Changing river dynamics in the Eger/Röslau catchment since the late Middle Ages (CHERMA): Investigations using human induced substances as tracers and markers

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Oliver Sass
• Subject Area: Physical Geography
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 549884129

Our aim is to disentangle the fluvial history of the floodplains in the upper Eger catchment in the Fichtelgebirge uplands (Upper Franconia, Germany), taking into account the human impact. The region is shaped by a rich mining history with dominant tin mining and iron industry at least since the middle Ages. As a result, the floodplains have been extensively modified by human interventions: morphological by means of water mills, forestry and fishery, as well as chemically through mining- and smelting residues and industrial wastes. The CHERMA project will serve as a case study to test a unique combination of methods in this special area at the hydrological roof of Central Europe, where important tributaries of all three major river systems of Central Europe rise. The investigation will combine the use of human induced tracers with sedimentological investigations to further our understanding of fluvial geomorphology in the area. Our ambition is to identify and follow the anthropogenic tracers (Fe, Sn, Hg, Pb, PAH, microplastics) throughout the floodplains and gain understanding of the change of the river dynamics in the Eger/Röslau catchment since the late Middle Ages through a combination of sedimentological analysis and dating. In this proposal we apply for funding for a pre-study with a proof of concept. The aims of this pre-project are: - To investigate the sediment archive of the Röslau/Kösseine rivers by means of three drill profiles at key sites with high-resolution sampling; - To assess the potential of the described tracers/markers for unravelling the fluvial history of the area; - To determine the age and mixing of river and floodplain sediments as well as their overall dynamics through time by using the described tracers; - To combine the results with direct dating methods (14C, OSL, Fe-crystallinity) for a first age model.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigators: Dr. Joachim Götz; Professorin Dr. Eva Lehndorff