Currents along the pacific coast of Canada

Abstract

A powerful storm passed over the coastal waters of eastern Canada on the 21 and 22 January 2000 causing significant damage to coastal infrastructure. The storm generated a large (>1.4 m) storm surge in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence that unfortunately coincided with a high spring tide. This resulted in record high water levels in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (e.g., the highest level at Charlottetown since records began in 1911) and severe flooding around Prince Edward Island and along the eastern shore of New Brunswick.

During January 2000, a recently developed storm surge forecast system was running in pre‐operational mode at Dalhousie University. The core of the forecast system is a depth‐averaged, non‐linear, barotropic ocean model driven by forecast winds and air pressures produced by the Canadian Meteorological Centre's regional atmospheric forecast model. In this study we assess the forecast skill of the surge model for the 21 January storm by comparing its 24‐hour forecasts with two independent hourly dataseis: (i) sea levels recorded by 12 tide gauges located in eastern Canada and the north‐eastern United States, and (ii) depth‐mean currents recorded by an acoustic Doppler current profiler deployed on the outer Scotian Shelf. Overall, the forecasts of coastal sea level and depth‐mean currents are reasonable and have forecast errors below about 0.1 m and 0.1 m s^?1 respectively.     

Data-Assimilative Hindcast and Climate Forecast of Storm Surges with an ASGF Regression Model

ABSTRACT

This study demonstrates that long-term climate model solutions can be efficiently converted to storm surge time series at points of interest (POIs) for the future. The all-source Green's function (ASGF) regression model is used for this conversion. In addition to being data assimilative, the ASGF regression model can also simulate storm surges at a POI faster than the traditional modelling approach by orders of magnitude. This is demonstrated using the tidal gauge at Sept-Îles (Quebec, Canada) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as the POI. First the ASGF regression model is used to assimilate 32 years of tidal gauge data, producing a continuous hindcast of storm surges and a set of best-estimate regression parameters. Second, the ASGF regression model with the best-estimate parameters is used to convert a Canadian Regional Climate Model solution (CRCM/AHJ) to an hourly time series of storm surges from 1961 to 2100. Gumbel's extreme value analysis (EVA) is then applied to the time series as a whole and also to tri-decadal segments. The tri-decadal approach is used to investigate whether there is any progressive shortening or lengthening of storm surge return periods as a result of future climate change. A method for correcting for bias due to the forcing field at the EVA level is also demonstrated.     

Significance of nitrogen dioxide absorption in estimating aerosol optical depth and size distributions

Abstract

Changes to the Beaufort Sea shoreline occur due to the impact of storms and rising relative sea level. During the open‐water season (June to October), storm winds predominantly from the north‐west generate waves and storm surges which are effective in eroding thawing ice‐rich cliffs and causing overwash of gravel beaches. Climate change is expected to be enhanced in Arctic regions relative to the global mean and include accelerated sea‐level rise, more frequent extreme storm winds, more frequent and extreme storm surge flooding, decreased sea‐ice extent, more frequent and higher waves, and increased temperatures. We investigate historical records of wind speeds and directions, water levels, sea‐ice extent and temperature to identify variability in past forcing and use the Canadian Global Coupled Model ensembles 1 and 2 (CGCM1 and CGCM2) climate modelling results to develop a scenario forcing future change of Beaufort Sea shorelines. This scenario and future return periods of peak storm wind speeds and water levels likely indicate increased forcing of coastal change during the next century resulting in increased rates of cliff erosion and beach migration, and more extreme flooding.     

Estimating Sea-Level Allowances for Atlantic Canada using the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC

Abstract

Sea-level allowances at 22 tide-gauge sites along the east coast of Canada are determined based on projections of regional sea-level rise for the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) from the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5) and on the statistics of historical tides and storm surges (storm tides). The allowances, which may be used for coastal infrastructure planning, increase with time during the twenty-first century through a combination of mean sea-level rise and the increased uncertainty of future projections with time. The allowances show significant spatial variation, mainly a consequence of strong regionally varying relative sea-level change as a result of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). A methodology is described for replacement of the GIA component of the AR5 projection with global positioning system (GPS) measurements of vertical crustal motion; this significantly decreases allowances in regions where the uncertainty of the GIA models is large. For RCP8.5 with GPS data incorporated and for the 1995–2100 period, the sea-level allowances range from about 0.5?m along the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to more than 1?m along the coast of Nova Scotia and southern Newfoundland.     

