Focusing both on Morgenstern's initial encounter with the upper Rhine River valley region in the 1830s and his subsequent oeuvre through the 1860s, the author examines both the details of Morgenstern's summer vacations near Ribeauvillé, France, in 1836-1839 and how these experiences affected the artist's rendition of heaths. Other aspects considered include the sublime in early realist painting, the representation of mountains in 19th-century art, and traces of Romanticism in Morgenstern's work.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzodioxin and furan (PCDD/F) concentrations in the atmosphere were analysed using passive air samplers (PAS) close to the Rhine River between France and Germany. Collectors were placed in industrial, urban, rural and remote areas (Vosges Mountains) between March 2009 and August 2010, and the mean PCB concentrations (sum of 22 congeners) were 3.3, 3.9, 4.1 and 1.4 ng PAS day, respectively. Two events during the sampling period were observed in April 2009 and February-March 2010 with the highest PCB concentrations found in the industrial area (19.6 ng PAS day). PCDD/F level were measured during these periods, and the maximum concentration observed was from 37.5 fg WHO PAS day [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Chézy-based hydraulic model was run to estimate the magnitude of extreme floods of Middle Holocene age in the Lower Rhine Valley (Germany). Input parameters were gathered from the field and literature, and used in ten scenarios to calculate a best guess estimate for the minimum size of extreme floods. These events have been registered as slackwater deposits on elevated terrace levels and in a palaeochannel fill. The modelled minimum discharge is 13,250 m³ sec-1 for a Middle Holocene flood with an estimated recurrence interval between 1,250 and 2,500 years. A sensitivity analysis on different input parameters enables evaluation of factors which cause the relatively large range in modelled discharges. Understanding the origin of uncertainties in modelled discharges is important for making geologically based calculations of palaeoflood magnitudes important in modern flood frequency analyses, which generally lack information on the magnitudes of rare events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryphonectria parasitica was discovered in the sweet chestnut forests of south-western Germany in 1992. Two main areas affected by chestnut blight were discerned, one to the east and one to the west of the Rhine valley. The occurrence of the fungal pathogen with respect to vegetative compatibility (vc) type and hypovirulence was analysed by sampling chestnut blight cankers between 1992 and 2010. Among 368 C. parasitica isolates sampled in south-western Germany, 9 different vc types were found. East of the Rhine valley, EU-2 is the most widespread vc type. In addition, two isolated forest areas infected with C. parasitica of the vc types EU-14 and EU-28 were detected. West of the Rhine valley, C. parasitica of the vc type EU-65 was repeatedly isolated from an infection focus, the spread of which was successfully suppressed for several years by sanitation measures. Since 2003, additional outbreaks of C. parasitica belonging to the vc types EU-2 and EU-5 were detected in the vicinity. Several other vc types (EU-1, EU-12, EU-33 and one vc type incompatible with any of the 74 European testers) were identified on isolated trees mainly in urban areas across the study area and were subsequently eradicated. The spatial and temporal distribution of the different vc types indicates at least nine different introductory events of C. parasitica into south-western Germany. Natural hypovirulence was only found in the infection area in Baden-Württemberg. A total of four hypovirulent isolates of the vc type EU-2 were obtained, one in 1992 and three in recent years. The four hypoviruses were genetically closely related and belonged to the Spanish/German subtype of Cryphonectria hypovirus 1. As the different vc types in south-western Germany occur mostly in spatially separated, single stands, the introduction of hypovirulence as biological control is expected to be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on a conference on symbolic representations of the Rhine River valley, held in Baden-Baden, Germany, on April 21, 2012. Topics of discussion included the depiction of the Rhine in the paintings of Romantic painter Ludwig Bleuler, the travels along the river of 19th-century painter Johann Wilhelm Schirmer, and castles along the Rhine.

The article presents information about the publication history of a historical German dictionary, the "Historisches Rheinisches Wörterbuch," which was initially released as an addendum to the German dictionary of the Rhine River area, the "Rheinisches Wörterbuch." The authors comment on the contributions of philologist Adam Wrede to the dictionary, also noting the differences between the dialect or variant of German spoken in the Rhine region and so-called High German spoken elsewhere. Further attention is paid to the development of digital publication for the dictionary between 2009 and 2012.

The article presents a discussion in response to speeches given on December 5, 2008 in Bonn, Germany at a conference on the origins and usage history of the publication "Der Geschichtliche Atlas der Rheinlande," a historical atlas of the Rhine River area in Germany. The author engages with the content of the December, 2008 speeches, arguing that the development of the atlas was more complex than other historians have posited. Further discussion focuses on changes in the editorial board and history association responsible for the atlas's initial publication.

