scholarly journals Sustained wind forcing and water level anomalies in Annapolis, MD

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-36
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Wind Forcing ◽  
Temporal Scales ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Episodic Events

Abstract Like many coastal communities throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, relative sea level rise and accelerating instances of coastal nuisance flooding are having a tangible negative impact on economic activity and infrastructure in Annapolis, MD. The drivers of coastal nuisance flooding, in general, are a superposition of global, regional, and local influences that occur across spatial and temporal scales that determine water levels relative to a coastal datum. Most of the research to date related to coastal flooding has been focused on high impact episodic events, decomposing the global and regional drivers of sea level rise, or assessing seasonal to interannual trends in. In this study, we focus specifically on the role of short-duration (hours) meteorological wind forcing on water level anomalies in Annapolis, MD. Annapolis is an ideal location to study these processes because of the orientation of the coast relative to the prevailing wind directions, and the long record of reliable data observations. Our results suggest that three-, six-, nine-, and twelve-hour sustained wind forcing significantly influences water level anomalies in Annapolis. Sustained wind forcing out of the northeast, east, southeast and south is associated with positive water level anomalies, and sustained wind forcing out of the northwest and north is associated with negative water level anomalies. While these observational results suggest a relationship between sustained wind forcing and water level anomalies, a more robust approach is needed to account for other meteorological variables and drivers that occur across a variety of spatial and temporal scales.

scholarly journals Determining Extreme Still Water Levels for Design and Planning Purposes Incorporating Sea Level Rise: Sydney, Australia

Atmosphere ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Phil J. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Tide Gauge ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Extreme Value Analysis ◽  
Tide Gauge Record ◽  
Value Analysis ◽  
Mean Sea Level ◽  
The Impact

This paper provides an Extreme Value Analysis (EVA) of the hourly water level record at Fort Denison dating back to 1915 to understand the statistical likelihood of the combination of high predicted tides and the more dynamic influences that can drive ocean water levels higher at the coast. The analysis is based on the Peaks-Over-Threshold (POT) method using a fitted Generalised Pareto Distribution (GPD) function to estimate extreme hourly heights above mean sea level. The analysis highlights the impact of the 1974 East Coast Low event and rarity of the associated measured water level above mean sea level at Sydney, with an estimated return period exceeding 1000 years. Extreme hourly predictions are integrated with future projections of sea level rise to provide estimates of relevant still water levels at 2050, 2070 and 2100 for a range of return periods (1 to 1000 years) for use in coastal zone management, design, and sea level rise adaptation planning along the NSW coastline. The analytical procedures described provide a step-by-step guide for practitioners on how to develop similar baseline information from any long tide gauge record and the associated limitations and key sensitivities that must be understood and appreciated in applying EVA.

Linking weather types to tense dewatering situations of the Kiel Canal (NOK)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinna Jensen ◽  
Jens Möller ◽  
Peter Löwe
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Time Windows ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Weather Types ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Kiel Canal

<p>Within the “Network of experts” of the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), the effect of climate change on infrastructure is investigated. One aspect of this project is the future dewatering situation of the Kiel Canal (“Nord-Ostsee-Kanal” (NOK)). The Kiel Canal is one of the world’s busiest man-made waterways navigable by seagoing ships. It connects the North Sea to the Baltic Sea and can save the ships hundreds of kilometers of distance. With a total annual sum of transferred cargo of up to 100 million tons it is an economically very important transportation way. Additionally to the transportation of cargo, the canal is also used to discharge water from smaller rivers as well as drainage of a catchments area of about 1500 km².</p><p>The canal can only operate in a certain water level range. If its water level exceeds the maximum level, the water must be drained into the sea. In 90% of the time, the water is drained into the North Sea during time windows with low tide. If the water level outside of the canal is too high, drainage is not possible and the canal traffic has to be reduced or, in extreme cases, shut down. Due to the expected sea level rise, the potential time windows for dewatering are decreasing in the future. With a decrease in operational hours, there will be substantial economic losses as well as an increase in traffic around Denmark.</p><p>To get a better understanding of what causes tense dewatering situations other than sea level rise a linkage between high water levels on the outside of the canal and weather types is made. Weather types describe large-scale circulation patterns and can therefore give an estimate on tracks of low-pressure systems as well as the prevailing winds, which can explain surges and water levels at the coast. This analysis is conducted for one weather type classification method based solely on sea level pressure fields. Weather types derived from regionally coupled climate models as well as reanalyses are investigated.</p>

