Abstract
A climatology of the wind waves in the Mediterranean Sea is presented. The climate patterns, their spatio-temporal variability and change are based on a 40-year (1980–2019) wave hindcast, obtained by combining the ERA5 reanalysis wind forcing with the state-of-the-art WAVEWATCH III spectral wave model and verified against satellite altimetry. Results are presented for the typical (50th percentile) and extreme (99th percentile) significant wave height and, for the first time at the regional Mediterranean Sea scale, for the typical and extreme expected maximum individual wave height of sea states. The climate variability of wind waves is evaluated at seasonal scale by proposing and adopting a definition of seasons for the Mediterranean Sea states that is based on the satellite altimetry wave observations of stormy (winter) and calm (summer) months. The results, initially presented for the four seasons and then for winter and summer only, show the regions of the basin where largest waves occur and those with the largest temporal variability. A possible relationship with the atmospheric parameter anomalies and with teleconnection patterns (through climate indices) that motivates such variability is investigated, with results suggesting that the Scandinavian index variability is the most correlated to the Mediterranean Sea wind-wave variability, especially for typical winter sea states. Finally, a trend analysis shows that the Mediterranean Sea typical and extreme significant and maximum individual wave heights are decreasing during summer and increasing during winter.
Highlights
Wind waves are a key factor of the Earth global climate system contributing to the modulation of the exchanges at the atmosphere-ocean interface (Cavaleri et al, 2012b)
In Section “Results” we present the results of this wave climate analysis, which first focuses on the significant wave height of sea states, showing its typical and extreme seasonal climate in the MS, its spatio-temporal variability and change, and on the expected maximum individual waves and relevant parameters for their estimation
In order to motivate the inter-annual climate variability of the MS waves, we look for possible teleconnections between the wave climate variability and the principal modes of atmospheric variability, taking into account four northern hemisphere indices: North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Scandinavian (SCAND), East Atlantic (EA) and East Atlantic-Western Russian (EAWR)
Summary
Wind waves are a key factor of the Earth global climate system contributing to the modulation of the exchanges at the atmosphere-ocean interface (Cavaleri et al, 2012b). Wind Waves in the Mediterranean Sea impacting offshore structures and navigation as well as coastlines and coastal recreational or productive activities. The assessment of the wind-wave climate (i.e., the wind-wave characteristics averaged on a long-term temporal scale) and of its spatio-temporal variability and change is of fundamental importance for coastal and offshore engineering purposes (to design, for instance, littoral protections, oil rigs and wind farms), navigation (ship routing) and for all other activities related to the marine environment (DNV GL–Det Norske Veritas Germanischer Lloyd, 2017). Beside the most widely used significant wave height, information on the maximum wave individual height expected at certain locations is more and more required by the naval and offshore industries for the definition of the environmental loads over the lifetime of a ship or a structure (DNV GL–Det Norske Veritas Germanischer Lloyd, 2017)
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