Characteristics and coastal effects of a destructive marine storm in the Gulf of Naples (southern Italy)

Abstract. Destructive marine storms bring large waves and unusually high surges of water to coastal areas, resulting in significant damages and economic loss. This study analyses the characteristics of a destructive marine storm on the strongly inhabited coastal area of Gulf of Naples, along the Italian coasts of the Tyrrhenian Sea. This is highly vulnerable to marine storms due to the accelerated relative sea level rise trend and the increased anthropogenic impact on the coastal area. The marine storm, which occurred on 28 December 2020, was analyzed through an unstructured wind–wave coupled model that takes into account the main marine weather components of the coastal setup. The model, validated with in situ data, allowed the establishment of threshold values for the most significant marine and atmospheric parameters (i.e., wind intensity and duration) beyond which an event can produce destructive effects. Finally, a first assessment of the return period of this event was evaluated using local press reports on damage to urban furniture and port infrastructures.

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Characteristics and coastal effects of a destructive marine storm in the Gulf of Naples (Southern Italy)

10.5194/nhess-2021-224 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gaia Mattei ◽

Diana Di Luccio ◽

Guido Benassai ◽

Giorgio Anfuso ◽

Giorgio Budillon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coastal Area ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Economic Loss ◽

Tyrrhenian Sea ◽

Threshold Values ◽

Gulf Of Naples ◽

In Situ Data ◽

Italian Coasts ◽

Wind Intensity

Abstract. Destructive marine storm bring large waves and unusually high surges of water to coastal areas, resulting in significant damages and economic loss. In this study it is examined the characteristics of a destructive marine storm on the strongly inhabited coastal area of Naples Gulf, along the Italian coasts of the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is highly vulnerable to marine storms due to the accelerated relative sea level rise trend and the increased anthropogenic impact on the coastal area. The marine storm, occurred on the 28th December 2020, was analysed through an unstructured wind-wave coupled model that takes into account the main weather-marine components of the coastal setup. The model, validated with in-situ data allowed to establish threshold values for the most significant marine and atmospheric parameters (i.e., wind intensity and duration) beyond which an event can produce destructive effects. Finally, a first assessment of the return period of this event was evaluated using local press reports on damage on urban furniture and port infrastructures.

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Analysis of Groundwater and Total Water Storage Changes in Poland Using GRACE Observations, In-situ Data, and Various Assimilation and Climate Models

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs11242949 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (24) ◽

pp. 2949 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Justyna Śliwińska ◽

Monika Birylo ◽

Zofia Rzepecka ◽

Jolanta Nastula

Keyword(s):

Climate Models ◽

Water Storage ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Cmip5 Models ◽

Climate Data ◽

Total Water ◽

In Situ Data ◽

Grace Data ◽

Land Data Assimilation System

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) observations have provided global observations of total water storage (TWS) changes at monthly intervals for over 15 years, which can be useful for estimating changes in GWS after extracting other water storage components. In this study, we analyzed the TWS and groundwater storage (GWS) variations of the main Polish basins, the Vistula and the Odra, using GRACE observations, in-situ data, GLDAS (Global Land Data Assimilation System) hydrological models, and CMIP5 (the World Climate Research Programme’s Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5) climate data. The research was conducted for the period between September 2006 and October 2015. The TWS data were taken directly from GRACE measurements and also computed from four GLDAS (VIC, CLM, MOSAIC, and NOAH) and six CMIP5 (FGOALS-g2, GFDL-ESM2G, GISS-E2-H, inmcm4, MIROC5, and MPI-ESM-LR) models. The GWS data were obtained by subtracting the model TWS from the GRACE TWS. The resulting GWS values were compared with in-situ well measurements calibrated using porosity coefficients. For each time series, the trends, spectra, amplitudes, and seasonal components were computed and analyzed. The results suggest that in Poland there has been generally no major TWS or GWS depletion. Our results indicate that when comparing TWS values, better compliance with GRACE data was obtained for GLDAS than for CMIP5 models. However, the GWS analysis showed better consistency of climate models with the well results. The results can contribute toward selection of an appropriate model that, in combination with global GRACE observations, would provide information on groundwater changes in regions with limited or inaccurate ground measurements.