Storm Surges in the Strait of Georgia Simulated with a Regional Model

The Strait of Georgia is a large, semi-enclosed body of water between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia connected to the Pacific Ocean via Juan de Fuca Strait at the south and Johnstone Strait at the north. During the winter months, coastal communities along the Strait of Georgia are at risk of flooding caused by storm surges, a natural hazard that can occur when a strong storm coincides with high tide. This investigation produces storm surge hindcasts using a three-dimensional numerical ocean model for the Strait of Georgia and the surrounding bodies of water (Juan de Fuca Strait, Puget Sound, and Johnstone Strait) collectively known as the Salish Sea. The numerical model employs the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean architecture in a regional configuration. The model is evaluated through comparisons of tidal elevation harmonics and storm surge with observations. Important forcing factors contributing to storm surges are assessed. It is shown that surges entering the domain from the Pacific Ocean make the most significant contribution to surge amplitude within the Strait of Georgia. Comparisons between simulations and high-resolution and low-resolution atmospheric forcing further emphasize that remote forcing is the dominant factor in surge amplitudes in this region. In addition, local wind patterns caused a slight increase in surge amplitude on the mainland side of the Strait of Georgia compared with Vancouver Island coastal areas during a major wind storm on 15 December 2006. Generally, surge amplitudes are found to be greater within the Strait of Georgia than in Juan de Fuca Strait.     

Wind‐driven motions at the mouth of the lower St Lawrence Estuary

Abstract

The outflow from the lower St Lawrence Estuary (LSLE) is a major input to the Gulf of St Lawrence. The discharge of the St Lawrence River drives a pair of buoyant coastal jets in the estuary that combine to form the major part of the Gaspé Current, perhaps the dominant feature of the circulation in the Gulf. The dominant forcing agencies of the low‐frequency variability (aside from the seasonal freshwater discharge cycle) of motions in the LSLE and the Gaspé Current have not been definitively identified. Here we examine current data from the mouth of the estuary from two field programs (undertaken in 1962 and 1979) and use spectral and bulk correlation analyses to show that wind‐driven motions apparently exert a strong influence on the variability of the exchange between Gulf and estuarine waters. Meteorologically forced motions are shown to be most prominent in the 10‐ to 15‐d period range (corresponding to the typical interval between the passages of weather systems). The wind‐induced current field is shown to produce a counterflow at depth in the LSLE.     

Estimating present day extreme water level exceedance probabilities around the coastline of Australia: tropical cyclone-induced storm surges

The incidence of major storm surges in the last decade have dramatically emphasized the immense destructive capabilities of extreme water level events, particularly when driven by severe tropical cyclones. Given this risk, it is vitally important that the exceedance probabilities of extreme water levels are accurately evaluated to inform risk-based flood and erosion management, engineering and for future land-use planning and to ensure the risk of catastrophic structural failures due to under-design or expensive wastes due to over-design are minimised. Australia has a long history of coastal flooding from tropical cyclones. Using a novel integration of two modeling techniques, this paper provides the first estimates of present day extreme water level exceedance probabilities around the whole coastline of Australia, and the first estimates that combine the influence of astronomical tides, storm surges generated by both extra-tropical and tropical cyclones, and seasonal and inter-annual variations in mean sea level. Initially, an analysis of tide gauge records has been used to assess the characteristics of tropical cyclone-induced surges around Australia. However, given the dearth (temporal and spatial) of information around much of the coastline, and therefore the inability of these gauge records to adequately describe the regional climatology, an observationally based stochastic tropical cyclone model has been developed to synthetically extend the tropical cyclone record to 10,000 years. Wind and pressure fields derived for these synthetically generated events have then been used to drive a hydrodynamic model of the Australian continental shelf region with annual maximum water levels extracted to estimate exceedance probabilities around the coastline. To validate this methodology, selected historic storm surge events have been simulated and resultant storm surges compared with gauge records. Tropical cyclone induced exceedance probabilities have been combined with estimates derived from a 61-year water level hindcast described in a companion paper to give a single estimate of present day extreme water level probabilities around the whole coastline of Australia. Results of this work are freely available to coastal engineers, managers and researchers via a web-based tool (www.sealevelrise.info). The described methodology could be applied to other regions of the world, like the US east coast, that are subject to both extra-tropical and tropical cyclones.     

Storm surge evolution and its relationship to climate oscillations at Duck,NC

Coastal communities experience increased vulnerability during storm surge events through the risk of damage to coastal infrastructure, erosion/deposition, and the endangerment of human life. Policy and planning measures attempt to avoid or mitigate storm surge consequences through building codes and setbacks, beach stabilization, insurance rates, and coastal zoning. The coastal emergency management community and public react and respond on shorter time scales, through temporary protection, emergency stockpiling, and evacuation. This study utilizes time series analysis, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test, Pearson’s correlation, and the generalized extreme value (GEV) theorem to make the connection between climate oscillation indices and storm surge characteristics intra-seasonally to inter-annually. Results indicate that an El Niño (+ENSO), negative phase of the NAO, and positive phase of the PNA pattern all support longer duration and hence more powerful surge events, especially in winter. Increased surge duration increases the likelihood of extensive erosion, inland inundation, among other undesirable effects of the surge hazard.     

