Vaquero et al. (2026) Fragmentary Weather Records from Cádiz (Spain) in the 18th Century: Insights from Archival and Library Sources

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Climate
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-17
• Authors: J. M. Vaquero
• DOI: 10.3390/cli14010022

Research Groups

Not specified in the provided text. The study focuses on data from the archives of the Royal Observatory of the Spanish Navy in Cádiz.

Short Summary

This study recovered and digitized fragmentary 18th-century meteorological data (temperature, pressure, wind) from Cádiz, Spain. The historical observations were found to be reliable, showing reasonable agreement with present-day seasonal climate patterns, thus providing valuable reference points for long-term climate reconstructions.

Objective

• To recover and digitize fragmentary meteorological datasets from 1776, 1788, and 1793 from the archives of the Royal Observatory of the Spanish Navy in Cádiz, and to assess their reliability by comparing them with long-term climate statistics from the period 1955–2021.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Cádiz, southern Spain.
• Temporal Scale: Selected days in 1776, 1788, and 1793 for historical data; 1955–2021 for modern climate statistics.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not applicable (data recovery, transcription, quality control, and statistical comparison study).
• Data sources: Fragmentary meteorological datasets (temperature, pressure, occasional wind observations) from the archives of the Royal Observatory of the Spanish Navy in Cádiz (18th century); long-term climate statistics for Cádiz (1955–2021).

Main Results

• Three fragmentary meteorological datasets from 1776, 1788, and 1793, including temperature, pressure, and occasional wind observations, were successfully recovered and digitized.
• Despite the absence of metadata regarding instruments and installation, the 18th-century temperature and pressure observations show reasonable agreement with present-day seasonal patterns (1955–2021), indicating their reliability.
• Limited wind data were documented using an eight-point wind rose and terminology consistent with historical standards.
• The recovered data are highlighted as scientifically and historically valuable, providing reference points for validating historical reanalysis and improving long-term climate reconstructions for southern Spain.

Contributions

• Recovery and digitization of previously inaccessible 18th-century meteorological data for Cádiz, Spain.
• Validation of the reliability of these historical observations through qualitative comparison with modern climate statistics.
• Highlighting the potential for further data recovery from naval archives to enhance long-term climate reconstructions and validate historical reanalysis efforts.

Funding

Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Vaquero2026Fragmentary,
  author = {Vaquero, J. M. and Gallego, María Cruz},
  title = {Fragmentary Weather Records from Cádiz (Spain) in the 18th Century: Insights from Archival and Library Sources},
  journal = {Climate},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/cli14010022},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/cli14010022}
}