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Analysis of groundwater storage changes in main Polish river basins using GRACE observations, in-situ data, and hydrological and climate models

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13554 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jolanta Nastula ◽

Justyna Śliwińska ◽

Zofia Rzepecka ◽

Monika Birylo

Keyword(s):

Climate Models ◽

Water Storage ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Research Programme ◽

Climate Data ◽

Groundwater Storage ◽

In Situ Data ◽

Snow Water ◽

Land Data Assimilation System

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) measurements have provided global observations of total water storage (TWS) changes at monthly intervals for almost 20 years. They are useful for estimating changes in groundwater storage (GWS) after extracting other water storage components like soil water or snow water.In this study, we analyse the GWS variations of two main Polish basins, the Vistula and the Odra, using GRACE observations, in-situ wells measurements, GLDAS (Global Land Data Assimilation System) hydrological models, and CMIP5 (the World Climate Research Programme&#8217;s Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5) climate data. The research is conducted for the period between September 2006 and October 2015.Here, TWS is taken directly from GRACE measurements and also computed from all considered models. GWS is obtained by subtracting the modelled sum of soil moisture and snow water from the GRACE-based TWS. The resultant GWS series are validated by comparing with appropriately calibrated in-situ wells measurements. For each GWS time series, the trends, spectra, amplitudes, and seasonal components were computed and analysed. The results suggest that in Poland there has been generally no major GWS depletion. The results can contribute toward selection of an appropriate model that, in combination with GRACE observations, would provide information on groundwater changes in regions with limited or inaccurate in-situ groundwater storage measurements.

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On biotic and abiotic drivers of the microphytobenthos seasonal cycle in a temperate intertidal mudflat: a modelling study

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-15-7243-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (23) ◽

pp. 7243-7271 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Raphaël Savelli ◽

Christine Dupuy ◽

Laurent Barillé ◽

Astrid Lerouxel ◽

Katell Guizien ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spring Bloom ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Simulated Data ◽

Grazing Pressure ◽

Early Spring ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Intertidal Mudflat ◽

In Situ Data ◽

Primary Production Rate

Abstract. Microphytobenthos (MPB) from intertidal mudflats are key primary producers at the land–ocean interface. MPB can be more productive than phytoplankton and sustain both benthic and pelagic higher trophic levels. The objective of this study is to assess the contribution of light, mud temperature, and gastropod Peringia ulvae grazing pressure in shaping the seasonal MPB dynamics on the Brouage mudflat (NW France). We use a physical–biological coupled model applied to the sediment first centimetre for the year 2008. The simulated data compare to observations, including time-coincident remotely sensed and in situ data. The model suggests an MPB annual cycle characterised by a main spring bloom, a biomass depression in summer, and a moderate fall bloom. In early spring, simulated photosynthetic rates are high due to mud surface temperature (MST) values close to the MPB temperature optimum for photosynthesis and because increasing solar irradiance triggers the onset of the MPB spring bloom. Simulated peaks of high P. ulvae grazing (11 days during which ingestion rates exceed the primary production rate) mostly contribute to the decline of the MPB bloom along with the temperature limitation for MPB growth. In late spring–summer, the MPB biomass depression is due to the combined effect of thermo-inhibition and a moderate but sustained grazing pressure. The model ability to infer biotic and abiotic mechanisms driving the seasonal MPB dynamics could open the door to a new assessment of the export flux of biogenic matter from the coast to the open ocean and, more generally, of the contribution of productive intertidal biofilms to the coastal carbon cycle.

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Reinitializing Sea Surface Temperature in the Ensemble Intermediate Coupled Model for Improved Forecasts

Axioms ◽

10.3390/axioms10030189 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 189

Author(s):

Sittisak Injan ◽

Angkool Wangwongchai ◽

Usa Humphries ◽

Amir Khan ◽

Abdullahi Yusuf

Keyword(s):

Surface Temperature ◽

Sea Surface Temperature ◽

Southern Oscillation ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Sea Surface ◽

In Situ Data ◽

The Pacific ◽

Intermediate Coupled Model ◽

Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies

The Ensemble Intermediate Coupled Model (EICM) is a model used for studying the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, which is anomalies in the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) are observed. This research aims to implement Cressman to improve SST forecasts. The simulation considers two cases in this work: the control case and the Cressman initialized case. These cases are simulations using different inputs where the two inputs differ in terms of their resolution and data source. The Cressman method is used to initialize the model with an analysis product based on satellite data and in situ data such as ships, buoys, and Argo floats, with a resolution of 0.25 × 0.25 degrees. The results of this inclusion are the Cressman Initialized Ensemble Intermediate Coupled Model (CIEICM). Forecasting of the sea surface temperature anomalies was conducted using both the EICM and the CIEICM. The results show that the calculation of SST field from the CIEICM was more accurate than that from the EICM. The forecast using the CIEICM initialization with the higher-resolution satellite-based analysis at a 6-month lead time improved the root mean square deviation to 0.794 from 0.808 and the correlation coefficient to 0.630 from 0.611, compared the control model that was directly initialized with the low-resolution in-situ-based analysis.

