Storm waves in Canadian waters: A major marine hazard

Abstract

In this paper, an overview of storm waves associated with intense weather systems affecting the east and west coasts of Canada is presented. The paper presents the wave climatology of the east and west coasts in terms of the 100‐year significant and maximum wave heights and further analyses the directional distribution of wave heights at selected locations in the Canadian east and west coasts offshore. The paper also analyses wave hazards associated with storm waves in the Beaufort Sea as well as the Canadian Great Lakes region. A section on ocean wave modelling provides a brief history of the development of ocean surface wave models and its present status. The paper further considers the impact of climate change scenarios on wave hazards and finally examines mitigation measures in terms of wave products available from operational wave models and related wave climatology.     

Climate change and soil freezing dynamics: historical trends and projected changes

Changes to soil freezing dynamics with climate change can modify ecosystem carbon and nutrient losses. Soil freezing is influenced strongly by both air temperature and insulation by the snowpack, and it has been hypothesized that winter climate warming may lead to increased soil freezing as a result of reduced snowpack thickness. I used weather station data to explore the relationships between winter air temperature, precipitation and soil freezing for 31 sites in Canada, ranging from the temperate zone to the high Arctic. Inter-annual climate variation and associated soil temperature variation over the last 40 years were examined and used to interpolate the effects of projected climate change on soil freezing dynamics within sites using linear regression models. Annual soil freezing days declined with increasing mean winter air temperature despite decreases in snow depth and cover, and reduced precipitation only increased annual soil freezing days in the warmest sites. Annual soil freeze–thaw cycles increased in both warm and dry winters, although the effects of precipitation were strongest in sites that experience low mean winter precipitation. Overall, it was projected that by 2050, changes in winter temperature will have a much stronger effect on annual soil freezing days and freeze–thaw cycles than changes in total precipitation, with sites close to but below freezing experiencing the largest changes in soil freezing days. These results reveal that experimental data relevant to the effects of climate changes on soil freezing dynamics and changes in associated soil physical and biological processes are lacking.     

珠峰和曲宗站2005年4,5月近地辐射能收支初步分析

利用中国科学院又一次珠穆朗玛峰地区科学考察(2005年4,5月)期间获得的辐射资料分析该地区地表辐射能的日变化,以及不同海拔高度、不同下垫面辐射各分量的异同,同时分析了不同海拔高度地表反照率在4月和5月的月变化和日变化。     

Tests of a robust eddy correlation system for sensible heat flux

Summary Sensible heat flux estimates from a simple, one-propeller eddy correlation system (OPEC) were compared with those from a sonic anemometer eddy correlation system (SEC). In accordance with similarity theory, the performance of the OPEC system improved with increasing height of the sensor above the surface. Flux totals from the two systems at sites with adequate fetch were in excellent agreement after frequency response corrections were applied. The propeller system appears suitable for long periods of unattended measurement. The sensible heat flux measurements can be combined with net radiation and soil heat flux measurements to estimate latent heat as a residual in the surface energy balance.With 6 Figures     

Ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange: An accessible lab simulation for considering biological effects

Phytoplankton is considered a key component mediating the ocean-atmospheric exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen. Lab simulations which model biological responses to atmospheric change are difficult to translate into natural settings owing in part to the vertical migration of phytoplankton. In the sea this vertical migration acts to regulate actual carbon dioxide consumption. To capture some critical properties of this vertical material transfer, we monitored the effects of atmospheric CO₂ on dense suspensions of bioconvecting microorganisms. Bioconvection refers to the spontaneous patterns of circulation which arise among such upwardly swimming cells as alga, protozoa, zoospore and large bacteria. Gravity, phototaxis and chemotaxis have all been implicated as affecting pattern-forming ability. The ability of a biologically active suspension to detect atmospheric changes offers a unique method to quantify organism adjustment and vertical migration. With increasing CO₂, bioconvection patterns in alga (P. parva) and protozoa (T. pyriformis) lose their robustness, and surface cell populations retreat from the highest CO₂ regions. Cell movement (both percent motile and mean velocity) generally diminishes. A general program of image analysis yields statistically significant variations in macroscopic migration patterns; both fractal dimension and various crystallographic parameters correlate strongly with carbon dioxide content.     

Validation and Application of Plants as Biomonitors of Trace Element Atmospheric Pollution – A Co-Ordinated Effort in 14 Countries

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organized a co-ordinated research project (CRP) on Validation and application of plants as biomonitors of trace element atmospheric pollution analysed by nuclear and related techniques involving 14 participating countries. The CRPs objective was to identify appropriate bioindicators for local and/or regional application and validate them for general air pollution monitoring. Activities included quantification studies, research into spatial and time resolution for particular organisms, and physiological studies. A number of suitable bioindicators were identified in different parts of the globe and tested during the CRP. Sampling strategies were reviewed and the recommended approach adopted by the group. Appropriate sample preparation procedures were assessed and harmonised to the degree allowed by different geographic and climatic conditions in the participating countries. Two interlaboratory comparison exercises were carried out on lichen and moss materials. Results confirmed definite improvement in analytical performance of the participating laboratories, but also revealed possible inconsistencies due to different sample processing procedures. Several monitoring surveys were carried out and consequently pollution maps drawn for extended areas or countries. Overall results confirmed applicability of lower plants for assessing the degree of atmospheric pollution and provided several countries with effective monitoring tools not used before.     

