scholarly journals Regionally-Coherent Embayment Rotation: Behavioural Response to Bi-Directional Waves and Atmospheric Forcing

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Wiggins ◽  
Tim Scott ◽  
Gerd Masselink ◽  
Paul Russell ◽  
Nieves G. Valiente
Keyword(s):  
Wave Power ◽  
Rotational Behaviour ◽  
Easterly Waves ◽  
Wave Forcing ◽  
The North ◽  
Directional Waves ◽  
Pressure Anomaly ◽  
Forcing Mechanisms ◽  
Beach Rotation ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

Bi-directional wave climates often drive beach rotation, increasing erosional risk at semi-sheltered locations. Identification of rotation and forcing mechanisms is vital to future coastal defence. In this study, regional investigation of modelled wave data revealed strong bi-directionality between dominant south-westerly and sub-dominant easterly waves for 14 offshore locations along the length of the south coast of England, U.K. South-westerly wave power was well correlated to positive phases of the West Europe Pressure Anomaly (WEPA), whilst easterly wave power was well correlated with negative phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Additionally, decadal records of beach morphological change and associated wave forcing, were investigated for 22 coastal sites across the same region. Significant rotational behaviour was identified at 11 sites, leading to the creation of a rotation index. Beach rotation was attributed to shoreline angle, with the strongest rotation occurring at south-east-facing beaches, with high obliquity to dominant south-westerly waves. The beach rotation index was well correlated with the normalized balance of wave power from opposing south-westerly and easterly directions. Direct correlations between beach rotation and WEPA at two sites showed that future forecasts of atmospheric indices may allow prediction of rotational beach state, at seasonal scales.

scholarly journals Downward Wave Reflection as a Mechanism for the Stratosphere–Troposphere Response to the 11-Yr Solar Cycle

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 2395-2414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Lu ◽  
Adam A. Scaife ◽  
Gareth J. Marshall ◽  
John Turner ◽  
Lesley J. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Planetary Waves ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Detectable Effect ◽  
Winter Period ◽  
Wave Forcing ◽  
The North ◽  
P Flux ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
Reflecting Surface

The effects of solar activity on the stratospheric waveguides and downward reflection of planetary waves during NH early to midwinter are examined. Under high solar (HS) conditions, enhanced westerly winds in the subtropical upper stratosphere and the associated changes in the zonal wind curvature led to an altered waveguide geometry across the winter period in the upper stratosphere. In particular, the condition for barotropic instability was more frequently met at 1 hPa near the polar-night jet centered at about 55°N. In early winter, the corresponding change in wave forcing was characterized by a vertical dipole pattern of the Eliassen–Palm (E–P) flux divergent anomalies in the high-latitude upper stratosphere accompanied by poleward E–P flux anomalies. These wave forcing anomalies corresponded with negative vertical shear of zonal mean winds and the formation of a vertical reflecting surface. Enhanced downward E–P flux anomalies appeared below the negative shear zone; they coincided with more frequent occurrence of negative daily heat fluxes and were associated with eastward acceleration and downward group velocity. These downward-reflected wave anomalies had a detectable effect on the vertical structure of planetary waves during November–January. The associated changes in tropospheric geopotential height contributed to a more positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation in January and February. These results suggest that downward reflection may act as a “top down” pathway by which the effects of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the upper stratosphere can be transmitted to the troposphere.

Short-term beach rotation, wave climate and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Thomas ◽  
M.R. Phillips ◽  
A.T. Williams ◽  
R.E. Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Wave Climate ◽  
Wave Direction ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Beach Rotation ◽  
Offshore Wave ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

