Publications
Posted by Prof. Dr. Hans von Storch, Director emeritus of Institute of Coastal Systems
The series „Climate and Coast“ at the Oxford University Press Research Encylopedia of Climate Science
Now, after the final article in the ORE-Encyclopedia-series “Climate and Coast” has been published, namely
von Storch, H., Feser, F., Blender, R., Camargo, S., Cavicchia, L., Di Luca, A., Fu, G., Gozzo, L., Koks, E., Messmer, M., Mori, N., Priestley, M., Roy, T., Schultz, D., Watanabe, S., & Weisse, R. (2024): Storms as Forming and Threatening Factors for Coasts. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.853
it may be worth to introduce the series and the purpose behind it. This concept was conceived by Hans von Storch, who was since 2013 until recently Editor-in Chief of the Encyclopdia. Whether it will be used in future by the publisher will be seen.
Unlike aiming to present cutting-edge insights, these articles derive their worth not from presenting new groundbreaking ideas but from their ability to comprehensively survey a field that has attained a certain level of maturity. They cater to readers who aren’t experts but rather well-educated individuals seeking a foundational understanding. As such, they should function as a cohesive family of articles, interrelated and exploring various specific aspects. Their aim is to equip novices with an understanding of these topics, the accumulated knowledge, the existing debates, essentially providing the groundwork necessary to grasp ongoing research.
In contrast, regular journal articles are crafted to make significant contributions to existing knowledge, with innovation being a key metric of their value. While many are standalone pieces, they often serve as contributions to broader discussions among diverse author groups or as reports that advance knowledge. Tailored for experts, they typically include a brief introduction to provide context.
When presenting an issue in a research encyclopedia to a variety of beginners, it’s crucial to acknowledge varying levels of prior knowledge. This diversity is reflected in a hierarchical structure of the cluster of articles, starting with a foundational „level-0“ article that outlines the entire field and touches upon various points of interest. These points are then explored further in „level-1“ or „deepening“ articles. While these may suffice for most readers, some may desire deeper insights into details only briefly touched upon due to space constraints, and these can be found in another layer of articles labeled „level-2“. This tiered approach allows interested readers to engage with the available knowledge at different levels of specificity and depth.
The current collection of articles focusing on „climate and coast“ is structured according to this approach; it serves as an experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of the concept outlined above.
The sole “level-0” article is the “Climate and Coast: Overview and Introduction“ coauthored by Hans von Storch, Katja Fennel, Jürgen Jensen, Kristy A. Lewis, Beate Ratter, Torsten Schlurmann, Thomas Wahl, & Wenyan Zhang, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.816
The various issues listed in the level-0 article are deepened in a total of 7 “level-1” articles, of which are 2 presently still in press:
- Climate, Coast, and Morphology by Wenyan Zhang, & Peter Arlinghaus, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.814
- Carbon, Coast, and the Climate by Katja Fennel, Tyler Cyronak, Michael DeGrandpre, David T. Ho, Goulven G. Laruelle, Damien Maher; & Julia Moriarty, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.824
- Regional Sea Level by Thomas Wahland, & Sönke Dangendorf, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.821
- Perceptions of and Resilience to Coastal Climate Risks by Beate Ratter, & Catherine Leyshon, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.819
- Perspectives From Coastal Ecosystems Through the Lens of Climate Change by Kristy A. Lewis, Giovanna McClenachan, Kristin DeMarco, Jennifer Salerno, & Katherine Thompson, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.823
- Storms – a key coastal hazard by Hans von Storch, R. Blender, S.J. Camargo, Leone Cavicchia, Frauke Feser, Gang Fu, Luiz Felippe Gozzo, Elco Koks, Martina Messmer, Nobuhito Mori, Matthew Priestley, David M. Schultz, and Ralf Weisse, in press
- Regional Technological Adaptation of Coast and Climate with a Focus on the North Sea by Jūrgen Jensen, Felix Soltau and Ivan Haigh, in press
So far, only two level-2 article are available adding additional detail and depth to the “Storms – a key coastal hazard”-article, namely
- History of Typhoon Science by Aitor Anduaga, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.721
- Constructing Records of Storminess by Frauke Feser, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.5
As you can see, there is a considerable number of Hereon-authors in this list.
