scholarly journals Changing storminess? An analysis of long-term sea level data sets

1999 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 161-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Bijl ◽  
R Flather ◽  
JG de Ronde ◽  
T Schmith
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Level Data

scholarly journals Detection and Characterization of Meteotsunamis in the Gulf of Genoa

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Picco ◽  
Schiano ◽  
Incardone ◽  
Repetti ◽  
Demarte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Atmospheric Pressure ◽  
Tidal Elevation ◽  
Port Management ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Abrupt Jump ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Work Planning

A long-term time series of high-frequency sampled sea-level data collected in the port of Genoa were analyzed to detect the occurrence of meteotsunami events and to characterize them. Time-frequency analysis showed well-developed energy peaks on a 26–30 minute band, which are an almost permanent feature in the analyzed signal. The amplitude of these waves is generally few centimeters but, in some cases, they can reach values comparable or even greater than the local tidal elevation. In the perspective of sea-level rise, their assessment can be relevant for sound coastal work planning and port management. Events having the highest energy were selected for detailed analysis and the main features were identified and characterized by means of wavelet transform. The most important one occurred on 14 October 2016, when the oscillations, generated by an abrupt jump in the atmospheric pressure, achieved a maximum wave height of 50 cm and lasted for about three hours.

Flank instability of coastal and ocean island volcanoes: Why it is not enough to look at the tip of the iceberg

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morelia Urlaub
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Ground Deformation ◽  
Structural Instability ◽  
Mount Etna ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Tectonic Structures ◽  
Ocean Island ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Edifice Collapse

<p>Volcanoes are among the most rapidly growing geological structures on Earth. Consequently, their edifices suffer structural instability that may result in lateral flank collapses, such as the 1980 Mt St Helens event or the 2018 collapse of Anak Krakatau (Indonesia). The seafloor displays the geological remnants of collapses of nearly all ocean island volcanoes, including Hawaii and the Canary Islands. Such collapses and their associated tsunamis are among the largest and most disastrous natural processes on Earth, because of the enormous energy involved. Numerous coastal and ocean island volcanoes worldwide show signs of flank instability, documented by ground deformation measurements. However, it is difficult to evaluate their hazard potential mainly due to a lack of understanding of the causes of collapse. For coastal and ocean island volcanoes, most research and the vast majority of monitoring activities are biased towards the often comparatively small part of the volcano above sea level, while the largest part of the volcanic edifice is typically submerged in water. Using the example of Mount Etna (Italy) as well as several other case studies, I demonstrate that shoreline crossing analyses of volcano-tectonic structures and edifice deformation are necessary for understanding the mechanisms that control the volcano’s structural stability. I further argue that the earliest and most important precursory signals for imminent edifice collapse may occur below sea level. Data acquisition and monitoring in the deep sea is technologically and logistically challenging, but possible. It significantly extends onshore data sets with the potential to revolutionise our current understanding and hazard monitoring.</p>

Sea level in the Global Geodetic Observing System

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Bradshaw ◽  
Andy Matthews ◽  
Kathy Gordon ◽  
Angela Hibbert ◽  
Sveta Jevrejeva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Working Group ◽  
Sea Level Change ◽  
Tide Gauges ◽  
Controlled Vocabularies ◽  
Mean Sea Level ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Metadata Standards

<p>The Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) is the global databank for long-term mean sea level data and is a member of the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) Bureau of Networks and Observations. As well as curating long-term sea level change information from tide gauges, PSMSL is also involved in developing other products and services including the automatic quality control of near real-time sea level data, distributing Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) sea level data and advising on sea level metadata development.<br>At the GGOS Days meeting in November 2019, the GGOS Focus Area 3 on Sea Level Change, Variability and Forecasting was wrapped up, but there is still a requirement in 2020 for GGOS to integrate and support tide gauges and we will discuss how we will interact in the future. A recent paper (Ponte et al., 2019) identified that only “29% of the GLOSS [Global Sea Level Observing System] GNSS-co-located tide gauges have a geodetic tie available at SONEL [Système d'Observation du Niveau des Eaux Littorales]” and we as a community still need to improve the ties between the GNSS sensor and tide gauges. This may progress as new GNSS Interferometric Reflectometry (GNSS-IR) sensors are installed to provide an alternative method to observe sea level. As well as recording the sea level, these sensors will also provide vertical land movement information from one location. PSMSL are currently developing an online portal of uplift/subsidence land data and GNSS-IR sea level observation data. To distribute the data, we are creating/populating controlled vocabularies and generating discovery metadata.<br>We are working towards FAIR data management principles (data are findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) which will improve the flow of quality controlled sea level data and in 2020 we will issue the PSMSL dataset with a Digital Object Identifier. We have been working on improving our discovery and descriptive metadata including creating a use case for the Research Data Alliance Persistent (RDA) Identification of Instruments Working Group to help improve the description of a time series where the sensor and platform may change and move many times. Representatives from PSMSL will sit on the GGOS DOIs for Data Working Group and would like to contribute help with controlled vocabularies, identifying metadata standards etc. We will also contribute to the next GGOS implementation plan.<br>Ponte, Rui M., et al. (2019) "Towards comprehensive observing and modeling systems for monitoring and predicting regional to coastal sea level." <em>Frontiers in Marine Science</em> 6(437).</p>