Beach profile surveys, offshore wave climate and variations in atmospheric conditions have been utilized to assess a short-term beach rotation phenomenon in a headland embayment Tenby, West Wales. Beach rotation, expressed by subaerial volumetric change, was shown by a negative phase relationship between beach extremities (r = —0.67), while cross-correlation at a one-month timelag increased statistical significance (r = 0.84). Due to beach aspect, gale wave heights decreased as wave direction rotated to the south (R2 = 0.4) and west (R 2 = 0.65), while offshore wave direction influenced change at the southern and northern extremities (R2 = 0.52 and 0.34, respectively). Shelter from offshore islands and Giltar Headland contributes via wave diffraction to accretive, erosive and rotational patterns, and these are sensitive to variations around the predominant wave direction (229°). A southerly shift induces north/south sediment movement, as waves diffract around the offshore islands, while a westerly change results in south/north sediment movement (i.e. beach rotation), as diffracted wave domination transfers to the headland. A general gale wave height reduction occurred when the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) was weak or in a transitional phase between positive or negative phases (R2 = 0.69 and R2 = 0.72, respectively). Morphological change was also attuned to atmospheric variation where a reversal in beach rotation was influenced by variations in positive and negative NAO/volume correlations and longshore profile location (R2 = 0.54 and 0.69, respectively). The results of this study have wider implications for coastal management; it is suggested that models developed in similar systems elsewhere will form the basis of human intervention or no active intervention strategies.

scholarly journals Influence of the North Atlantic oscillation on the atmospheric levels of benzo[a]pyrene over Europe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Jiménez-Guerrero ◽  
Nuno Ratola
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Pattern ◽  
North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
The South ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

AbstractThe atmospheric concentration of persistent organic pollutants (and of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, in particular) is closely related to climate change and climatic fluctuations, which are likely to influence contaminant’s transport pathways and transfer processes. Predicting how climate variability alters PAHs concentrations in the atmosphere still poses an exceptional challenge. In this sense, the main objective of this contribution is to assess the relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index and the mean concentration of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP, the most studied PAH congener) in a domain covering Europe, with an emphasis on the effect of regional-scale processes. A numerical simulation for a present climate period of 30 years was performed using a regional chemistry transport model with a 25 km spatial resolution (horizontal), higher than those commonly applied. The results show an important seasonal behaviour, with a remarkable spatial pattern of difference between the north and the south of the domain. In winter, higher BaP ground levels are found during the NAO+ phase for the Mediterranean basin, while the spatial pattern of this feature (higher BaP levels during NAO+ phases) moves northwards in summer. These results show deviations up to and sometimes over 100% in the BaP mean concentrations, but statistically significant signals (p<0.1) of lower changes (20–40% variations in the signal) are found for the north of the domain in winter and for the south in summer.

scholarly journals Detecting Climate Driven Changes in Chlorophyll-a in Deep Subalpine Lakes Using Long Term Satellite Data

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 866
Author(s):  
Gary Free ◽  
Mariano Bresciani ◽  
Monica Pinardi ◽  
Nicola Ghirardi ◽  
Giulia Luciani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Nutrient Dynamics ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
The North ◽  
Subalpine Lakes ◽  
Winter Temperatures ◽  
Decadal Climate ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
Traditional Pattern

Climate change has increased the temperature and altered the mixing regime of high-value lakes in the subalpine region of Northern Italy. Remote sensing of chlorophyll-a can help provide a time series to allow an assessment of the ecological implications of this. Non-parametric multiplicative regression (NPMR) was used to visualize and understand the changes that have occurred between 2003–2018 in Lakes Garda, Como, Iseo, and Maggiore. In all four deep subalpine lakes, there has been a disruption from a traditional pattern of a significant spring chlorophyll-a peak followed by a clear water phase and summer/autumn peaks. This was replaced after 2010–2012, with lower spring peaks and a tendency for annual maxima to occur in summer. There was a tendency for this switch to be interspersed by a two-year period of low chlorophyll-a. Variables that were significant in NPMR included time, air temperature, total phosphorus, winter temperature, and winter values for the North Atlantic Oscillation. The change from spring to summer chlorophyll-a maxima, relatively sudden in an ecological context, could be interpreted as a regime shift. The cause was probably cascading effects from increased winter temperatures, reduced winter mixing, and altered nutrient dynamics. Future trends will depend on climate change and inter-decadal climate drivers.

scholarly journals Time-Delay Identification Using Multiscale Ordinal Quantifiers

Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 969
Author(s):  
Miguel C. Soriano ◽  
Luciano Zunino
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Time Delay ◽  
Real World ◽  
Propagation Speed ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
External Observer ◽  
The North ◽  
Weather Phenomenon ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
Finite Propagation Speed