Improving Methodology for High-Resolution Reconstruction of Sea-Level Rise and Neotectonics by Paleoecological Analysis and AMS 14C Dating of Basal Peats

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torbjörn E. Törnqvist ◽  
Mark H.M. van Ree ◽  
Ron van 't Veer ◽  
Bas van Geel
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Ground Water ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Ground Water Level ◽  
Specific Level ◽  
High Resolution Reconstruction

Sea-level research in several submerging coastal regions has traditionally been based on 14C dating of basal peats that overlie a compaction-free substratum and can be related to paleo-(ground)water levels. Provided that an unequivocal relationship between (ground)water level and sea level can be assumed, this approach contains two sources of uncertainty: (1) the paleoenvironmental interpretation of samples is usually based on inherently inaccurate macroscopic descriptions in the field, and (2) 14C ages of bulk peat samples may be erroneous as a result of contamination. Due to the uncertainties in both the altitude and the age—the two crucial sources of evidence necessary to arrive at accurate sea-level curves—sea-level index points are therefore represented by considerable, but typically not quantified, error boxes. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) opens new perspectives for this type of sea-level research, as illustrated by a paleoecological and AMS 14C study of basal peats from a small study area in the Rhine–Meuse Delta (The Netherlands), where previous (conventional) work revealed highly problematic results. A detailed macrofossil analysis has two purposes: (1) an inferred paleoecological succession indicates a relatively accurate level of paludification of the site, and hence rise of the (ground)water level; (2) suitable macrofossils from that specific level are then selected for AMS 14C dating. In spite of very small sample sizes, our results are consistent and indicate that this approach can constitute a step forward in high-resolution reconstruction of sea-level rise. The new results further enable a revision of Holocene (ground)water gradient lines for the Rhine–Meuse Delta. A knickpoint in these gradient lines can be related to the effect of faulting. This approach therefore also has considerable potential to unravel and quantify neotectonic activity in submerging coastal settings.

scholarly journals Relative water-level rise in the Flevo lagoon (The Netherlands), 5300-2000 cal. yr BC: an evaluation of new and existing basal peat time-depth data

2003 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Makaske ◽  
D.G. Van Smeerdijk ◽  
H. Peeters ◽  
J.R. Mulder ◽  
T. Spek
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Mean Sea Level ◽  
Water Level Rise ◽  
Depth Data ◽  
Local Water

AbstractThe rise of Holocene (ground)water level as a function of relative sea-level rise has been extensively investigated in the western Netherlands, whereas few studies focused on the Flevo lagoon in the central Netherlands. In this study, all available 14C dates from the base of basal peat overlying the top of compaction-free Pleistocene sand in the former Flevo lagoon were evaluated in order to reconstruct water-level rise for the period 5300-2000 cal. yr BC. The present basal peat 14C data set from Flevoland consists of two subsets: (1) the largely new Almere data (41 dates) representing the southern part of the former Flevo lagoon, with 26 dates especially carried out for this study, and (2) the existing Schokland data (21 dates) representing the eastern part of the lagoon. The Schokland area is located about 50 km from the Almere area. The quality of all basal peat time-depth data was palaeo-ecologically and geologically evaluated, all 14C dates were calibrated to the same standards, and error margins of age and altitude determination were estimated. After plotting the data as error boxes in time-depth graphs, lower limit curves for water-level rise were constructed for both data sets. Comparison with the mean sea-level curve for The Netherlands (Van de Plassche, 1982) suggests that water-level rise in the Almere area between 5300 and 2000 cal. yr BC corresponded closely to the rise in mean sea level. The same holds for the Schokland area for the period 5000-4200 cal. yr BC. For the period 4200-2000 cal. yr BC, however, the Schokland data suggest water-level rise to have been slower than mean sea-level rise, leading to local water levels apparently below mean sea level, which is virtually impossible. Hypothetical explanations for this discrepancy include: errors and uncertainties in mean sea-level and local water-level reconstruction, basin subsidence and temporal differences in intra-coastal tidal damping. The presently available data are inconclusive at this point and Holocene water-level rise in the Flevo lagoon awaits further investigations.

scholarly journals Comment on: Mid-Holocene water-level changes in the lower Rhine-Meuse delta (western Netherlands): implications for the reconstruction of relative mean sea-level rise, palaeoriver-gradients and coastal evolution by Van de Plassche et al. (2010)