The article presents a discussion on the 19th-century market for art in the area of the Rhine River in Germany. The author examines developments in art trade, art collecting, and art guild practice occurring within the time period discussed, including the decrease in sacred art trade as a result of the destruction of monasteries throughout the French Revolution and the evolution of art collecting as a form of social distinction. Centers of the art trade in Germany are described, including Cologne, Germany, Düsseldorf, Germany, and Berlin, Germany. Further comments are made concerning the development of artists' and art patrons' societies in the second half of the 19th century.

The article presents a discussion on the structure of governance in the area of the Rhine River in 18th-century Germany. Descriptions are given of the system known as "Unterherrschaft," in which landowners operated more or less independently within the context of the larger empire. Statistics are provided about the number of Unterherrschaften in Jülich-Berg, Germany, and the author examines the self-representation of landowners as heads of jurisdiction, executive, and punitive government in their areas. An overview is also provided of the historical events and legislative developments leading up to the emergence of Unterherrschaften, beginning in the 15th century and continuing to the late 18th century.

The article presents a speech given by historian Michael Schmauder at a Roman and Frankish history conference held on September 20-21, 2010 at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Bonn, Germany, discussing the transition from antiquity to medieval civilization in the Rhine River region, the religious, ethnic, and intellectual aspects of Roman and Frankish intercultural relations, and the significance of weapons and Roman fibula pins as burial goods in Frankish-controlled areas.

The article reflects on the place of the Rhine and the Rhine River Valley in the collective memory and imagination of Germany. After introducing the concept of an imaginary landscape, the author examines tourist texts, travel literature, and other descriptions of this cultural landscape from the late 18th to the late 20th centuries. He emphasizes the political and symbolic significance of these representations for the development of German nationalism. The connections between romantic notions of a premodern, historical environment and the river's status as one of the main arteries of the development of modern industrial society are also discussed.

The article focuses on gender relations, gender equality, and marital relations among medieval societies in the Rhine River Valley, particularly in the cities of Basel (Switzerland) and Strasbourg (France), in the Holy Roman Empire. The notion of equality between a man and a woman in the Christian community is examined. The author also discusses several marriage contracts including the one signed between the families of Hans Waltenheim and Adelheid von Laufen in Basel on October 8, 1448 and the legal aspects of marriage contracts.

Non-coastal floods present interrelated environmental and economic problems. Floods kill thousands, interrupt business activity, and damage property and ecosystems. Floods are no longer the result of purely natural forces, but are instead, at least partly, a result of land use practices and infrastructure projects. Upstream riparians' failure to internalize the full costs of land use conversions and river projects increases the costs of floods for downstream riparians, one of two inefficiencies rectifiable through a market mechanism for floods. The spatial variation of flood risk within a basin is a second opportunity for hedging or trading solutions to improve flood-related inefficiencies This research proposes a market-based emissions trading and risk-reallocation scheme to align the costs of funding flood protections with the benefits of urbanization and to reduce the aggregate social costs of floods. Under the scheme proposed herein, riparians will create a market to trade flood rights, known as tradable flood mitigation permits (TFMP). As with other emissions trading and risk-hedging programs, the success of a TFMP program depends on minimizing transaction costs through the design of the market and corresponding regulatory system. The Rhine River Basin presents an optimal case study because international institutions already exist to manage floods in the Basin because the risk of flood losses is high and the riparians already engage in sophisticated flood mitigation and control measures. Three multilateral agreements--the European Union Flood Directive, the Action Plan on Flood Defense for the Rhine, and the Convention on the Protection of the Rhine--support a TFMP program in concept and inform the design of a proposed basin-wide TFMP program. Lessons from a TFMP program in the Rhine Basin are applicable elsewhere, such as in basins crossing sub-state boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the conference "The Rhine Economy on a New Basis. The Switch from Coal to Oil and the Implications for the Transnational Rhine Region, 1945-1973," held in Bochum, Germany from January 12 to January 13, 2011. Topics explored include the oil port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the oil company Royal Dutch Shell in West Germany, and tankers on the Rhine River. Participants included scholars such as Dieter Ziegler, Marten Boon, and Hein Klemann.

