Atmospherically forced sea-level variability in western Hudson Bay, Canada
In recent years, significant trends toward earlier breakup and later freeze-up of sea ice in Hudson Bay have led to a considerable increase in shipping activity through the Port of Churchill, which is located in western Hudson Bay and is the only deep-water ocean port in the province of Manitoba. Th...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3365b066ad9b46d5a5709ffbc51c04e2 2023-05-15T15:55:03+02:00 Atmospherically forced sea-level variability in western Hudson Bay, Canada I. A. Dmitrenko D. L. Volkov T. A. Stadnyk A. Tefs D. G. Babb S. A. Kirillov A. Crawford K. Sydor D. G. Barber 2021-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-1367-2021 https://doaj.org/article/3365b066ad9b46d5a5709ffbc51c04e2 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://os.copernicus.org/articles/17/1367/2021/os-17-1367-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0784 https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0792 doi:10.5194/os-17-1367-2021 1812-0784 1812-0792 https://doaj.org/article/3365b066ad9b46d5a5709ffbc51c04e2 Ocean Science, Vol 17, Pp 1367-1384 (2021) Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-1367-2021 2022-12-31T07:57:41Z In recent years, significant trends toward earlier breakup and later freeze-up of sea ice in Hudson Bay have led to a considerable increase in shipping activity through the Port of Churchill, which is located in western Hudson Bay and is the only deep-water ocean port in the province of Manitoba. Therefore, understanding sea-level variability at the port is an urgent issue crucial for safe navigation and coastal infrastructure. Using tidal gauge data from the port along with an atmospheric reanalysis and Churchill River discharge, we assess environmental factors impacting synoptic to seasonal variability of sea level at Churchill. An atmospheric vorticity index used to describe the wind forcing was found to correlate with sea level at Churchill. Statistical analyses show that, in contrast to earlier studies, local discharge from the Churchill River can only explain up to 5 % of the sea-level variability. The cyclonic wind forcing contributes from 22 % during the ice-covered winter–spring season to 30 % during the ice-free summer–fall season due to cyclone-induced storm surges generated along the coast. Multiple regression analysis revealed that wind forcing and local river discharge combined can explain up to 32 % of the sea-level variability at Churchill. Our analysis further revealed that the seasonal cycle of sea level at Churchill appears to be impacted by the seasonal cycle in atmospheric circulation rather than by the seasonal cycle in local discharge from the Churchill River, particularly post-construction of the Churchill River diversion in 1977. Sea level at Churchill shows positive anomalies for September–November compared to June–August. This seasonal difference was also revealed for the entire Hudson Bay coast using satellite-derived sea-level altimetry. This anomaly was associated with enhanced cyclonic atmospheric circulation during fall, reaching a maximum in November, which forced storm surges along the coast. Complete sea-ice cover during winter impedes momentum transfer from wind stress to the ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Churchill Churchill River Hudson Bay Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Hudson Bay Canada Hudson Ocean Science 17 5 1367 1384 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
spellingShingle |
Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 I. A. Dmitrenko D. L. Volkov T. A. Stadnyk A. Tefs D. G. Babb S. A. Kirillov A. Crawford K. Sydor D. G. Barber Atmospherically forced sea-level variability in western Hudson Bay, Canada |
topic_facet |
Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
In recent years, significant trends toward earlier breakup and later freeze-up of sea ice in Hudson Bay have led to a considerable increase in shipping activity through the Port of Churchill, which is located in western Hudson Bay and is the only deep-water ocean port in the province of Manitoba. Therefore, understanding sea-level variability at the port is an urgent issue crucial for safe navigation and coastal infrastructure. Using tidal gauge data from the port along with an atmospheric reanalysis and Churchill River discharge, we assess environmental factors impacting synoptic to seasonal variability of sea level at Churchill. An atmospheric vorticity index used to describe the wind forcing was found to correlate with sea level at Churchill. Statistical analyses show that, in contrast to earlier studies, local discharge from the Churchill River can only explain up to 5 % of the sea-level variability. The cyclonic wind forcing contributes from 22 % during the ice-covered winter–spring season to 30 % during the ice-free summer–fall season due to cyclone-induced storm surges generated along the coast. Multiple regression analysis revealed that wind forcing and local river discharge combined can explain up to 32 % of the sea-level variability at Churchill. Our analysis further revealed that the seasonal cycle of sea level at Churchill appears to be impacted by the seasonal cycle in atmospheric circulation rather than by the seasonal cycle in local discharge from the Churchill River, particularly post-construction of the Churchill River diversion in 1977. Sea level at Churchill shows positive anomalies for September–November compared to June–August. This seasonal difference was also revealed for the entire Hudson Bay coast using satellite-derived sea-level altimetry. This anomaly was associated with enhanced cyclonic atmospheric circulation during fall, reaching a maximum in November, which forced storm surges along the coast. Complete sea-ice cover during winter impedes momentum transfer from wind stress to the ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
I. A. Dmitrenko D. L. Volkov T. A. Stadnyk A. Tefs D. G. Babb S. A. Kirillov A. Crawford K. Sydor D. G. Barber |
author_facet |
I. A. Dmitrenko D. L. Volkov T. A. Stadnyk A. Tefs D. G. Babb S. A. Kirillov A. Crawford K. Sydor D. G. Barber |
author_sort |
I. A. Dmitrenko |
title |
Atmospherically forced sea-level variability in western Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_short |
Atmospherically forced sea-level variability in western Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_full |
Atmospherically forced sea-level variability in western Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Atmospherically forced sea-level variability in western Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Atmospherically forced sea-level variability in western Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_sort |
atmospherically forced sea-level variability in western hudson bay, canada |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-1367-2021 https://doaj.org/article/3365b066ad9b46d5a5709ffbc51c04e2 |
geographic |
Hudson Bay Canada Hudson |
geographic_facet |
Hudson Bay Canada Hudson |
genre |
Churchill Churchill River Hudson Bay Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Churchill Churchill River Hudson Bay Sea ice |
op_source |
Ocean Science, Vol 17, Pp 1367-1384 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://os.copernicus.org/articles/17/1367/2021/os-17-1367-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0784 https://doaj.org/toc/1812-0792 doi:10.5194/os-17-1367-2021 1812-0784 1812-0792 https://doaj.org/article/3365b066ad9b46d5a5709ffbc51c04e2 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-1367-2021 |
container_title |
Ocean Science |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1367 |
op_container_end_page |
1384 |
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1766390399807520768 |