Comparison of three methods for estimating the sea level rise effect on storm surge flooding

Two linear methods, including the simple linear addition and linear addition by expansion, and numerical simulations were employed to estimate storm surges and associated flooding caused by Hurricane Andrew for scenarios of sea level rise (SLR) from 0.15 m to 1.05 m with an interval of 0.15 m. The interaction between storm surge and SLR is almost linear at the open Atlantic Ocean outside Biscayne Bay, with slight reduction in peak storm surge heights as sea level rises. The nonlinear interaction between storm surges and SLR is weak in Biscayne Bay, leading to small differences in peak storm surge heights estimated by three methods. Therefore, it is appropriate to estimate elevated storm surges caused by SLR in these areas by adding the SLR magnitude to storm surge heights. However, the magnitude and extent of inundation at the mainland area by Biscayne Bay estimated by numerical simulations are, respectively, 22–24 % and 16–30 % larger on average than those generated by the linear addition by expansion and the simple linear addition methods, indicating a strong nonlinear interaction between storm surge and SLR. The population and property affected by the storm surge inundation estimated by numerical simulations differ up to 50–140 % from that estimated by two linear addition methods. Therefore, it is inappropriate to estimate the exacerbated magnitude and extent of storm surge flooding and affected population and property caused by SLR by using the linear addition methods. The strong nonlinear interaction between surge flooding and SLR at a specific location occurs at the initial stage of SLR when the water depth under an elevated sea level is less than 0.7 m, while the interaction becomes linear as the depth exceeds 0.7 m.     

渤海西岸致灾风暴潮的统计预报模型

渤海西岸是风暴潮灾害多发区,1990年代以后发生几率和灾害损失明显增加。利用气象科学和海洋水文科学相结合的方法,依据黄骅港潮汐资料,对发生在渤海西岸的风暴潮进行统计分析。结果表明,台风和强冷空气配合气旋是造成渤海西岸风暴潮的主要天气系统,偏东大风增水和天文潮叠加是造成风暴潮的直接因素;风暴潮和天文潮汐都有半日潮现象。在此基础上,建立了渤海西岸风暴潮预报模型,通过台风或冷空气配合气旋影响时增水值的计算,结合天文潮汐资料,做出最高潮位预报。应用该预报方法对渤海西岸发生的7次风暴潮进行回报,预报值与实测值基本相当,是基层台站较实用的预报方法。     

一个风暴潮数值模式及其开边界问题

在文献[1]的基础上,本文设计了一个风暴潮数值模式,并讨论了在近岸海洋动力学计算中具有普遍意义的开边界问题.所用的计算格式在有开边界和不规则海岸边界的情形下,仍能较好地保持原海流问题的质量和能量变化关系,因而具有较好的计算稳定性和计算精度.本文计算了“7203”号和“8509”号台风暴潮,并与实况相比较,所得计算结果图象清晰地再现了渤海这两次台风增水过程的基本特征.     

Comment on “Storm surge frequency reduction in Venice under climate change” by Troccoli et al.

Troccoli et al. (Climatic Change, published online 14th May, DOI: 10.1007/s10584-011-0093-x), analysed different projections from global climate models in order to assess the frequency of storm surges in Venice during the 21st century under a climate change context. They concluded that the frequency of storm surges would decrease by about 30%, and that this reduction would compensate the expected mean sea level rise. Their final statement was that “the frequency of extreme tides in Venice might largely remain unaltered”. Although we agree in the expected reduction of storm surges, we strongly disagree in their final conclusion. First, because the impact of storm surges not only depends on the number of extreme surge events, but also on their intensity, that was not explicitely addressed. Second, because their estimates of mean sea level change for the 21st century are largely underestimated, as they miss some of the components driving sea level variability. Using state-of-the-art estimates for the thermosteric, mass and tidal contributions we show that the flooding events in Venice are expected to dramatically increase in a climate change scenario.     

基于城市内涝仿真模型的天津风暴潮灾害评估

基于城市内涝仿真模型,根据天津沿海地区的地形、地貌特征以及排水系统等对城市内涝仿真模型进行改进,在沿海边界和河口设置时变水位,使得模型拓展到既能模拟暴雨产生的内涝,也能模拟由于风暴潮侵袭造成的淹没情景。该模型对天津沿海地区历史上典型风暴潮个例以及10年、20年、50年、100年一遇重现期风暴潮产生的积水范围和积水深度进行了模拟,并对2012年8月3日台风达维 (1210) 造成的天津沿海风暴潮进行了业务试应用。将历史风暴潮个例模拟结果以及2012年8月3日的评估结果与实际灾情进行对比,结果显示模型具有较好的模拟能力,可应用于风暴潮灾害的评估和预估业务中,为相关部门和行业提供决策参考。     

