Influence of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events on the evolution of central California's shoreline

Storlazzi, Curt D.; Griggs, Gary B.

doi:10.1130/0016-7606(2000)112<236:ioenoe>2.0.co;2

Cited by 124 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The wave climate along the western coast of North America was found to be well correlated with the Southern Oscillation, with greatly increased wave activity during El Nino events in the southern portion and during non-El Nino years in the northern part (e.g., Seymour et al 1984, Inman and Jenkins 1997, Seymour 1998, Allan and Komar 2000, Storlazzi and Griggs 2000. In Hawaiian waters, larger and more consistent northwest swells are observed between September and April of El Nino years (Caldwell 1992).…”

Section: Influence Ofenso On Wave Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

EL Nino Influence on Holocene Reef Accretion in Hawai'i

Rooney¹,

Fletcher²,

Grossman³

et al. 2004

Pacific Science

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New observations of reef accretion from several locations show that in Hawai'i accretion during early to middle Holocene time occurred in areas where today it is precluded by the wave regime, suggesting an increase in wave energy. Accretion of coral and coralline algae reefs in the Hawaiian Islands today is largely controlled by wave energy. Many coastal areas in the main Hawaiian Islands are periodically exposed to large waves, in particular from North Pacific swell and hurricanes. These are of sufficient intensity to prevent modern net accretion as evidenced by the antecedent nature of the seafloor. Only in areas sheltered from intense wave energy is active accretion observed. Analysis of reef cores reveals patterns of rapid early Holocene accretion in severallocations that terminated by middle Holocene time, ca. 5000 yr ago. Previous analyses have suggested that changes in Holocene accretion were a result of reef growth "catching up" to sea level. New data and interpretations indicate that the end of reef accretion in the middle Holocene may be influenced by factors in addition to sea level. Reef accretion histories from the islands of Kaua'i, O'ahu, and Moloka'i may be interpreted to suggest that a change in wave energy contributed to the reduction or termination of Holocene accretion by 5000 yr ago in some areas. In these cases, the decrease in reef accretion occurred before the best estimates of the decrease in relative sea-level rise during the mid-Holocene high stand of sea level in the main Hawaiian Islands. However, reef accretion should decrease following the termination of relative sea-level rise (ca. 3000 yr ago) if reef growth were "catching up" to sea level. Evidence indicates that rapid accretion occurred at these sites in early Holocene time and that no permanent accretion is occurring at these sites today. This pattern persists despite the availability of hard substrate suitable for colonization at a wide range of depths between -30 m and the intertidal zone. We infer that forcing other than relative sea-level rise has altered the natural ability to support reef accretion on Hawaiian insular shelves. The limiting factor in these areas today is wave energy. Numbers of both large North Pacific swell events and hurricanes in Hawai'i are greater during El Nino years. We infer that if these major reeflimiting forces were suppressed, net accretion would occur in some areas in Hawai'i that are now wave-limited. Studies have shown that El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was significantly weakened during early-mid Holocene time, only attaining an intensity similar to the current one ca. 5000 yr ago. We speculate that this shift in ENSO may assist in explaining patterns of Holocene Hawaiian reef accretion that are different from those of the present and apparently not related to relative sea-level rise.

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Section: Influence Ofenso On Wave Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

EL Nino Influence on Holocene Reef Accretion in Hawai'i

Rooney¹,

Fletcher²,

Grossman³

et al. 2004

Pacific Science

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“…Even moderate waves are important for structuring physical environments of coastal regions through their effects on local oceanography. For example, they induce currents (Storlazzi and Jaffe 2002), mix the water column (Storlazzi et al 2003), and modify the seafloor by suspending and transporting sediments (Bagnold and Taylor 1946;Cacchione and Drake 1982;Hanes and Huntley 1986) and eroding hard substrates (Storlazzi and Griggs 2000).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

An inexpensive instrument for measuring wave exposure and water velocity

Figurski

Malone

Lacy

et al. 2011

Limnology & Ocean Methods

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Ocean waves drive a wide variety of nearshore physical processes, structuring entire ecosystems through their direct and indirect effects on the settlement, behavior, and survivorship of marine organisms. However, wave exposure remains difficult and expensive to measure. Here, we report on an inexpensive and easily constructed instrument for measuring wave-induced water velocities. The underwater relative swell kinetics instrument (URSKI) is a subsurface float tethered by a short (<1 m) line to the seafloor. Contained within the float is an accelerometer that records the tilt of the float in response to passing waves. During two field trials totaling 358 h, we confirmed the accuracy and precision of URSKI measurements through comparison to velocities measured by an in situ acoustic Doppler velocimeter and those predicted by a standard swell model, and we evaluated how the dimensions of the devices, its buoyancy, and sampling frequency can be modified for use in a variety of environments.

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“…Throughout the year, this part of the central California coast is exposed to four wave climate regimes: the north Pacific swell, the southern swell, northwest wind waves, and local wind waves (Storlazzi and Griggs, 2000;Storlazzi and Wingfield, 2005). The north Pacific swell dominates in winter months (typically November through March), with wave heights at offshore buoys ranging from 2 to 10 m and wave periods ranging from 10 to 25 s (Storlazzi and Wingfield, 2005).…”

Section: Regional Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%