Storms or cold fronts: what is really responsible for the extreme waves regime in the Colombian Caribbean coastal region?

Abstract

Abstract. The aim of this study is to determine the contribution and importance of cold fronts and storms to extreme waves in different areas of the Colombian Caribbean in an attempt to determine the extent of the threat posed by the flood processes to which these coastal populations are exposed. Furthermore, the study wishes to establish the actions to which coastal engineering constructions should be subject. In the calculation of maritime constructions, the most important parameter is the height of the wave. For this reason, it is necessary to establish the design wave height to which a coastal engineering structure should be resistant. This wave height varies according to the return period considered. The significant height values for the areas focused on in the study were calculated in accordance with Gumbel's extreme value methodology. The methodology was evaluated using data from the reanalysis of the spectral National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) WAVEWATCH III® (WW3) model for 15 points along the 1600 km of the Colombian Caribbean coastline (continental and insular) between the years 1979 and 2009. The results demonstrated that the extreme waves caused by tropical cyclones and those caused by cold fronts have different effects along the Colombian Caribbean coast. Storms and hurricanes are of greater importance in the Guajira Peninsula (Alta Guajira). In the central area (consisting of Baja Guajira, and the cities of Santa Marta, Barranquilla, and Cartagena), the strong impact of cold fronts on extreme waves is evident. However, in the southern region of the Colombian Caribbean coast (ranging from the Gulf of Morrosquillo to the Gulf of Urabá), the extreme values of wave heights are lower than in the previously mentioned regions, despite being dominated mainly by the passage of cold fronts. Extreme waves in the San Andrés and Providencia insular region present a different dynamic from that in the continental area due to their geographic location. The wave heights in the extreme regime are similar in magnitude to those found in Alta Guajira, but the extreme waves associated with the passage of cold fronts in this region have lower return periods than those associated with the hurricane season.

Development and Implementation of the Application APPMAR 1.0. A Toolbox for Management of Meteorological and Marine Data on Limited Information Regions

“…The results show historical events with large energetic content, representing storm propagation towards the coast. The bars are consistent with the meteomarine conditions during winter due to the strong winds and related to the trade winds and Cold Fronts passage on the study zone [6,7] The values of the month of July indicate low pressure events related to the hurricane seasons, with 300 events greater than 1. It is shown in Figure 12 the wave height rose calculated energetically by storm with the application AppMar 1.0 © .…”

Coastal Impacts Driven by Sea-Level Rise in Cartagena de Indias

“…Wave climate is modulated by these seasons presenting a bimodal distribution; during the dry season the significant wave height (H s ) present larger values and smaller in October (Osorio et al, 2009;Thomas et al, 2011;Andrade et al, 2013). Cold fronts during the dry season are considered the major cause of extreme waves in the central sector of the Caribbean littoral of Colombia (Otero et al, 2016), affecting periodically the Bocagrande area with energetic northwestern waves. From June to November, the passage of hurricanes near the Colombian Caribbean Sea can be accompanied also by the occurrence of extreme events (e.g., as those caused by hurricanes Joan in 1988 and Lenny in 1999), which have the potential to severely affect the continental Caribbean (Ortiz et al, 2015).…”

“…Based on this almost 93% of waves come from the NE, 2% from the NNE, 1.5% from ENE and the remaining from other directions (see Table 1). After considering the direction with the highest probability of occurrence and the joint probability analysis of H s and T p , two cases representing extreme events were chosen for the NE direction: the significant wave height that exceeded 12 h per year (H s12 , cases A1-A2 in Table 2) which corresponds to H s = 4.5 m and T p = 11 s; and (ii) the significant wave height with a 10% probability of exceedance (H s90 , cases A3-A4 in Table 2) corresponding to H s = 3.0 m and a T p = 12 s. As the passage of cold fronts is the cause of some of the highest waves in the central of the Colombian Caribbean Sea (Otero et al, 2016), we also study (although they have a lower probability of occurrence) the extreme waves from the NW direction. For this case, considering the joint probability analysis of H s and T p , corresponds to H s = 3.0 m and T p = 14 s (H s12 , cases B1-B2 in Table 2) and to H s = 2.2 m and T p = 10 s (H s90 , cases B3-B4 in Table 2).…”

Spongia (Heterofibria) sucrensis sp. nov. (Dyctioceratida: Spongiidae): una nueva especie de esponja para el Caribe colombiano

“…Punta Piedra es un bajo coralino compuesto principalmente por las especies Millepora complanata Lamarck, M. squarrosa Lamarck, Siderastrea siderea (Ellis y Solander) y Siderastrea radians (Pallas); se encuentra deteriorado y es abundante el coral muerto. La altura de las olas es inferior a la que se presenta en otras partes del Caribe colombiano y los eventos extremos del oleaje son generados principalmente por frentes fríos (Otero et al, 2016).…”