The Upper Rhine Valley (SW Germany, Europe) has delivered 20,000 Late Pleistocene megafaunal remains found at gravel pit sites in the past decades and only 0.1% carnivore remains including a nearly complete lion skeleton of a small male Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) and also skeleton parts of two more grown-up to even older males from different localities, such as the additional isolated bones. Less than 1% of the bone material belongs to adolescent animals; cub material is completely absent. The material from the Upper Rhine Valley was compared with many caves and few open-air sites of central Europe, indicating strong sexual dimorphism in the last lions of Europe, but problematic remains in the glacial/interglacial size variation. Some lions are in the open air, and all cave localities are overlapping with hyena and cave bear den sites; in some cases, they seem to have been in the open-air hyena den sites in the Upper Rhine Valley. Proofs for hyena or other large carnivore scavenging activities on lion carcasses are cracked lower jaws and chewed long bones. The ‘steppe lion’ habitus is reconstructed by comparisons with French cave art figurations. Finally, a first overview of the steppe lion paleobiogeography in SW Germany is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A comparison of 19th century stereotypes held by French and Polish people about Germans is presented, in which the author discusses the origin of stereotypes, the persistence of the European stereotype of the barbaric East, and the contributions of the formation of nations to stereotypes. Stereotypes of Prussian Germans as uncivilized bandits and rapists are discussed, particularly within the context of the Greater Poland Uprising in Poznań, Poland. Conflicts over the Rhine River bordering France and Germany are mentioned as a contributing cause for tensions between French and German people.

The article presents information about a history conference held at the University of Bonn, Germany on September 20-21, 2010 on Roman and Frankish history in the Rhine River area. Topics discussed at the conference included the earliest Roman documentation of Frankish civilization in the third century, the challenges of ethnogenesis studies, and research into the etymology of the term Frankish. Further topics under discussion included the historical names subgroups within Frankish tribes.

