A robust method to update local river inundation maps using global climate model output and weather typing based statistical downscaling

Versión aceptada de https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-020-02673-7[Abstract:] Global warming is changing the magnitude and frequency of extreme precipitation events. This requires updating local rainfall intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves and flood hazard maps according to the future climate scenarios. This is, however, far from straightforward, given our limited ability to model the effects of climate change on the temporal and spatial variability of rainfall at small scales. In this study, we develop a robust method to update local IDF relations for sub-daily rainfall extremes using Global Climate Model (GCM) data, and we apply it to a coastal town in NW Spain. First, the relationship between large-scale atmospheric circulation, described by means of Lamb Circulation Type classification (LCT), and rainfall events with potential for flood generation is analyzed. A broad ensemble set of GCM runs is used to identify frequency changes in LCTs, and to assess the occurrence of flood generating events in the future. In a parallel way, we use this Weather Type (WT) classification and climate-flood linkages to downscale rainfall from GCMs, and to determine the IDF curves for the future climate scenarios. A hydrological-hydraulic modeling chain is then used to quantify the changes in flood maps induced by the IDF changes. The results point to a future increase in rainfall intensity for all rainfall durations, which consequently results in an increased flood hazard in the urban area. While acknowledging the uncertainty in the GCM projections, the results show the need to update IDF standards and flood hazard maps to reflect potential changes in future extreme rainfall intensities.María Bermúdez acknowledges funding from EU’s Horizon 2020 Programme under Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement 754446 and UGR Research and Knowledge Transfer Fund—Athenea3i. Els Van Uytven was funded by a doctoral grant from the Research Foundation – Flanders (F.W.O., grant number 11ZY418N).Bélgica. Research Foundation – Flanders; 11ZY418

The CORDEX.be initiative as a foundation for climate services in Belgium

The CORDEX.be project created the foundations for Belgian climate services by producing high-resolution Belgian climate information that (a) incorporates the expertise of the different Belgian climate modeling groups and that (b) is consistent with the outcomes of the international CORDEX ("COordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment") project. The key practical tasks for the project were the coordination of activities among different Belgian climate groups, fostering the links to specific international initiatives and the creation of a stakeholder dialogue. Scientifically, the CORDEX.be project contributed to the EURO-CORDEX project, created a small ensemble of High-Resolution (H-Res) future projections over Belgium at convection-permitting resolutions and coupled these to seven Local Impact Models. Several impact studies have been carried out. The project also addressed some aspects of climate change uncertainties. The interactions and feedback from the stakeholder dialogue led to different practical applications at the Belgian national level

Multi-model approach to quantify groundwater-level prediction uncertainty using an ensemble of global climate models and multiple abstraction scenarios

Acknowledgements. We acknowledge the World Climate Research Programme's Working Group on Coupled Modelling, which is responsible for CMIP, and we thank the climate modelling groups for producing and making available their model output. The fifth author obtained a PhD scholarship from the Fund for Scientific Research (FWO)-Flanders. This financial support is gratefully acknowledged. Data availability. The climate model data are publicly available through the website of the Earth System Grid Federation (https://esgf.llnl.gov, last access: 8 May 2019). Other data used in this study are summarized and presented in the figures, tables, references, and the Supplement. Additional data, model code and results are available upon request to the first ([email protected]) and last ([email protected]) authors.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

War, Taxes and Borders: How Beer Created Belgium

The present-day border between Belgium and the Netherlands traces back to the separation of the Low Countries after the Dutch Revolt (1566-1648) against Spanish rule. The capacity to finance war expenditures played a central role in the outcome of this conflict. Excise taxes on beer consumption were the single largest income source in Holland, the leading province of the Dutch Republic. Beer taxes thus played a crucial role in financing the Dutch Revolt which led to the separation of the Low Countries and, eventually, the creation of Belgium

Duerloo (Luc). Privilegies uitbeelden. De Zuidnederlandse wapenkoningen en wapenkunde in de eeuw der Verlichting.

Van Uytven Raymond. Duerloo (Luc). Privilegies uitbeelden. De Zuidnederlandse wapenkoningen en wapenkunde in de eeuw der Verlichting.. In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 72, fasc. 4, 1994. Histoire medievale, moderne et contemporaine - Middeleeuwse, moderne en hedendaagse geschiedenis. pp. 1038-1039

Brayer (Edith) & Leurquin-Labie (Anne-Françoise), eds. La Somme le Roi par Frère Laurent.

Van Uytven Raymond. Brayer (Edith) & Leurquin-Labie (Anne-Françoise), eds. La Somme le Roi par Frère Laurent. . In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 86, fasc. 3-4, 2008. pp. 924-926

Recherches sur l'histoire des finances publiques en Belgique

Van Uytven Raymond. Recherches sur l'histoire des finances publiques en Belgique. In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 55, fasc. 3, 1977. Langues et littératures modernes — Moderne taal- en letterkunde. pp. 969-972