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Wintertime dynamics in the coastal northeastern Adriatic Sea: the NAdEx 2015 experiment

Ocean Science ◽

10.5194/os-14-237-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 237-258 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ivica Vilibić ◽

Hrvoje Mihanović ◽

Ivica Janeković ◽

Cléa Denamiel ◽

Pierre-Marie Poulain ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coastal Area ◽

Adriatic Sea ◽

Numerical Models ◽

Coastal Region ◽

Dense Water ◽

In Situ Data ◽

Thermal Changes ◽

Dense Water Formation ◽

Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers

Abstract. The paper investigates the wintertime dynamics of the coastal northeastern Adriatic Sea and is based on numerical modelling and in situ data collected through field campaigns executed during the winter and spring of 2015. The data were collected with a variety of instruments and platforms (acoustic Doppler current profilers, conductivity–temperature–depth probes, glider, profiling float) and are accompanied by the atmosphere–ocean ALADIN/ROMS modelling system. The research focused on the dense-water formation (DWF), thermal changes, circulation, and water exchange between the coastal and open Adriatic. According to both observations and modelling results, dense waters are formed in the northeastern coastal Adriatic during cold bora outbreaks. However, the dense water formed in this coastal region has lower densities than the dense water formed in the open Adriatic due to lower salinities. Since the coastal area is deeper than the open Adriatic, the observations indicate (i) balanced inward–outward exchange at the deep connecting channels of denser waters coming from the open Adriatic DWF site and less-dense waters coming from the coastal region and (ii) outward flow of less-dense waters dominating in the intermediate and surface layers. The latter phenomenon was confirmed by the model, even if it significantly underestimates the currents and transports in the connecting channels. The median residence time of the coastal area is estimated to be approximately 20 days, indicating that the coastal area may be renewed relatively quickly by the open Adriatic waters. The data that were obtained represent a comprehensive marine dataset that can be used to calibrate atmospheric and oceanic numerical models and point to several interesting phenomena to be investigated in the future.

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Towards an assessment of riverine dissolved organic carbon in surface waters of the western Arctic Ocean based on remote sensing and biogeochemical modeling

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-15-1335-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (5) ◽

pp. 1335-1346 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Vincent Le Fouest ◽

Atsushi Matsuoka ◽

Manfredi Manizza ◽

Mona Shernetsky ◽

Bruno Tremblay ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽

Arctic Ocean ◽

Coupled Model ◽

The Arctic ◽

In Situ Data ◽

Basin Scale ◽

Western Arctic ◽

Potential Impact

Abstract. Future climate warming of the Arctic could potentially enhance the load of terrigenous dissolved organic carbon (tDOC) of Arctic rivers due to increased carbon mobilization within watersheds. A greater flux of tDOC might impact the biogeochemical processes of the coastal Arctic Ocean (AO) and ultimately its capacity to absorb atmospheric CO2. In this study, we show that sea-surface tDOC concentrations simulated by a physical–biogeochemical coupled model in the Canadian Beaufort Sea for 2003–2011 compare favorably with estimates retrieved by satellite imagery. Our results suggest that, over spring–summer, tDOC of riverine origin contributes to 35 % of primary production and that an equivalent of ∼ 10 % of tDOC is exported westwards with the potential of fueling the biological production of the eastern Alaskan nearshore waters. The combination of model and satellite data provides promising results to extend this work to the entire AO so as to quantify, in conjunction with in situ data, the expected changes in tDOC fluxes and their potential impact on the AO biogeochemistry at basin scale.

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Air–Sea Interaction in the Ligurian Sea: Assessment of a Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Model Using In Situ Data from LASIE07

Monthly Weather Review ◽

10.1175/2010mwr3431.1 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 139 (6) ◽

pp. 1785-1808 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

R. J. Small ◽

T. Campbell ◽

J. Teixeira ◽

S. Carniel ◽

T. A. Smith ◽

...

