scholarly journals Timescales of emergence of chronic nuisance flooding in the major economic centre of Guadeloupe

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonéri Le Cozannet ◽  
Déborah Idier ◽  
Marcello de Michele ◽  
Yoann Legendre ◽  
Manuel Moisan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar ◽  
Coastal Zones ◽  
Tropical Islands ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Vertical Ground ◽  
Calm Weather ◽  
Flooding Events ◽  
Commercial Center ◽  
Local Variability

Abstract. Chronic flooding, occurring at high tides under calm weather conditions, is occasionally taking place today in the low-lying areas of the Petit-Cul-de-sac marin (Guadeloupe, West Indies, French Antilles). This area includes critical industrial, harbor and major economic infrastructures for the island. As sea level rises, concerns are growing regarding the possibility for repeated chronic flooding events, which would alter the operations at these critical coastal infrastructures without appropriate adaptation. Here, we use information on past and future sea levels, vertical ground motion and tides to assess times of emergence of chronic flooding in the Petit-Cul-de-sac marin. For RCP8.5 (i.e., continued growth of greenhouse gas emissions), the number of flood days is projected to increase rapidly after the emergence of the process, so that coastal sites will be flooded every two days within 2 decades after the onset of chronic flooding. For coastal locations with the smallest altitude, we show that the reconstructed number of floods are consistent with observations known from a previous survey. One key uncertainty of our result is the actual rate of subsidence of the island. However, our satellite interferometric synthetic-aperture radar results show that the local variability of this subsidence is smaller than the uncertainties of the technique, which we estimate between 1 (standard deviation of measurements) and 5 mm/yr (upper theoretical bound). Our results imply that adaptation pathways considering a rapid increase of recurrent chronic flooding are required in the critical port, industrial and commercial center of Guadeloupe, as well as presumably in many low-elevation coastal zones of other tropical islands.

scholarly journals Timescales of emergence of chronic flooding in the major economic center of Guadeloupe

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 703-722
Author(s):  
Gonéri Le Cozannet ◽  
Déborah Idier ◽  
Marcello de Michele ◽  
Yoann Legendre ◽  
Manuel Moisan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Tide Gauge ◽  
Ground Motions ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Coastal Zones ◽  
Tide Gauge Records ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Vertical Ground Motions ◽  
Vertical Ground ◽  
Flooding Events

Abstract. Sea-level rise due to anthropogenic climate change is projected not only to exacerbate extreme events such as cyclones and storms but also to cause more frequent chronic flooding occurring at high tides under calm weather conditions. Chronic flooding occasionally takes place today in the low-lying areas of the Petit Cul-de-sac marin (Guadeloupe, West Indies, French Antilles). This area includes critical industrial and harbor and major economic infrastructures for the islands. As sea level rises, concerns are growing regarding the possibility of repeated chronic flooding events, which would alter the operations at these critical coastal infrastructures without appropriate adaptation. Here, we use information on past and future sea levels, vertical ground motion, and tides to assess times of emergence of chronic flooding in the Petit Cul-de-sac marin. For RCP8.5 (Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5; i.e., continued growth of greenhouse gas emissions), the number of flood days is projected to increase rapidly after the emergence of the process so that coastal sites will be flooded 180 d a year within 2 decades of the onset of chronic flooding. For coastal locations with the lowest altitude, we show that the reconstructed number of floods is consistent with observations known from a previous survey. Vertical ground motions are a key source of uncertainty in our projections. Yet, our satellite interferometric synthetic-aperture radar results show that the local variability in this subsidence is smaller than the uncertainties in the technique, which we estimate to be between 1 (standard deviation of measurements) and 5 mm/yr (upper theoretical bound). Despite these uncertainties, our results imply that adaptation pathways considering a rapid increase in recurrent chronic flooding are required for the critical port and industrial and commercial center of Guadeloupe. Similar processes are expected to take place in many low-elevation coastal zones worldwide, including on other tropical islands. The method used in this study can be applied to other locations, provided tide gauge records and local knowledge of vertical ground motions are available. We argue that identifying times of emergence of chronic flooding events is urgently needed in most low-lying coastal areas, because adaptation requires decades to be implemented, whereas chronic flooding hazards can worsen drastically within years of the first event being observed.

scholarly journals Biogeochemical Budgets of Nutrients and Metabolism in the Curonian Lagoon (South East Baltic Sea): Spatial and Temporal Variations