2011 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.P. Hijma ◽  
K.M. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Level Curve ◽  
Discussion Section ◽  
Coastal Evolution ◽  
Mean Sea Level ◽  
Water Level Changes ◽  
Lower Rhine

In May 2009, Orson van de Plassche sadly passed away. In a paper of which parts, especially the discussion section, were written after his death, new data and a revision of an existing sea-level curve are presented for the Rotterdam area (Van de Plassche et al., 2010). This comment concerns two topics addressed in the discussion section: 1) connection of their revised Rotterdam relative sea-level curve for the period 7900-5300 cal yr BP (MSL-R2; Jelgersma, 1961; Van de Plassche, 1982; 1995; Berendsen et al., 2007; Van de Plassche et al., 2010) to the sea-level curve for the same area for the period 9000-7500 cal yr BP (MSL-R1; Hijma & Cohen, 2010); 2) The role of the river gradient on the calculation of the magnitude of a sea-level jump that occurred between 8450-8250 cal yr BP (Hijma & Cohen, 2010).

scholarly journals Very severe storm tides in the German Bight (North Sea) and their potential for enhancement

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris Grabemann ◽  
Lidia Gaslikova ◽  
Tabea Brodhagen ◽  
Elisabeth Rudolph
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
North Sea ◽  
German Bight ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Ems Estuary ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The North

Abstract. Storm tides are an essential hazard for the German North Sea coasts. For coastal protection and economic activities, planning information on probability and magnitude of extreme storm tides and their possible future changes is important. This study focuses on the most extreme events and examines whether they could have become more severe under slightly different conditions still remaining within the physical plausibility. In the face of limited amount of observational data on very severe events, an extensive set of model data is used to extract most extreme storm tide events for locations in the German Bight, in particular Borkum and the Ems estuary. The data set includes water levels and respective atmospheric conditions from a hindcast and future climate realizations without sea level rise describing today's and possible future conditions. A number of very severe events with water levels exceeding those measured near Borkum since 1906 has been identified in the data set. A possible further amplification of the highest events is investigated by simulating these events for the North Sea with different phase lags between the astronomical tide given at the open model boundaries and the wind forcing. It was found that superposition of spring tide conditions, different timing of the astronomical high water and atmospheric conditions during the highest storm event would cause an enhancement of the highest water level up to about 50 cm. The amplified water levels of the two highest events from the data set are used to analyse the effects in the Ems estuary using a high-resolution model of the German Bight. Additionally, the influence of an extreme river runoff and of sea level rise is studied. The extreme river runoff of 1200 m3 s−1 increases the highest water levels by several decimeters in the narrow upstream part of the Ems estuary. This effect diminishes downstream. The sea level rise increases the water level in the downstream part of the Ems estuary by the amount applied at the model boundary to the North Sea. In the upstream part, its influence on the water level decreases. This study may serve as a first step towards an impact assessment for severe storm tides and their implications for coastal areas and activities.

scholarly journals The role of tidal modulation in coastal flooding on a micro-tidal coast during Central American Cold Surge events

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilmer Rey ◽  
Paulo Salles ◽  
E. Tonatiuh Mendoza ◽  
Alec Torres-Freyermuth ◽  
Christian M. Appendini
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
High Tide ◽  
Coastal Flooding ◽  
Numerical Results ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Flood Hazards ◽  
Wave Setup ◽  
Set Up

Abstract. Coastal flooding in the Yucatan Peninsula is mainly associated with storm surge events triggered by high-pressure cold fronts systems passing through the Gulf of Mexico. To assess coastal flood hazards, this study uses a thirty-year water level hindcast, and considers the contribution of wave setup and the role of tidal hydrodynamics. To diagnose the mechanisms controlling the water levels, extreme sea level occurrence probability at Progreso Port was performed to identify the two worst storms in terms of maximum residual tide (Event A), and maximum water level (Event B). Numerical results suggest that during Event A the wave setup contribution reaches 0.35 m at the coast and 0.17 m inside the back-barrier lagoon, while these values are smaller for Event B (0.30 m and 0.14 m, respectively). Besides, numerical results of the effect of the astronomical tidal phase on the wave set-up and the residual sea level show that: (i) the wave set-up is tidally modulated and contributes up to 14 % to the extreme water levels at the inlet, (ii) the residual tide is larger (smaller) during near-low (high) or receding (rising) tide, and (iii) maximum flooding occurs when the storm peak coincides with rising or high tide, despite micro-tidal conditions.