Catastrophic tidal expansion in the Bay of Fundy, CanadaEarth Sciences Sector (ESS) Contribution 20090423.

2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 1079-1091 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Shaw ◽  
Carl L. Amos ◽  
David A. Greenberg ◽  
Charles T. O’Reilly ◽  
D. Russell Parrott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Temperature ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Bay Of Fundy ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Tidal Amplification

Tidal models for the Bay of Fundy, Canada — site of the highest recorded modern tide — show that tidal amplification began in the early Holocene and by ca. 5000 BP the range was almost 80% of the present range. Empirical data consisting of 146 sea-level index points and other observations appear to contradict model results. Aggregated relative sea-level data for Chignecto Bay and Minas Basin show that rapid tidal expansion began ca. 3400 BP. However, if we separate these two geographically separate data sets, evidence for this rapid late-Holocene tidal expansion is confined to Minas Basin. We explain this singularity by positing a barrier at the mouth of Minas Basin, at the Minas Passage, that delayed tidal expansion. With the rapid breakdown of this barrier and near-instantaneous tidal expansion, water temperature dropped, tidal currents and turbidity increased, and the form of the inner estuary was changed from lagoonal–mesotidal to macrotidal. We argue that the catastrophic breakdown of the barrier is related in the aboriginal legend of Glooscap, showing that aboriginal peoples observed the rapid environmental changes and preserved an oral record for 3400 years.

scholarly journals An extreme sea level indicator for the contiguous United States coastline

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Mamunur Rashid ◽  
Thomas Wahl ◽  
Don P. Chambers ◽  
Francisco M. Calafat ◽  
William V. Sweet
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Level Indicator ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Water Level Data ◽  
The Individual

AbstractWe develop an aggregated extreme sea level (ESL) indicator for the contiguous United States coastline, which is comprised of separate indicators for mean sea level (MSL) and storm surge climatology (SSC). We use water level data from tide gauges to estimate interannual to multi-decadal variability of MSL and SSC and identify coastline stretches where the observed changes are coherent. Both the MSL and SSC indicators show significant fluctuations. Indicators of the individual components are combined with multi-year tidal contributions into aggregated ESL indicators. The relative contribution of the different components varies considerably in time and space. Our results highlight the important role of interannual to multi-decadal variability in different sea level components in exacerbating, or reducing, the impacts of long-term MSL rise over time scales relevant for coastal planning and management. Regularly updating the proposed indicator will allow tracking changes in ESL posing a threat to many coastal communities, including the identification of periods where the likelihood of flooding is particularly large or small.

Flank instability of coastal and ocean island volcanoes: Why it is not enough to look at the tip of the iceberg

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morelia Urlaub
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Ground Deformation ◽  
Structural Instability ◽  
Mount Etna ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Tectonic Structures ◽  
Ocean Island ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Edifice Collapse

