The Seasonal Cycle of Mean Sea Level in the North East Atlantic Ocean
International audience The analysis of long-term tide gauge data collected in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean reveals that the seasonal cycle of mean sea level (hereafter MSL) exhibits amplitudes of up to 0.4 m. The position of MSL is of fundamental importance for many issues such as storm-induced floo...
Published in: | Journal of Coastal Research |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Other Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
HAL CCSD
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hal-univ-rochelle.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02940840 https://doi.org/10.2112/SI95-233.1 |
id |
ftccsdartic:oai:HAL:hal-02940840v1 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftccsdartic:oai:HAL:hal-02940840v1 2023-05-15T17:38:17+02:00 The Seasonal Cycle of Mean Sea Level in the North East Atlantic Ocean Payo-Payo, Marta Bertin, Xavier National Oceanography Centre (NOC) LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés - UMRi 7266 (LIENSs) Université de La Rochelle (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 2020-05-01 https://hal-univ-rochelle.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02940840 https://doi.org/10.2112/SI95-233.1 en eng HAL CCSD Coastal Education and Research Foundation info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.2112/SI95-233.1 hal-02940840 https://hal-univ-rochelle.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02940840 doi:10.2112/SI95-233.1 ISSN: 0749-0208 EISSN: 1551-5036 Journal of Coastal Research https://hal-univ-rochelle.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02940840 Journal of Coastal Research, Coastal Education and Research Foundation, 2020, 95 (sp1), pp.1201. ⟨10.2112/SI95-233.1⟩ steric effects North East Atlantic Ocean Mean sea level [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean Atmosphere [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces environment info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2020 ftccsdartic https://doi.org/10.2112/SI95-233.1 2021-11-07T00:45:35Z International audience The analysis of long-term tide gauge data collected in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean reveals that the seasonal cycle of mean sea level (hereafter MSL) exhibits amplitudes of up to 0.4 m. The position of MSL is of fundamental importance for many issues such as storm-induced flooding or the morphodynamics of shallow inlets, yet the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We characterize the seasonal cycle based on field observations complemented with a numerical hindcast. We analyzed long-term series (2000-2010) of in situ tide gauge data along the coasts of Portugal, Spain and France. The combined analysis of field observation and model results revealed that atmospheric pressure, wind and steric effect are the main contributors to the seasonal cycle of MSL along North East Atlantic Ocean coastlines. We find a coherent signal over the region: the cycle peaks around November and has its minimum in February. Monthly mean sea level rises slowly andfalls quickly. The different features between north and south mirror the different forcing mechanisms acting in each area. To the north, the seasonal cycle of MSL is more irregular and controlled by atmospheric forcing because this region is on the track of low-pressure storms, especially during winter. To the south, the steric effect plays an important role mostly due to the persistence of high pressure and a narrow continental shelf. Our results suggest that for a given storm, the water level and subsequent flooding damage will be higher if it occurs at the end of the autumn than at the end of the winter, which suggest that the seasonal cycle of MSL should be represented in flooding modeling systems. Article in Journal/Newspaper North East Atlantic Northeast Atlantic Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) Journal of Coastal Research 95 sp1 1201 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) |
op_collection_id |
ftccsdartic |
language |
English |
topic |
steric effects North East Atlantic Ocean Mean sea level [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean Atmosphere [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces environment |
spellingShingle |
steric effects North East Atlantic Ocean Mean sea level [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean Atmosphere [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces environment Payo-Payo, Marta Bertin, Xavier The Seasonal Cycle of Mean Sea Level in the North East Atlantic Ocean |
topic_facet |
steric effects North East Atlantic Ocean Mean sea level [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean Atmosphere [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces environment |
description |
International audience The analysis of long-term tide gauge data collected in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean reveals that the seasonal cycle of mean sea level (hereafter MSL) exhibits amplitudes of up to 0.4 m. The position of MSL is of fundamental importance for many issues such as storm-induced flooding or the morphodynamics of shallow inlets, yet the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We characterize the seasonal cycle based on field observations complemented with a numerical hindcast. We analyzed long-term series (2000-2010) of in situ tide gauge data along the coasts of Portugal, Spain and France. The combined analysis of field observation and model results revealed that atmospheric pressure, wind and steric effect are the main contributors to the seasonal cycle of MSL along North East Atlantic Ocean coastlines. We find a coherent signal over the region: the cycle peaks around November and has its minimum in February. Monthly mean sea level rises slowly andfalls quickly. The different features between north and south mirror the different forcing mechanisms acting in each area. To the north, the seasonal cycle of MSL is more irregular and controlled by atmospheric forcing because this region is on the track of low-pressure storms, especially during winter. To the south, the steric effect plays an important role mostly due to the persistence of high pressure and a narrow continental shelf. Our results suggest that for a given storm, the water level and subsequent flooding damage will be higher if it occurs at the end of the autumn than at the end of the winter, which suggest that the seasonal cycle of MSL should be represented in flooding modeling systems. |
author2 |
National Oceanography Centre (NOC) LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés - UMRi 7266 (LIENSs) Université de La Rochelle (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Payo-Payo, Marta Bertin, Xavier |
author_facet |
Payo-Payo, Marta Bertin, Xavier |
author_sort |
Payo-Payo, Marta |
title |
The Seasonal Cycle of Mean Sea Level in the North East Atlantic Ocean |
title_short |
The Seasonal Cycle of Mean Sea Level in the North East Atlantic Ocean |
title_full |
The Seasonal Cycle of Mean Sea Level in the North East Atlantic Ocean |
title_fullStr |
The Seasonal Cycle of Mean Sea Level in the North East Atlantic Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Seasonal Cycle of Mean Sea Level in the North East Atlantic Ocean |
title_sort |
seasonal cycle of mean sea level in the north east atlantic ocean |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://hal-univ-rochelle.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02940840 https://doi.org/10.2112/SI95-233.1 |
genre |
North East Atlantic Northeast Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North East Atlantic Northeast Atlantic |
op_source |
ISSN: 0749-0208 EISSN: 1551-5036 Journal of Coastal Research https://hal-univ-rochelle.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02940840 Journal of Coastal Research, Coastal Education and Research Foundation, 2020, 95 (sp1), pp.1201. ⟨10.2112/SI95-233.1⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.2112/SI95-233.1 hal-02940840 https://hal-univ-rochelle.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02940840 doi:10.2112/SI95-233.1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2112/SI95-233.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Coastal Research |
container_volume |
95 |
container_issue |
sp1 |
container_start_page |
1201 |
_version_ |
1766138667269619712 |