Extreme Weather Impacts on Coastal and Estuarine Circulations and Transport Processes

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Oceanography".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2024) | Viewed by 9700

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Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
Interests: physical oceanography; transport processes; sediment transport; flushing of bays; coastal and estuarine circulations; innovative observations; modeling of coastal ocean processes; weather induced oceanographic and estuarine response and impact to the coast; storm surges; cold front induced oceanic and coastal processes; arctic estuarine dynamics
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Guest Editor
Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
Interests: wave modeling; wave energy characterization; ocean circulation; wave-current interaction; ocean mixing and stratification; tropical storm-ocean interaction
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue invites contributions about advances in modelling and observations of extreme weather impacts on coastal, continental shelf, and estuarine processes. We welcome theme-based studies using any appropriate tools, such as modeling, traditional in situ and remote sensing observations, innovative observations and modeling approaches, or a combination of different approaches. Example topics include, but are not limited to, any extreme weather related oceanographic, estuarine, or otherwise general geophysical fluid dynamical processes, mechanisms of extreme weather driven dynamics involving circulations, flushing of estuarine systems, continental shelf processes, impact to stratification and related DO problems, exchange of estuarine and shelf waters, and transport of water, energy, salt, nutrients, fish larvae, and pollutants, such as microplastics. Studies using single models, coupled models, and Earth Systems Models are all acceptable. Interdisciplinary topics and applications of new observational and modeling techniques presented in research articles, review articles, and case studies are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Chunyan Li
Prof. Dr. João Miguel Dias
Dr. Mohammad Nabi Allahdadi
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 7927 KiB  
Article
Tropical Cyclone-Induced Sea Surface Temperature Responses in the Northern Indian Ocean
by Jianmin Yu, Haibin Lv, Simei Tan and Yuntao Wang
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(11), 2196; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11112196 - 18 Nov 2023
Viewed by 2043
Abstract
Tropical cyclones (TCs) exert a significant influence on the upper ocean, leading to sea surface temperature (SST) changes on a global scale. However, TC-induced SST responses exhibit considerable variability in the northern Indian Ocean (NIO), and the general understanding of these responses remains [...] Read more.
Tropical cyclones (TCs) exert a significant influence on the upper ocean, leading to sea surface temperature (SST) changes on a global scale. However, TC-induced SST responses exhibit considerable variability in the northern Indian Ocean (NIO), and the general understanding of these responses remains limited. This paper investigates the SST changes caused by 96 TCs over an 18-year period in the NIO. Through a composite analysis utilizing satellite SST data, a comprehensive study is conducted to examine the relationship between TC characteristics, including wind speed and translation speed, and the associated SST changes. The overall findings reveal that within a radius of 300 km from the TC center, SST decreases were observed at 1702 (86%) locations, with an average SST response to TC of −0.46 °C and a maximum decrease of −2.07 °C. The most significant reduction in SST typically occurred two days after the passage of TCs, followed by a gradual recovery period exceeding 15 days for the SSTs to return to their initial values. Consistent with findings in other ocean basins, stronger and slower-moving TCs induced more substantial cooling effects. Conversely, at 279 (14%) locations, particularly associated with TCs of weaker intensities, SST increases were observed following the TC passage. Notably, 140 of these locations were situated at low latitudes, specifically between 8° N and 15° N. This study provides a quantitative analysis of the comprehensive SST response to TCs in the NIO. Full article
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12 pages, 3151 KiB  
Article
Insights on the Extreme Storm Surge Event of the 22 November 2022 in the Venice Lagoon
by Riccardo Alvise Mel, Elisa Coraci, Sara Morucci, Franco Crosato, Michele Cornello, Marco Casaioli, Stefano Mariani, Luca Carniello, Alvise Papa, Andrea Bonometto and Maurizio Ferla
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(9), 1750; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091750 - 7 Sep 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1785
Abstract
The Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) manages the national sea state real time monitoring system for Italy, which consists of the National Sea Level Network (RMN), the North Adriatic and Venice Lagoon Sea Level Network (RMLV), the National Wave Networks [...] Read more.
The Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) manages the national sea state real time monitoring system for Italy, which consists of the National Sea Level Network (RMN), the North Adriatic and Venice Lagoon Sea Level Network (RMLV), the National Wave Networks (RON), and a marine weather forecasting system. These systems are particularly deployed to monitor and predict storm surges that affect the northern part of the Adriatic Sea and the Venice Lagoon, usually causing damages and morphological impacts over the highly anthropized coastal areas. On 22 November 2022, an extreme storm surge event occurred in the northern Adriatic Sea, producing severe damages on its coastline. Venice and the surrounding urban settlements have been protected from flooding thanks to the operation of the Mo.S.E. (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico) system, a set of artificial barriers built to isolate the lagoon from the sea in case of extreme high tides. Coastal flooding prevention measures, such as storm-surge barriers, are indeed being widely adopted globally because of the accelerating rise in sea levels. An analysis of this extreme event is presented here to highlight the functionality and the usefulness of the ISPRA sea state monitoring system. In particular, the analysis of the as-if scenario reproducing the natural tide propagation within the lagoon, neglecting the operation of the Mo.S.E. system, can only be pursued by using hydrodynamic models forced using extensive observed data. Results highlight that the “not-regulated” sea level would have exceeded 200 cm above the reference datum at Chioggia, a threshold never recorded in the Venice Lagoon since sea level monitoring systems have been operational. Full article
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28 pages, 16877 KiB  
Article
Impact of Extreme Wind and Freshwater Runoff on the Salinity Patterns of a Mesotidal Coastal Lagoon
by Francisco Pereira, Ana Picado, Humberto Pereira, João Pedro Pinheiro, Carina Lurdes Lopes and João Miguel Dias
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(7), 1338; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11071338 - 30 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1410
Abstract
The interaction between tide, river runoff, and wind in coastal lagoons induces complex salinity gradients, which are remarkable when the meteorological forcing is exacerbated. This work aims to characterize the salinity structure under extreme freshwater and wind events in the Ria de Aveiro [...] Read more.