Abstract: Tree barks were used as biomonitors to evaluate past atmospheric pollution within and around the industrial zones of Strasbourg (France) and Kehl (Germany) in the Rhine Valley. The here estimated residence time for trace metals, PCBs and PCDD/Fs in tree bark is >10years. Thus, all pollution observed by tree bark biomonitoring can be older than 10years. The PCB baseline concentration (sum of seven PCB indicators (Σ7PCBind)) determined on tree barks from a remote area in the Vosges mountains is 4ngg−1 and corresponds to 0.36×10−3 ng toxic equivalent (TEQ) g−1 for the dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs). The northern Rhine harbor suffered especially from steel plant, waste incinerator and thermal power plant emissions. The polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran (PCDD/Fs) concentrations analyzed in tree barks from this industrial area range between 392 and 1420ngkg−1 dry-weight (dw) corresponding to 3.9ngTEQPCDD/Fs kg−1 to 17.8ngTEQPCDD/Fs kg−1, respectively. Highest PCDD/F values of 7.2ng TEQ kg−1 to 17.8ng TEQ kg−1 have been observed close to and at a distance of <2km southwest of the chemical waste incinerator. However, very close to this incinerator lowest TEQ dioxin-like PCB (TEQDL-PCB) values of 0.006ngTEQg−1 have been found. On the other hand close to and southwest and northeast of the steel plant the values are comparatively higher and range between 0.011ngTEQg−1 and 0.026ngTEQg−1. However, even stronger Σ7PCBind enrichments have been observed at a few places in the city center of Kehl, where ΣDL-PCB values of up to 0.11ngTEQg−1 have been detected. These enrichments, however, are the result of ancient pollutions since recent long-term measurements at the same sites indicate that the atmospheric PCB concentrations are close to baseline. Emissions from an old landfill of waste and/or great fires might have been the reasons of these PCB enrichments. Other urban environments of the cities of Kehl and Strasbourg show significantly lower Σ7PCBind concentrations. They suffer especially from road and river traffic and have typically Σ7PCBind concentrations ranging from 11ngg−1 to 29ngg−1. The PCB concentration of 29ngg−1 has been found in tree bark close to the railway station of Strasbourg. Nevertheless, the corresponding TEQDL-PCB are low and range between 0.2×10−3 ngTEQg−1 and 7×10−3 ngTEQg−1. Samples collected near road traffic are enriched in Fe, Sb, Sn and Pb. Cd enrichments were found close to almost all types of industries. Rural environments not far from industrial sites suffered from organic and inorganic pollution. In this case, TEQDL-PCB values may reach up to 58×10−3 ngTEQg−1 and the corresponding V, Cr, Co, Ni, and Cd concentrations are comparatively high. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The main objective of this study was to analyze whether plant material transfer is a suitable approach for establishing plant populations with spatial patterns and population structures resembling those of remnant populations. We studied pattern formation and population characteristics in three remnant and two restored populations of the biennial plant species Arabis nemorensis in the upper Rhine valley in southwestern Germany over a period of 2 years. We investigated spatial patterns of seedlings, juveniles, and adults as well as the small-scale horizontal and vertical distribution of seeds in the soil, followed the fate of individual plants and recorded structural habitat parameters such as vegetation and litter cover. Population dynamics differed between the study sites, but there was no pronounced difference between restored and remnant sites. Seedlings, juveniles, and adults as well as seeds in the seed bank showed aggregated spatial patterns on all study sites, with positive autocorrelation on a scale of 20-60 cm. Within sites, patterns remained approximately stable through time. Restored sites experienced rapid seed bank formation as a result of the restoration measures. Our results suggest that the restoration measures were not only successful in transferring the target species but also triggered rapid formation of spatially structured populations that, years after restoration, closely resembled those of remnant sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Four structural cross-sections through the central segment of the Upper Rhine Graben (URG) were balanced by means of Thermo-Tectono-Stratigraphic Forward Modelling (TTSF-Modelling). Results were compared to geometric retro-deformation of pre-rift reference horizons applying line length and area balancing methods. TTSF-Modelling with a deep necking level (>20km) and/or a high effective elastic thickness (Te≥15km) yielded extension values similar to those of geometric balancing, while modelling with shallower necking depths and/or lower Te yielded unrealistic high extension values. A best fit of geometric balancing, indicating 5km rift orthogonal extension, was reached by TTSF-Modelling with a Te of 15km and a ‘pre-rift’ necking depth of 29km coinciding with the Moho discontinuity. This is compatible with (a) the geophysically mapped Moho that does not shallow significantly beneath the central segment of the URG and its shoulders, (b) seismicity indicating brittle–elastic deformation of the entire crust and a-seismic, ductile deformation of the lithospheric mantle, (c) compensation of crustal faults and shear zones in the crust–mantle transition zone. Modelled time-extension paths imply rifting during the Middle Eocene to Early Miocene, a Late Miocene post-rift stage and renewed rifting during the Pliocene to recent. Apparent northward migration of extension in time is an effect of uplift processes, which are not related to rifting. Correcting for these, the extension history for the four cross-sections becomes very similar, suggesting plane strain deformation and rifting at very low strain rates of about 1.7×10−16 s−1 involving brittle–elastic deformation of the crust and ductile deformation of the highly viscous, high strength upper mantle that controls the position of the lithospheric necking level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: On both sides of the Rhine, from Karlsruhe to Strasbourg and Basle, a core region of Europe has been a focus of cultural and technological revolutions for almost one millennium. In particular, that area was one of the core regions of European Renaissance. The Upper Rhine valley, after a complex history, is now divided into regions belonging to three nation states. The challenge nowadays is to become a model territory for building Europe as creativity-based economy and society. The specificity of this area, and potentially its strength, is to be a polycentric metropolitan region. Linguistic and institutional variety, together with a very old common culture: will such circumstances turn to be a winning recipe in the 21th century? In this article, we address those topics with a special view on the Strasbourg city and the Alsace region, on the French side of the Rhine. The relevant policies for fostering innovation within this cross-border area – taking full advantage of the creativity potential of such a multi-cultural space – suppose a great deal of institutional cooperation but also a reengineering of the instruments, away from the classical “technology transfer” paradigm. It means giving more consideration to other sources of creativity than science and technology (cultural