Keyword(s):

System Modeling ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Ocean Model ◽

Heat Fluxes ◽

Naval Research ◽

Modeling Framework ◽

Ligurian Sea ◽

In Situ Data ◽

Ocean Atmosphere

Abstract In situ experimental data and numerical model results are presented for the Ligurian Sea in the northwestern Mediterranean. The Ligurian Sea Air–Sea Interaction Experiment (LASIE07) and LIGURE2007 experiments took place in June 2007. The LASIE07 and LIGURE2007 data are used to validate the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS)1 developed at the Naval Research Laboratory. This system includes an atmospheric sigma coordinate, nonhydrostatic model, coupled to a hydrostatic sigma-z-level ocean model (Navy Coastal Ocean Model), using the Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF). A month-long simulation, which includes data assimilation in the atmosphere and full coupling, is compared against an uncoupled run where analysis SST is used for computation of the bulk fluxes. This reveals that COAMPS has reasonable skill in predicting the wind stress and surface heat fluxes at LASIE07 mooring locations in shallow and deep water. At the LASIE07 coastal site (but not at the deep site) the validation shows that the coupled model has a much smaller bias in latent heat flux, because of improvements in the SST field relative to the uncoupled model. This in turn leads to large differences in upper-ocean temperature between the coupled model and an uncoupled ocean model run.

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Bioclastic Deposits in the NW Gulf of Naples (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy): A Focus on New Sedimentological and Stratigraphic Data around the Island of Ischia

10.5772/intechopen.95083 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Gemma Aiello

Keyword(s):

Posidonia Oceanica ◽

Coarse Grained ◽

Tyrrhenian Sea ◽

Gulf Of Naples ◽

Sea Bottom ◽

Southern Tyrrhenian Sea ◽

Marine Areas ◽

Rearrangement Processes ◽

Water Depths

Bioclastic deposits in the Gulf of Naples have been studied and compared based on new sedimentological and stratigraphic data, particularly referring to the rhodolith layers. They represent detrital facies deriving mainly from in situ rearrangement processes of organogenic material on rocky sea bottoms. These deposits are composed of medium-coarse-grained sands and bioclastic gravels in a scarce pelitic matrix and crop out at the sea bottom in a portion of the inner shelf located at water depths between −20 m and −50 m. Below water depths of −30 m the bioclastic deposits are rhodolith, characterized by gravels and lithoclastic sands. Rhodolith deposits are often found near the Posidonia oceanica meadows and/or in protected areas near the rocky outcrops. The Ischia Bank represents an excellent natural laboratory for studying the rhodolith layers. On the Ischia Bank, below the Posidonia oceanica meadow, both bioclastic sands immersed in a muddy matrix and volcaniclastic gravels were sampled. Both the Mollusk shells and the volcaniclastic fragments, where the contribution of the silty and sandy fractions is lower than 20%, were colonized by some species of red algae, while in the marine areas with a low gradient a maërl facies was deposited.

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On biotic and abiotic drivers of the microphytobenthos seasonal cycle in a temperate intertidal mudflat: a modelling study

10.5194/bg-2018-325 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Raphaël Savelli ◽

Christine Dupuy ◽

Laurent Barillé ◽

Astrid Lerouxel ◽

Katell Guizien ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spring Bloom ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Simulated Data ◽

Grazing Pressure ◽

Early Spring ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Intertidal Mudflat ◽

Temperature Optimum ◽

In Situ Data

Abstract. Microphytobenthos (MPB) from intertidal mudflats are key primary producers at the land-ocean interface. MPB can be more productive than phytoplankton and sustain both benthic and pelagic higher trophic levels. The objective of this study is to assess the contribution of light, mud temperature, and gastropod Peringia ulvae grazing pressure in shaping the seasonal MPB dynamics on the Brouage mudflat (NW France). We use a physical-biological coupled model applied to the sediment first centimeter for the year 2008. The simulated data compare to observations including time-coincident remotely sensed and in situ data. The model suggests a MPB annual cycle characterized by a main spring bloom, a biomass depression in summer, and a moderate fall bloom. In early spring, high simulated photosynthetic rates due to mud surface temperature (MST) values close to the MPB temperature optimum for photosynthesis and to increasing solar irradiance trigger the onset of the MPB spring bloom. After the bloom, high MST values lead to synoptic events when MPB thermo-inhibition (39.5 % of summer) and limitation by P. ulvae grazing (8.7 % of summer) superimpose. During these synoptic events of thermo-inhibition and grazing combination, 14 % of the simulated annual MPB primary production is channeled towards the P. ulvae secondary production through ingestion. The model suggests that such a combined effect is highly linked to the MPB biomass depression in summer. The model ability to infer on biotic and abiotic mechanisms driving the seasonal MPB dynamics could open the door to a new assessment of the export flux of biogenic matter at the land-ocean interface and, more generally, of the contribution of productive intertidal biofilms to the coastal carbon cycle.

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