The interaction between tide, river runoff, and wind in coastal lagoons induces complex salinity gradients, which are remarkable when the meteorological forcing is exacerbated. This work aims to characterize the salinity structure under extreme freshwater and wind events in the Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon (Portugal). The Delft3D model was implemented and validated in 3D mode and used to perform simulations forced with extreme freshwater and wind scenarios. Results show that forcing conditions determine salinity stratification intensity and location. Generally, stratification increases as the freshwater increases, while the salinity intrusion moves downstream. Extreme wind tends to destroy stratification but fails to promote full-depth mixing, which is also dependent on the wind direction, as shown for the Espinheiro channel. The salinity intrusion is also impacted by wind events, being NW storms responsible for an upstream salt transport along the Mira channel and a downstream transport along the Espinheiro channel, and SW storms for an upstream displacement of the salinity intrusion along the São Jacinto channel. Finally, it is observed that the advection of a freshwater plume from the Vouga River into the middle of the São Jacinto channel under high freshwater scenarios causes an unusual local salinity pattern. This plume can either be pushed upstream or prevented from entering the channel, depending on the wind direction. Full article
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21 pages, 6928 KiB  
Article
Stratification Breakdown by Fall Cold Front Winds over the Louisiana Shelf in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: A Numerical Experiment
by Mohammad Nabi Allahdadi, Chunyan Li and Nazanin Chaichitehrani
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(3), 673; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11030673 - 22 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1390
Abstract
Cold fronts are meteorological phenomena that impact the northern Gulf of Mexico, mostly between the fall and spring seasons. On average, they pass the region every 3–7 days, with a duration ranging between 24 and 74 h. In the present study, a high-resolution [...] Read more.
Cold fronts are meteorological phenomena that impact the northern Gulf of Mexico, mostly between the fall and spring seasons. On average, they pass the region every 3–7 days, with a duration ranging between 24 and 74 h. In the present study, a high-resolution FVCOM model with an unstructured mesh was used to simulate the effect of the fall cold front winds on water column mixing over the Louisiana shelf, which is often stratified in the summer, leading to hypoxia. Numerical experiments were conducted for October 2009, a period with five consecutive cold front events. Winds from an offshore station forced the model, while climatological temperature/salinity profiles prepared by NOAA for September were used for model initialization. The model performance was evaluated by comparing it with the surface current measurements at two offshore stations, and the results showed a good agreement between the model results and observations. Shelf mixing and stratification were investigated through examining the simulated sea surface temperature as well as the longitudinal and cross-shelf vertical sections. Simulation results showed a significant effect on shelf mixing, with the mixed layer depth increasing from the initial values of 5 m to 25 m at the end of simulation at different parts of the shelf, with maximum mixed layer depths corresponding to the peak of cold fronts. The buoyancy frequency, Richardson number, and the average potential energy demand (APED) for mixing the water column were used to quantify the stratification at two selected locations over the shelf. Results showed that all these parameters almost continuously decreased due to mixing induced by cold front wind events during this time. At the station off the Terrebonne Bay with a water depth of 20 m, the water column became fully mixed after three of the cold front events, with Richardson numbers smaller than 0.25 and approaching zero. This continued mixing trend was also proven by obtaining a decreasing trend of APED from 100 to 5 kg/m.s2 with several close to zero energy demand values. Full article
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15 pages, 5591 KiB  
Article
Extreme Flooding Events in Coastal Lagoons: Seawater Parameters and Rainfall over A Six-Year Period in the Mar Menor (SE Spain)
by Mariana Machado Toffolo, Federica Grilli, Catia Prandi, Stefano Goffredo and Mauro Marini
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(10), 1521; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10101521 - 18 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1931
Abstract
Climate change is one of the main problems currently strongly conditioning ecosystems all over the world. Coastal lagoons are amongst the most vulnerable habitats, and they are undergoing extensive human impact due to their high production rates and the close proximity of urban [...] Read more.
Climate change is one of the main problems currently strongly conditioning ecosystems all over the world. Coastal lagoons are amongst the most vulnerable habitats, and they are undergoing extensive human impact due to their high production rates and the close proximity of urban and agricultural centers. The Mar Menor, the largest saltwater lagoon in Europe, is an example of a highly impacted ecosystem. In December 2016 and September 2019, climate change-induced DANA (upper-level isolated atmospheric depression) flooding events took place there, temporarily altering the lagoon oceanographic properties. Data gathered throughout the lagoon (11 stations inside and 1 outside the lagoon) from 2016 to 2021 were analyzed in order to assess the variability of seawater parameters: salinity, density, chlorophyll-a, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen, due to DANA events. Results showed a change in seawater parameters that were reestablished at different rates, 4 and 10 months in 2016 and 2019, respectively, following a description of the environmental conditions and effects that have been reported after extreme rainfall in the lagoon. The amount of rainfall correlated with changes in the analyzed seawater parameters, such as an increase in turbidity and chlorophyll-a values. Furthermore, turbidity correlated with chlorophyll-a and oxygen saturation, while density correlated with salinity. Such extreme weather events are worsened by climate change, growing more frequent and between shorter intervals in time. In order to decelerate ecosystem decline, comprehensive management plans are needed to address the various factors that might add to anthropic impacts in natural environments. Full article
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