and creative industries) as well as developing a culture of innovation in every branch of activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Hydrodynamic exchange between surface-water and groundwater was studied at a river located within the Rhine Valley in Germany. Piezometric pressure heads and environmental tracers such as temperature, stable isotopes, chloride, X-ray contrast media, and artificial sweetener were investigated within the hyporheic zone and river water plume. Vertical profiles of environmental tracers were collected using multi-level wells within the neutral up-gradient zone, beneath the river bed, and within the horizontal proximal and distal down-gradient zone. Infiltration velocities were calculated from pressure heads, temperature fluctuations and gradients. The amount of river water within groundwater was estimated from vertical profiles of chloride, stable isotopes, and persistent pharmaceuticals. Profiles of stable isotopes and chloride reveal the existence of down-welling within the shallow hyporheic zone that is generated by river bed irregularities. Due to down-welling an above-average migration of river water into the hyporheic zone establishes even under upward hydraulic pressure gradients. The investigated environmental tracers could not distinctively display short-time-infiltration velocities representative for flood waves, while average infiltration velocities calculated over several months are uniform displayed. Based on vertical temperature profiles the down-gradient migration of the river water plume could be observed even after long periods of effluent conditions and over a distance of 200m from the river bank. X-ray contrast media and artificial sweeteners were observed in high concentrations within the proximal zone, but were not detected at a distance of 200m from the river bank. Using temperature as environmental tracer within the hyporheic zone may result in overestimating the migration of pollutants within the river water plume as the process of natural attenuation will be neglected. Furthermore, temperature was not able to display the effect of down-welling. Stable isotopes and chloride were found to be suitable environmental tracers to forecast the release and fate of organic contaminants within the hyporheic zone. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Rhine catchment experienced strong changes in upstream allogenic forcing during the last 20,000 years. Climatic changes of the glacial–interglacial transition and steadily growing human impact during the second half of the Holocene forced the Rhine to adapt, resulting in changes in the fluvial morphology. The lower Rhine left two late Weichselian terraces and many Holocene palaeo-meanders in the Lower Rhine Valley (western Germany). This well-preserved terrace sequence is used to investigate the exact course of events of the lower Rhine response to changes in allogenic forcing. Five detailed cross-sections that integrate new and existing borehole data were constructed, and the deposits were analysed with regards to abandonment of terraces, changes in number of active channels, fluvial style, terrace gradients, and overbank sedimentation during the Lateglacial and Holocene. We improved and expanded the chronology of the Lower Rhine Valley deposits by dating new samples (14C, OSL), and integrated these with existing dating evidence (archaeological and historical data, cross-cutting relationships). Twice during the glacial–interglacial transition, the lower Rhine changed from braided to meandering fluvial style. During both transitional episodes (meandering) secondary channels existed alongside the main channel, with a life span up to 2500 years. The findings imply that the lower Rhine was inherently slow to complete the full morphological transition to a single thread meandering system. On specific aspects of response, the morphological response (point bar/terrace formation, contraction to a single thread) extended over relatively long periods of time, whereas discharge-related response (e.g. fluvial style change, abandonment of braidplains, channel bed lowering/incision) seems to have been near instantaneous. Reach-specific conditions determine the degree to which the geomorphic response is delayed and the complexity of the resultant morphology. Increased human-induced sediment delivery (last 2000–3000 years) is expressed as relative thicker and coarser overbank deposits in the entire study area. In the downstream part of the Lower Rhine Valley it accelerated high-stand deltaic backfilling and decreased incision. The response to human activities occurred relatively quickly in contrast to the long-term fluvial response to the glacial–interglacial transition, because the human impact mainly involved change in delivery of the suspended load. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article investigates the character of collective perceptions of security in the Renaissance. In addition to the findings of conceptual history, an picture analysis will be used. Besides the concern for salvation and protection from violence and injustice, public welfare was the task of a good government in material terms as well (provision of food, infrastructure). It also comprised the prevention of natural hazards. Legitimation strategies of those who governed and the needs of those who were governed had - according to the region - an impact on the development of specific ways of dealing with natural hazards. "Human security" thus played a part in state-building processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the southern Upper Rhine Valley, groundwater has undergone intensive saline pollution caused by the infiltration of mining brines, a consequence of potash extraction carried out during the 20th century. Major and trace elements along with Sr and U isotopic ratios show that groundwater geochemical characteristics along the saline plumes cannot reflect conservative mixing between saline waters resulting from the dissolution of waste heaps and one or more unpolluted end-members. The results imply the occurrence of interactions between host rocks and polluted waters, and they suggest that cationic exchange mechanisms are the primary controlling process. A coupled hydrogeochemical model has been developed with the numerical code KIRMAT, which demonstrates that cationic exchange between alkalis from polluted waters and alkaline-earth elements from montmorillonite present in the host rock of the aquifer is the primary process controlling the geochemical evolution of the groundwater. The model requires only a small amount of montmorillonite (between 0.75% and 2.25%), which is in agreement with the observed mineralogical composition of the aquifer. The model also proves that a small contribution of calcite precipitation/dissolution takes places whereas other secondary mineral precipitation or host rock mineral dissolution do not play a significant role in the geochemical signature of the studied groundwater samples. Application of the model demonstrates that it is necessary to consider the pollution history to explain the important Cl, Na and Ca concentration modifications in groundwater samples taken over 2km downstream of waste heaps. Additionally, the model shows that the rapidity of the cationic exchange reactions insures a reversibility of the cation fixation on clays in the aquifer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]