Water ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 164
Author(s):  
Irma Vybernaite-Lubiene ◽  
Mindaugas Zilius ◽  
Marco Bartoli ◽  
Jolita Petkuviene ◽  
Petras Zemlys ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
N:P Ratio ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Curonian Lagoon ◽  
Coastal Zones ◽  
High Production ◽  
Calm Weather ◽  
System Metabolism ◽  
Loaded Area

Estuaries are biogeochemical reactors able to modulate the transfer of energy and matter from the watershed to the coastal zones and to retain or remove large amounts of terrestrially generated nutrients. However, they may switch from nutrient sink to source depending upon interannual variability of the nutrient supply and internal processes driving whole system metabolism (e.g., net autotrophic or heterotrophic). We tested this hypothesis in the Curonian Lagoon, a hypertrophic estuary located in the south east Baltic Sea, following the budget approach developed in the Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) project. Annual budgets for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and silica (Si) were calculated for the 2013–2015 period. The lagoon was divided in a flushed, nutrient loaded area, and in a confined, less loaded area. The lagoon was always a sink for dissolved inorganic Si and P whereas it was a N sink in the confined area, dominated by denitrification, and a N source in the flushed area, due to dinitrogen (N2) fixation. The net ecosystem metabolism (NEM) indicated that the Curonian Lagoon was mainly autotrophic because of high primary production rates. In this turbid system, low N:P ratio, high summer temperatures, and calm weather conditions support high production of N2-fixing cyanobacteria, suppressing the estuarine N-sink role.

scholarly journals Ancient Coastal Changes Due to Ground Movements and Human Interventions in the Roman Portus Julius (Pozzuoli Gulf, Italy): Results from Photogrammetric and Direct Surveys

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pietro P. C. Aucelli ◽  
Gaia Mattei ◽  
Claudia Caporizzo ◽  
Aldo Cinque ◽  
Salvatore Troisi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
3D Model ◽  
First Century ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Ground Movements ◽  
Vertical Ground ◽  
Coastal Changes ◽  
Fish Tank ◽  
The Military

This research aims to evaluate the amount of vertical ground movements during Roman times inside the archaeological area of Portus Julius (Gulf of Pozzuoli) using high-precision surveys on the most reliable archaeological sea-level markers. Measuring the submersion of ancient floors, structural elements belonging to a former fish tank, and several roman pilae, two different relative sea levels (RSLs), related to the beginning and the end of the first century BCE, respectively, −4.7/−5.20 m and −3.10 m MSL (mean sea level), were detected. A photogrammetric survey was carried out in order to produce a 3D model of the fish tank. The results in terms of the RSL variations have enabled us to reconstruct a morpho-evolution of the ancient coastal sector during the last 2.1 kyBP. At the beginning of the first century BCE, the area was characterized by a sheltered gulf with numerous maritime villae located along the coast. In 37 BCE, the construction of the military harbour of Portus Julius strongly modified the paleogeography of the sector, which was also affected by a prevailing subsidence at least until the end of the first century BCE (year 12 BCE), when the port was converted into a commercial hub.

scholarly journals MASSIVE USE OF BERM RELOCATION AND SURFWASHING DURING THE 2006 JYEH OIL SPILL (LEBANON): THE ACCURATE RESPONSE FOR BEACHES CLEANUP

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 331-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Fichaut ◽  
Bahr Loubnan
Keyword(s):  
Surf Zone ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Shallow Waters ◽  
Power Station ◽  
Heavy Fuel Oil ◽  
Sediment Removal ◽  
Calm Weather ◽  
Oily Waste

ABSTRACT Following the bombardment of the Jyeh power station in Lebanon on July 16 2006, about 10 to 15000 tons of heavy fuel oil drifted 150 km northward all the way to the Syrian border. Because of the continuing war, the cleanup operations could not start until early September. The response consisted of conceptually dividing the coast line into several sectors managed by various operators; from Jyeh to Beyrouth, a 34.5 km stretch of shoreline, the treatment of beaches was assigned to the lebanese N.G.O “Bahr Loubnan’. In this area, 5.3 km of sandy and gravel beaches appeared to be heavily oiled on a width that seldomly exceeded 10 m. Oil was found buried down to a depth of 1.8 m at several locations. Additionnally oil was also found sunken in shallow waters in the breaker zones of numerous beaches. In order to minimize sediment removal and production of oily waste to be treated, it was decided to operate massive treatmenN in situ. After manual recovery of stranded oil, about 12,000 m of sediment including 1,000 m of cobbles have been relocated in the surf zone. Despite the lack of tides and of the generally calm weather conditions, surfwashing was very efficient due mainly to the fact that, in non tidal conditions, sediments are continuously reworked by wave açtion which operates at the same level on the beaches. Only 540 m of heavily oiled sand, was removed from beaches and submitted for further treatment. The lack of appropriate sorbents material in Lebanon to capture the floating oil released by surfwahing was also a challenge. This was addressed by using locally Nmanufactured sorbents, which proved to be very efficient and 60 m of sorbent soaked with oil were produced during the cleanup.