离岸风背景下风暴潮异常增水特征分析

渤海湾在8月份出现由温带气旋引发高达518 cm的风暴潮属小概率事件。作者应用天气图、卫星云图、自动站观测资料及天津海洋局潮位资料,对2008年8月天津港发生的两次风暴潮异常增水过程进行了特征分析,得到气象因子对风暴潮的影响关系,为预报风暴潮提供依据;进一步探讨了在离岸风即西北风作用下产生风暴增水的条件和机制。结果表明,温带风暴潮过程增水强度大(最大增水121 cm)且持续时间长(达15小时);分析了气旋增水不同于台风增水的特点,并应用半封闭浅海湾中开尔文波传播理论分析了风暴潮产生的原因。     

The numerical simulation of storm surges along the Bangladesh coast

Using a set of basic hydrodynamic equations governing the motion in a sea, a vertically-integrated coastal zone numerical model has been developed for the simulation of storm surges generated by the tropical stroms striking the Bangladesh coast. The model is fully nonlinear and uses a conditionally stable semi-explicit finite difference scheme for solving the relevant equations. In this model the analysis area extends from 87°E to 93°E along the south coast of Bangladesh and there are three open-sea boundaries situated along 87°E, 93°E and 19°N. With this analysis area it is possible to record, on average, 24 h of the surge generating capacity of most of the severe cyclones before landfall at the Bangladesh coast.Numerical experiments are performed with the help of this model to simulate the surges generated by several severe cyclonic storms which struck the Bangladesh coast durin the past 25 y. To compare the model predicted surges with the observed sea-surface elevations, three cyclonic storms have been chosen for which reliable observations regarding storm characteristics and the associated surges were available. The predicted peak sea-surface elevations compare well with the observed values at Chittagong port.     

基于ConvLSTM机器学习的风暴潮漫滩预报研究

风暴潮是指由强烈的大气扰动所导致的海面异常升高现象,由热带气旋引起的风暴潮常对沿海地区造成巨大的社会经济、人类活动和生命财产危害。依靠数据驱动的强非线性映射能力的机器学习方法较传统数值模式预报在耗费研究资源和计算时间上更具优势。本文选取广东省珠江口为研究区域,基于卷积长短时记忆网络（Convolutional LSTM network,ConvLSTM）机器学习算法展开风暴潮漫滩预报研究,利用由再分析资料驱动的数值模式产品构建了历史台风漫滩数据集,用于机器学习模型训练、验证和测试。研究了两种预报方式,一种是基于海表面高度场的自回归预报,另一种是依赖预报风场和初始海表面高度场进行的预报;它们可以实现基于数据驱动的风暴潮漫滩预报,其中自回归预报模型表现更优。相较于传统动力学数值预报,基于数据驱动的ConvLSTM预报模型结构更为轻便,所需驱动数据更少,在缺少边界条件、地形、径流等信号时,在短临预报中仍能基本复现数值模式模拟的结果。     

Storm surge frequency reduction in Venice under climate change

Increased tidal levels and storm surges related to climate change are projected to result in extremely adverse effects on coastal regions. Predictions of such extreme and small-scale events, however, are exceedingly challenging, even for relatively short time horizons. Here we use data from observations, ERA-40 re-analysis, climate scenario simulations, and a simple feature model to find that the frequency of extreme storm surge events affecting Venice is projected to decrease by about 30% by the end of the twenty-first century. In addition, through a trend assessment based on tidal observations we found a reduction in extreme tidal levels. Extrapolating the current +17 cm/century sea level trend, our results suggest that the frequency of extreme tides in Venice might largely remain unaltered under the projected twenty-first century climate simulations.     

烟台港风暴潮灾害及其预报

作者综合２０多年烟台港水文和气象资料，着重从气象与海洋的结合上探索了风暴潮的生成机制和一般特征，并应用１９８０－１９９２年的实测水文资料及数值天气预报资料，在天气形势分型的基础上，进行分类，选取因子，建立风暴潮客观，定量，自动化预报系统，投入烟台海洋气象台业务使用，有一定实用性。     

渤海湾风暴潮天气系统及风场结构个例分析

利用常规资料、中尺度模式(MM5)模拟结果和自动站资料分析了2003年10月11日渤海湾风暴潮的天气系统及风场结构特征。分析表明，强冷空气从偏东路径南下与强盛的暖湿急流及地面倒槽的共同作用，形成持续强东北大风是引发渤海风暴潮的主要强迫动力，风应力海水向岸输送(增水)范围约100km持续时间10～12h，风应力增水作用与天文大潮相叠加直接导致风暴潮的发生。1985年以来渤海湾成灾风暴潮发生的几率明显增加。