<p>Volcanoes are among the most rapidly growing geological structures on Earth. Consequently, their edifices suffer structural instability that may result in lateral flank collapses, such as the 1980 Mt St Helens event or the 2018 collapse of Anak Krakatau (Indonesia). The seafloor displays the geological remnants of collapses of nearly all ocean island volcanoes, including Hawaii and the Canary Islands. Such collapses and their associated tsunamis are among the largest and most disastrous natural processes on Earth, because of the enormous energy involved. Numerous coastal and ocean island volcanoes worldwide show signs of flank instability, documented by ground deformation measurements. However, it is difficult to evaluate their hazard potential mainly due to a lack of understanding of the causes of collapse. For coastal and ocean island volcanoes, most research and the vast majority of monitoring activities are biased towards the often comparatively small part of the volcano above sea level, while the largest part of the volcanic edifice is typically submerged in water. Using the example of Mount Etna (Italy) as well as several other case studies, I demonstrate that shoreline crossing analyses of volcano-tectonic structures and edifice deformation are necessary for understanding the mechanisms that control the volcano’s structural stability. I further argue that the earliest and most important precursory signals for imminent edifice collapse may occur below sea level. Data acquisition and monitoring in the deep sea is technologically and logistically challenging, but possible. It significantly extends onshore data sets with the potential to revolutionise our current understanding and hazard monitoring. </p>

scholarly journals Changes in groundwater drought associated with anthropogenic warming

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 1393-1408 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Bloomfield ◽  
Benjamin P. Marchant ◽  
Andrew A. McKenzie
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Groundwater Drought ◽  
Long Term Changes ◽  
Chalk Aquifer ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract. Here we present the first empirical evidence for changes in groundwater drought associated with anthropogenic warming in the absence of long-term changes in precipitation. Analysing standardised indices of monthly groundwater levels, precipitation and temperature, using two unique groundwater level data sets from the Chalk aquifer, UK, for the period 1891 to 2015, we show that precipitation deficits are the main control on groundwater drought formation and propagation. However, long-term changes in groundwater drought are shown to be associated with anthropogenic warming over the study period. These include increases in the frequency and intensity of individual groundwater drought months, and increases in the frequency, magnitude and intensity of episodes of groundwater drought, as well as an increasing tendency for both longer episodes of groundwater drought and for an increase in droughts of less than 1 year in duration. We also identify a transition from a coincidence of episodes of groundwater drought with precipitation droughts at the end of the 19th century, to an increasing coincidence with both precipitation droughts and with hot periods in the early 21st century. In the absence of long-term changes in precipitation deficits, we infer that the changing nature of groundwater droughts is due to changes in evapotranspiration (ET) associated with anthropogenic warming. We note that although the water tables are relatively deep at the two study sites, a thick capillary fringe of at least 30 m in the Chalk means that ET should not be limited by precipitation at either site. ET may be supported by groundwater through major episodes of groundwater drought and, hence, long-term changes in ET associated with anthropogenic warming may drive long-term changes in groundwater drought phenomena in the Chalk aquifer. Given the extent of shallow groundwater globally, anthropogenic warming may widely effect changes to groundwater drought characteristics in temperate environments.

scholarly journals Assessment and comparison of extreme sea levels and waves during the 2013/14 storm season in two UK coastal regions

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 2209-2225 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Wadey ◽  
J. M. Brown ◽  
I. D. Haigh ◽  
T. Dolphin ◽  
P. Wisse
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Return Periods ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Extreme Sea Levels ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract. The extreme sea levels and waves experienced around the UK's coast during the 2013/14 winter caused extensive coastal flooding and damage. Coastal managers seek to place such extremes in relation to the anticipated standards of flood protection, and the long-term recovery of the natural system. In this context, return periods are often used as a form of guidance. This paper provides these levels for the winter storms, and discusses their application to the given data sets for two UK case study sites: Sefton, northwest England, and Suffolk, east England. Tide gauge records and wave buoy data were used to compare the 2013/14 storms with return periods from a national data set, and also joint probabilities of sea level and wave heights were generated, incorporating the recent events. The 2013/14 high waters and waves were extreme due to the number of events, as well as the extremity of the 5 December 2013 "Xaver" storm, which had a high return period at both case study sites. The national-scale impact of this event was due to its coincidence with spring high tide at multiple locations. Given that this event is such an outlier in the joint probability analyses of these observed data sets, and that the season saw several events in close succession, coastal defences appear to have provided a good level of protection. This type of assessment could in the future be recorded alongside defence performance and upgrade. Ideally other variables (e.g. river levels at estuarine locations) would also be included, and with appropriate offsetting for local trends (e.g. mean sea-level rise) so that the storm-driven component of coastal flood events can be determined. This could allow long-term comparison of storm severity, and an assessment of how sea-level rise influences return levels over time, which is important for consideration of coastal resilience in strategic management plans.

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