scholarly journals Financial Stability and Climate Change

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 27-43
Author(s):  
Nikola Fabris
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Financial Risk ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Financial Risks ◽  
Balance Sheets ◽  
Sea Levels

AbstractFighting climate change is one of the biggest challenges in the 21st century. Climate change that leads to global warming has been increasingly visible in our environment. Extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes, floods, and droughts have been escalating and their acceleration can be expected in the future. They cause changes in sea levels, epidemics, large fires, etc. Increasingly, we are witnessing minor or major damage caused by these extreme weather conditions. Numerous studies have proven that climate change has negative impact on economic growth and prosperity. However, this paper starts from the premise that in addition to unequivocally identified threats, climate change also creates opportunities.The paper reaches a conclusion that climate change can adversely affect balance sheets of financial institutions. Therefore, climate change is a source of financial risk and thus a part of the mandate of central banks and supervisors in preserving financial stability. This type of risk has not been given enough attention by either supervisors or financial institutions over the past period. This paper develops a model for managing financial risks as a result of climate change.

scholarly journals Damages from extreme flooding events to cultural heritage and landscapes: water component estimation for Centa River (Albenga, Italy)

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 389-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Branka Cuca ◽  
Luigi Barazzetti
Keyword(s):  
River Estuary ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Remote Access ◽  
Impact Monitoring ◽  
Medium Resolution ◽  
Ground Survey ◽  
Extreme Flooding ◽  
Flooded Area ◽  
Flooding Events

Abstract. The monitoring of hazardous events through change detection has an important role in the emergency management. Such actions can be performed shortly after the hazardous event for first rapid mapping but also over longer periods of time for recovery purposes and risk mapping. The use of medium resolution free-of-charge multi-spectral satellite imagery for purposes of flood extension and impact monitoring can be extremely valuable due to their ability to offer an “easy” and remote access to information, even in cases of extreme weather conditions, but also due to their high compatibility with GIS environments. The case study regards Centa River estuary that hosts an important archaeological site of Albenga within the boundaries of its riverbed. The authors propose a workflow that uses Copernicus Sentinel-2 data to provide the comparison changes firstly in the single relevant bands and successively in the indexes NDVI e NDWI, suitable for the estimation of water component. The results of this study were useful for observing the extension of the flooded area, to evaluate its impact on the archaeological remains and to further propose more targeted UAV-born and ground survey.

Recent Progress in Applying Advanced Computation Methods to Radar-Based Wave Measurements

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Loell Vinther ◽  
Torbjørn Eide ◽  
Aurelia Paraschiv ◽  
Dickon Bonvik-Stone
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Wave Measurements ◽  
Current Profiler ◽  
Pulse Doppler ◽  
Calm Weather

Abstract High quality environmental data are critical for any offshore activity relying on data insights to form appropriate planning and risk mitigation routines under challenging weather conditions. Such data are the most significant driver of future footprint reduction in offshore industries, in terms of costs savings, as well as operational safety and efficiency, enabled through ease of data access for all relevant stakeholders. This paper describes recent advancements in methods used by a dual-footprint Pulse-Doppler radar to provide accurate and reliable ocean wave height measurements. Achieved improvements during low wind weather conditions are presented and compared to data collected from other sources such as buoys and acoustic doppler wave and current profiler (ADCP) or legacy. The study is based on comparisons of recently developed algorithms applied to different data sets recorded at various sites, mostly covering calm weather conditions.

scholarly journals Seasonality Analysis of Sentinel-1 and ALOS-2/PALSAR-2 Backscattered Power over Salar de Aguas Calientes Sur, Chile

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 941
Author(s):  
Analia Delsouc ◽  
Matías Barber ◽  
Audrey Gallaud ◽  
Francisco Grings ◽  
Paulina Vidal-Páez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Frequency ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Seasonal Patterns ◽  
Austral Winter ◽  
Backscatter Coefficient ◽  
Backscattering Coefficient ◽  
Episodic Events ◽  
Salt Crust ◽  
Flooding Events ◽  
Surface Crust

