Measurements of the offshore wave climate around the British Isles by satellite altimeter

Woolf, David; Cotton, P. D.; Challenor, Peter

doi:10.1098/rsta.2002.1103

Cited by 35 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Table 1 establishes clear manifestations of the change in the NAO regime in the wind wave parameters in the North Atlantic. Woolf et al (2002) performed the EOF analysis of the altimeter SWH for 1985-99 using the data for the December-March period and obtained results very similar to our spatial patterns. Correlation of the first PC of SWH with NAO index was higher than 0.85.…”

Section: Interannual Variability In the Wind Wave Heightsmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…Quantitative comparison shows that our estimates are somewhat weaker than those reported by buoys that can be explained by the spatial averaging in a gridded product. Wave data from satellite altimetry Woolf et al 2002) provide relatively short time series. Comparison with them reveals quite good agreement of interannual variability and trends during the late 1980s and 1990s (Gulev et al 1998).…”

Section: Secular Changes In Wind Wave Heightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Satellite data recently also started to provide global time series of wind wave characteristics for the period from 1 to 2 decades. For instance, Woolf et al (2002) reported increases of SWH in the North Atlantic midlatitudes from a 14-yr (1988-2002) time series of the merged Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon and ERS-1/-2 Ku-band altimeter data. Although generally sparse sampling provided by individual satellites can be improved by combining tracks from different spacecrafts, this procedure requires intercalibration of instruments on board different satellites .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although generally sparse sampling provided by individual satellites can be improved by combining tracks from different spacecrafts, this procedure requires intercalibration of instruments on board different satellites . Nevertheless, despite some limitations in the coastal regions (Woolf et al 2003), these data cover the globe with quite homogeneous sampling and in the future will become superior with respect to the VOS data. However, at present these data are still short to be extensively applied for climate variability studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variability of the Winter Wind Waves and Swell in the North Atlantic and North Pacific as Revealed by the Voluntary Observing Ship Data

2006

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This paper analyses secular changes and interannual variability in the wind wave, swell, and significant wave height (SWH) characteristics over the North Atlantic and North Pacific on the basis of wind wave climatology derived from the visual wave observations of voluntary observing ship (VOS) officers. These data are available from the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) collection of surface meteorological observations for 1958-2002, but require much more complicated preprocessing than standard meteorological variables such as sea level pressure, temperature, and wind. Visual VOS data allow for separate analysis of changes in wind sea and swell, as well as in significant wave height, which has been derived from wind sea and swell estimates. In both North Atlantic and North Pacific midlatitudes winter significant wave height shows a secular increase from 10 to 40 cm decade Ϫ1 during the last 45 yr. However, in the North Atlantic the patterns of trend changes for wind sea and swell are quite different from each other, showing opposite signs of changes in the northeast Atlantic. Trend patterns of wind sea, swell, and SWH in the North Pacific are more consistent with each other. Qualitatively the same conclusions hold for the analysis of interannual variability whose leading modes demonstrate noticeable differences for wind sea and swell. Statistical analysis shows that variability in wind sea is closely associated with the local wind speed, while swell changes can be driven by the variations in the cyclone counts, implying the importance of forcing frequency for the resulting changes in significant wave height. This mechanism of differences in variability patterns of wind sea and swell is likely more realistic than the northeastward propagation of swells from the regions from which the wind sea signal originates.

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Section: Interannual Variability In the Wind Wave Heightsmentioning

confidence: 54%

Section: Secular Changes In Wind Wave Heightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variability of the Winter Wind Waves and Swell in the North Atlantic and North Pacific as Revealed by the Voluntary Observing Ship Data

2006

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“…In the North Atlantic, for example, the interannual evolution of wave heights is related, at least partially, to climatic factors, such as the NAO index (The WASA Group 1998, Wolf & Woolf 2005. Woolf et al (2003) found that most of the interannual variability of winter wave climate around the British Isles can be related to the NAO. According to Lionello & Galati (2008), the EA pattern (Wallace & Gutzler 1981) has a greater influence on the variability of waves than the NAO over the western Mediterranean.…”

Section: Wave Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change impacts on coastal and pelagic environments in the southeastern Bay of Biscay

Chust¹,

Borja²,

Caballero³

et al. 2011

Clim. Res.

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The impacts of global climate change on the Basque coast and the pelagic systems within the southeastern Bay of Biscay are reviewed. Climate projections under greenhouse gas emission scenarios indicate that this area will experience changes in climate throughout the 21st century, including warming of surface air (especially heat wave episodes), intensification of extreme daily rainfall (10%), warming of the upper 100 m of the ocean layer (1.5 to 2.05°C), and sea level rise (SLR; 29 to 49 cm). Observations made in the bay throughout the 20th century for air temperature and mean sea level are in agreement with these projections. Trends in ocean-climatic historical observations within the area, including sea temperature, precipitation, upwelling/downwelling, turbulence and wave climate, are also reviewed. The main impacts on the coast are expected to be from SLR, especially in low-lying areas (mostly urbanised) within estuaries. Sandy beaches are also expected to undergo significant mean shoreline retreats of between 25 and 40% of their width. As the sea level rises, the natural migration of saltmarshes and intertidal seagrasses landward will be constrained, in most cases, by existing anthropogenic fixed boundaries. Empirical relationships between the distribution and dynamics of the long-term biological measures (plankton, primary production, benthos, and fisheries) on the one hand, and ocean-climatic variability on the other, indicate that pelagic and coastal water ecosystems will be affected by ocean warming, increased stratification, shifts in anomaly patterns and streamflow regimes. The largest uncertainties are associated with the lack of downscaled projections within the bay on ocean circulation, ocean-meteorological indices, wave climate and ocean acidification.

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Ocean surface waves

Robinson

2010

Discovering the Ocean From Space

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Measurements of the offshore wave climate around the British Isles by satellite altimeter

Cited by 35 publications

References 6 publications

Variability of the Winter Wind Waves and Swell in the North Atlantic and North Pacific as Revealed by the Voluntary Observing Ship Data

Variability of the Winter Wind Waves and Swell in the North Atlantic and North Pacific as Revealed by the Voluntary Observing Ship Data

Climate change impacts on coastal and pelagic environments in the southeastern Bay of Biscay

Ocean surface waves

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