scholarly journals Extreme storm tides in the German Bight (North Sea) and their potential for amplification

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 1985-2000
Author(s):  
Iris Grabemann ◽  
Lidia Gaslikova ◽  
Tabea Brodhagen ◽  
Elisabeth Rudolph
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
North Sea ◽  
German Bight ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Ems Estuary ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Extreme Storm

Abstract. Storm tides are a major hazard for the German North Sea coasts. For coastal protection and economic activities, planning information on the probability and magnitude of extreme storm tides and their possible future changes is important. This study focuses on the most extreme events and examines whether they could have become more severe under slightly different conditions while still remaining within physical plausibility. In the face of a limited number of observational data on very severe events, an extensive set of model data is used to extract most extreme storm tide events for locations in the German Bight, in particular Borkum and the Ems estuary. The data set includes water levels and respective atmospheric conditions from a hindcast and future climate realizations without sea level rise describing today's and possible future conditions. A number of very severe events with water levels exceeding those measured near Borkum since 1906 are identified in the data set. A possible further amplification of the highest events is investigated by simulating these events for the North Sea with different phase lags between the astronomical tide given at the open model boundaries and the wind forcing. It is found that superposition of spring tide conditions, different timing of the astronomical high water and atmospheric conditions during the highest storm event would cause an enhancement of the highest water level up to about 50 cm. The water levels of the two highest events from the data set are used to analyse the effects in the Ems estuary using a high-resolution model of the German Bight. Additionally, the influences of an extreme river runoff and of sea level rise are studied. The extreme river runoff of 1200 m3 s−1 increases the highest water levels by several decimetres in the narrow upstream part of the Ems estuary. This effect diminishes downstream. The sea level rise increases the water level in the downstream part of the Ems estuary by the amount applied at the model boundary to the North Sea. In the upstream part, its influence on the water level decreases. This study may serve as a first step towards an impact assessment for severe storm tides and towards implications for coastal zone management in times of climate change.

THE ROLE OF SEA-LEVEL RISE AND STORMS IN FORMATION AND RESILIENCE OF FLORIDA BAY ISLANDS, EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Lynn Wingard ◽  
◽  
Miriam C. Jones ◽  
Sarah E. Bergstresser ◽  
Bethany L. Stackhouse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
National Park ◽  
Florida Bay ◽  
Everglades National Park ◽  
Bay Islands

scholarly journals Spatial distribution of water level impact to back-barrier bays

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo L. Aretxabaleta ◽  
Neil K. Ganju ◽  
Zafer Defne ◽  
Richard P. Signell
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Analytical Models ◽  
Barnegat Bay ◽  
Sea Level Fluctuations ◽  
Flooding Hazard ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Inlet Geometry ◽  
Spatial Estimates

Abstract. Water level in semi-enclosed bays, landward of barrier islands, is mainly driven by offshore sea level fluctuations that are modulated by bay geometry and bathymetry, causing spatial variability in the ensuing response (transfer). Local wind setup can have a secondary role that depends on wind speed, fetch, and relative orientation of the wind direction and the bay. Inlet geometry and bathymetry primarily regulate the magnitude of the transfer between open ocean and bay. Tides and short-period offshore oscillations are more damped in the bays than longer-lasting offshore fluctuations, such as storm surge and sea level rise. We compare observed and modeled water levels at stations in a mid-Atlantic bay (Barnegat Bay) with offshore water level proxies. Observed water levels in Barnegat Bay are compared and combined with model results from the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere–Wave–Sediment Transport (COAWST) modeling system to evaluate the spatial structure of the water level transfer. Analytical models based on the dimensional characteristics of the bay are used to combine the observed data and the numerical model results in a physically consistent approach. Model water level transfers match observed values at locations inside the Bay in the storm frequency band (transfers ranging from 70–100 %) and tidal frequencies (10–55 %). The contribution of frequency-dependent local setup caused by wind acting along the bay is also considered. The approach provides transfer estimates for locations inside the Bay where observations were not available resulting in a complete spatial characterization. The approach allows for the study of the Bay response to alternative forcing scenarios (landscape changes, future storms, and rising sea level). Detailed spatial estimates of water level transfer can inform decisions on inlet management and contribute to the assessment of current and future flooding hazard in back-barrier bays and along mainland shorelines.

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