Seasonal changes control the development of salt crust over the Salar de Aguas Calientes Sur located in Andes Highlands, Chile. Precipitations throughout the Altiplanic winter (December to March) and austral winter (June to September) caused ponds to enlarge and surface salt crusts to dissolve driving roughness and dielectric features of the salar surface change over time. A four-year time series backscattering coefficient analysis, obtained by Sentinel 1 and ALOS-2/PALSAR-2 with 10 m of spatial resolution, demonstrated the capability of microwaves to discriminate seasonal patterns illustrated in this paper. Both sensors showed to be sensitive to changes in the surface crust due to weather conditions. Backscattered power gradually increased during the driest months as the rough salt crusts develop and decreased rapidly due to precipitations or flooding events, which lead to a smoothing appearance to radar. The high temporal frequency of acquisition in Sentinel 1 (5–13 scenes/month) allowed the discrimination among climate and annual seasonality and episodic events in the C-band backscatter coefficient. On the other hand, ALOS-2/PALSAR-2 showed subsurface changes at L-band since the salinity of the brine in the soil reduces the penetration depth of backscattered power for shorter wavelengths. Results might be useful to monitor salars with geographic and weather conditions similar to Salar de Aguas Calientes Sur.

scholarly journals Tidal variability in the Hong Kong region

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam T. Devlin ◽  
Jiayi Pan ◽  
Hui Lin
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Coastal Development ◽  
Strong Correlations ◽  
Full Spectrum ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
Tidal Variability ◽  
The Taiwan Strait ◽  
Flooding Events ◽  
Tidal Response

Abstract. Mean sea-level (MSL) is rising worldwide, and correlated changes in ocean tides are also occurring; their combination may influence future total sea-levels (TSL), possibly increasing coastal inundation and nuisance flooding events in sensitive regions. Analyses of a set of tide gauges in Hong Kong and in the South China Sea (SCS) reveal complex tidal behavior. Most prominent in the results are strong correlations of MSL variability to tidal variability which may further increase local flood levels under future MSL rise. We also highlight inter-tidal correlations of diurnal (D1) tides to semidiurnal (D2) tides, positively reinforced through the northern SCS, and the correlations of overtide (OT) fluctuations to D1 and D2, negatively reinforced (i.e., anti-correlated) across the same region, thought to be related to the baroclinic energetics in the Luzon Strait and the Taiwan Strait. The baroclinic signals may be enhanced at the northern shelf of the SCS and can generate PSI interactions that may amplify minor tides such as M3. Additionally, there are anomalous tidal events observed in some enclosed harbor regions of Hong Kong, corresponding to times of rapidly changing MSL as well as rapid coastal development projects. Results support the hypothesis that the observed variability is due to multiple spatial processes, best described as an amplification of the local (Hong Kong) tidal response to the prevailing regional (SCS) tidal patterns, enhanced by local harbor changes. A close analysis of the full-spectrum tidal response suggests that a change in the resonant and frictional response may have occurred.

Report on Session 2b

1991 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 409-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Petley
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Quaternary Period ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Stability Of Slopes ◽  
Profound Influence ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Glacial Periods

IntroductionNo part of geological time has had a more profound influence on the engineering characteristics of soils and rocks than the Quaternary period. Large areas of the earth’s surface are covered by superficial deposits of Quaternary age, and almost all surface soils and rocks affected by the changeds in climate which occurred in the Quaternary retain characteristics which have implications for engineering works at the present time.During the Quaternary period, at least five major glaciations occurred. During each glaciation, as the climate became colder, ice sheets spread from the poles and mountainous areas, to be followed by a retreat as warmer weather conditions prevailed during the inter-glacial periods. At the present time, in the Northern hemisphere, ice sheets cover approximately 10% of the total land area, but during the time of maximum glaciation in the Pleistocene, over 30% of the total land area was covered by ice.The volume of water taken up by the ice sheets caused significant variation in sea-levels. It has been estimated that the maximum and minimum sea-levels during the Quaternary were +200 m and -150 m 0D respectively. Indeed, following the main postglacial transgression at the end of the Devensian, the sea has been within 3 m of its present level for only the last 4000 or 5000 years. These large variation in sea-level significantly influenced the development and stability of slopes in coastal areas and inland.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document