Finite volume method on unstructured grids in 3D with applications to the simulation of gravity waves

Summary ?A code for the simulation of atmospheric flows in 3D is presented. The underlying mathematical model is fully compressible, it takes gravity into account but Coriolis forces, turbulence and viscosity are neglected. The general numerical code consists of a finite volume discretization on unstructured hexahedral grids in 3D. The code is presently being investigated on applications to the calculation of atmospheric gravity waves on a mesh which has a structured type and is locally refined near the orography. We develop two schemes, the main difference between them lies in the different discretizations for the mass fluxes. We show that both schemes resolve typical structures of gravity waves in potential flow, linear hydrostatic motion and nonlinear non-hydrostatic regime. We compare advantages and disadvantages of the developed schemes. Received April 20, 2001; revised September 10, 2001     

Modeled Sverdrup flow in the North Atlantic from 11 different wind stress climatologies

In studies of large-scale ocean dynamics, often quoted values of Sverdrup transport are computed using the Hellerman–Rosenstein wind stress climatology. The Sverdrup solution varies, however, depending on the wind set used. We examine the differences in the large-scale upper ocean response to different surface momentum forcing fields for the North Atlantic Ocean by comparing the different Sverdrup interior/Munk western boundary layer solutions produced by a 1/16° linear numerical ocean model forced by 11 different wind stress climatologies. Significant differences in the results underscore the importance of careful selection of a wind set for Sverdrup transport calculation and for driving nonlinear models. This high-resolution modeling approach to solving the linear wind-driven ocean circulation problem is a convenient way to discern details of the Sverdrup flow and Munk western boundary layers in areas of complicated geometry such as the Caribbean and Bahamas. In addition, the linear solutions from a large number of wind sets provide a well-understood baseline oceanic response to wind stress forcing and thus, (1) insight into the dynamics of observed circulation features, by themselves and in conjunction with nonlinear models, and (2) insight into nonlinear model sensitivity to the choice of wind-forcing product.The wind stress products are evaluated and insight into the linear dynamics of specific ocean features is obtained by examining wind stress curl patterns in relation to the corresponding high-resolution linear solutions in conjunction with observational knowledge of the ocean circulation. In the Sverdrup/Munk solutions, the Gulf Stream pathway consists of two branches. One separates from the coast at the observed separation point, but penetrates due east in an unrealistic manner. The other, which overshoots the separation point at Cape Hatteras and continues to flow northward along the continental boundary, is required to balance the Sverdrup interior transport. A similar depiction of the Gulf Stream is commonly seen in the mean flow of nonlinear, eddy-resolving basin-scale models of the North Atlantic Ocean. An O(1) change from linear dynamics is required for realistic simulation of the Gulf Stream pathway. Nine of the eleven Sverdrup solutions have a C-shaped subtropical gyre, similar to what is seen in dynamic height contours derived from observations. Three mechanisms are identified that can contribute to this pattern in the Sverdrup transport contours. Along 27°N, several wind sets drive realistic total western boundary current transport (within 10% of observed) when a 14 Sv global thermohaline contribution is added (COADS, ECMWF 10 m re-analysis and operational, Hellerman–Rosenstein and National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) surface stress re-analysis), a few drive transport that is substantially too high (ECMWF 1000 mb re-analysis and operational and Isemer–Hasse) and Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) surface stresses give linear transport that is slightly weaker than observed. However, higher order dynamics are required to explain the partitioning of this transport between the Florida Straits and just east of the Bahamas (minimal in the linear solutions vs. 5 Sv observed east of the Bahamas). Part of the Azores Current transport is explained by Sverdrup dynamics. So are the basic path of the North Atlantic Current (NAC) and the circulation features within the Intra-Americas Sea (IAS), when a linear rendition of the northward upper ocean return flow of the global thermohaline circulation is added in the form of a Munk western boundary layer.     

Advances in understanding the “Perfect Monsoon-influenced Typhoon”: Summary from International Conference on Typhoon Morakot (2009)

Typhoon Morakot (2009) produced 2855 mm of rain and was the deadliest typhoon to impact Taiwan with 619 deaths and 76 missing persons, including a landslide that wiped out an entire village. While Morakot did not exceed the heaviest 24-h rain record, the combination of heavy rain and long duration that led to the record accumulation is attributed to the southwest summer monsoon influence on the typhoon. Thus, a special combination of factors was involved in the Morakot disaster: (i) Strong southwesterly monsoon winds; (ii) Convergence between the typhoon circulation and monsoon flow to form an east-west oriented convective band over the Taiwan Strait that was quasi-stationary and long-lasting; (iii) A typhoon in a specific location relative to the Central Mountain Range and moving slowly; and (iv) Steep topography that provided rapid lifting of the moist air stream. The contributions of each of these four factors in leading to the Morakot disaster are reviewed primarily based on new research presented at the International Conference on Typhoon Morakot (2009). Historical data sets, new Doppler radar observations, and numerical modeling have advanced the understanding of the special conditions of monsoon-influenced typhoons such as Morakot. This research is also leading to modifications of existing and development of new forecasting tools. Gaps in scientific understanding, limits to the predictability, and requirements for advanced forecast guidance tools are described that are challenges to improved warnings of these extreme precipitation and flooding events in monsoon-influenced typhoons.