Time-delayed interactions naturally appear in a multitude of real-world systems due to the finite propagation speed of physical quantities. Often, the time scales of the interactions are unknown to an external observer and need to be inferred from time series of observed data. We explore, in this work, the properties of several ordinal-based quantifiers for the identification of time-delays from time series. To that end, we generate artificial time series of stochastic and deterministic time-delay models. We find that the presence of a nonlinearity in the generating model has consequences for the distribution of ordinal patterns and, consequently, on the delay-identification qualities of the quantifiers. Here, we put forward a novel ordinal-based quantifier that is particularly sensitive to nonlinearities in the generating model and compare it with previously-defined quantifiers. We conclude from our analysis on artificially generated data that the proper identification of the presence of a time-delay and its precise value from time series benefits from the complementary use of ordinal-based quantifiers and the standard autocorrelation function. We further validate these tools with a practical example on real-world data originating from the North Atlantic Oscillation weather phenomenon.

scholarly journals Middle Holocene Climate Oscillations Recorded in the Western Dvina Lakeland

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1611
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Mroczkowska ◽  
Dominik Pawłowski ◽  
Emilie Gauthier ◽  
Andrey Mazurkevich ◽  
Tomi P. Luoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
River System ◽  
Summer Temperature ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Holocene Climate ◽  
Climate History ◽  
Remarkable Feature ◽  
Climate Oscillations ◽  
Climate Fluctuations ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

Although extensive archeological research works have been conducted in the Serteya region in recent years, the Holocene climate history in the Western Dvina Lakeland in Western Russia is still poorly understood. The Neolithic human occupation of the Serteyka lake–river system responded to climate oscillations, resulting in the development of a pile-dwelling settlement between 5.9 and 4.2 ka cal BP. In this paper, we present the quantitative paleoclimatic reconstructions of the Northgrippian stage (8.2–4.2 ka cal BP) from the Great Serteya Palaeolake Basin. The reconstructions were created based on a multiproxy (Chironomidae, pollen and Cladocera) approach. The mean July air temperature remained at 17–20 °C, which is similar to the present temperature in the Smolensk Upland. The summer temperature revealed only weak oscillations during 5.9 and 4.2 ka cal BP. A more remarkable feature during those events was an increase in continentality, manifested by a lower winter temperature and lower annual precipitation. During the third, intermediate oscillation in 5.0–4.7 ka cal BP, a rise in summer temperature and stronger shifts in continental air masses were recorded. It is still unclear if the above-described climate fluctuations are linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation and can be interpreted as an indication of Bond events because only a few high-resolution paleoclimatic reconstructions from the region have been presented and these reconstructions do not demonstrate explicit oscillations in the period of 5.9 and 4.2 ka cal BP.

scholarly journals The Impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation on Climate through Its Influence on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 941-962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Delworth ◽  
Fanrong Zeng
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
The North ◽  
Hemispheric Temperature ◽  
Meridional Overturning ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Model Ocean

Abstract The impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and large-scale climate is assessed using simulations with three different climate models. Perturbation experiments are conducted in which a pattern of anomalous heat flux corresponding to the NAO is added to the model ocean. Differences between the perturbation experiments and a control illustrate how the model ocean and climate system respond to the NAO. A positive phase of the NAO strengthens the AMOC by extracting heat from the subpolar gyre, thereby increasing deep-water formation, horizontal density gradients, and the AMOC. The flux forcings have the spatial structure of the observed NAO, but the amplitude of the forcing varies in time with distinct periods varying from 2 to 100 yr. The response of the AMOC to NAO variations is small at short time scales but increases up to the dominant time scale of internal AMOC variability (20–30 yr for the models used). The amplitude of the AMOC response, as well as associated oceanic heat transport, is approximately constant as the time scale of the forcing is increased further. In contrast, the response of other properties, such as hemispheric temperature or Arctic sea ice, continues to increase as the time scale of the forcing becomes progressively longer. The larger response is associated with the time integral of the anomalous oceanic heat transport at longer time scales, combined with an increased impact of radiative feedback processes. It is shown that NAO fluctuations, similar in amplitude to those observed over the last century, can modulate hemispheric temperature by several tenths of a degree.

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