Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Oceanography
Components and Tidal Modulation of the Wave Field in a Semi-Enclosed Shallow Bay
Published: 2021-12-09
Subjects: Environmental Engineering, Geomorphology, Oceanography
The wave field in coastal bays is comprised of waves generated by far-off storms and waves generated locally by winds inside the bay and regionally outside the bay. The resultant wave field varies spatially and temporally and is expected to control morphologic features, such as beaches in estuaries and bays (BEBs). However, neither the wave field nor the role of waves in shaping BEBs have been [...]
Sedimentological data-driven bottom friction parameter estimation in modelling Bristol Channel tidal dynamics
Published: 2021-11-09
Subjects: Oceanography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Accurately representing the bottom friction effect is a significant challenge in numerical tidal models. Bottom friction effects are commonly defined via parameter estimation techniques. However, the bottom friction coefficient (BFC) can be related to the roughness of the sea bed. Therefore, sedimentological data can be beneficial in estimating BFCs. Taking the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary [...]
GESLA Version 3: A major update to the global higher-frequency sea-level dataset
Published: 2021-11-05
Subjects: Oceanography
This paper describes a major update to the quasi-global, higher-frequency sea-level dataset known as GESLA (Global Extreme Sea Level Analysis). Versions 1 (released 2009) and 2 (released 2016) of the dataset have been used in many published studies, across a wide range of oceanographic and coastal engineering-related investigations concerned with evaluating tides, storm surges, extreme sea levels [...]
Seismic and Acoustic Monitoring of Submarine Landslides: Ongoing Challenges, Recent Successes and Future Opportunities
Published: 2021-10-04
Subjects: Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Oceanography, Sedimentology
Submarine landslides pose a hazard to coastal communities due to the tsunamis they can generate, and can damage critical seafloor infrastructure, such as the network of cables that underpin global data transfer and communications. These mass movements can be orders of magnitude larger than their onshore equivalents and are found on all of the world’s continental margins; from coastal zones to [...]
High interstadial sea levels over the past 420ka from the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea
Published: 2021-09-06
Subjects: Climate, Geology, Geomorphology, Oceanography, Tectonics and Structure
The history of sea level across the Quaternary is essential for assessing past and future climate. Global sea-level reconstructions are typically derived from oxygen isotope curves, but require calibration with geological constraints that are scarce prior to the last glacial cycle (>130 thousand years ago). Here we show that the coral reef terrace sequence at the Huon Peninsula (Papua New Guinea) [...]
Sea surface salinity subfootprint variability from a global high-resolution model
Published: 2021-08-20
Subjects: Oceanography
Subfootprint variability (SFV) is variability at a spatial scale smaller than the footprint of a sat-ellite, and cannot be resolved by satellite observations. It is important to quantify and understand as it contributes to the error budget for satellite data. The purpose of this study is to estimate the SFV for sea surface salinity (SSS) satellite observations. This is done using a [...]
Safety and Belonging in the Field: A Checklist for Educators
Published: 2021-08-19
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Biogeochemistry, Climate, Cosmochemistry, Earth Sciences, Education, Environmental Education, Environmental Health and Protection, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Fresh Water Studies, Geochemistry, Geographic Information Sciences, Geography, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Glaciology, Higher Education, Human Geography, Hydrology, Life Sciences, Meteorology, Mineral Physics, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resources and Conservation, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Nature and Society Relations, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Other Earth Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences, Other Geography, Other Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Planetary Sciences, Outdoor Education, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Physical and Environmental Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Biogeochemistry, Planetary Geochemistry, Planetary Geology, Planetary Geomorphology, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Planetary Glaciology, Planetary Hydrology, Planetary Mineral Physics, Planetary Sciences, Planetary Sedimentology, Remote Sensing, Sedimentology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Soil Science, Spatial Science, Speleology, Stratigraphy, Sustainability, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology, Water Resource Management
Ensuring taught fieldwork is a positive, generative, collective, and valuable experience for all participants requires considerations beyond course content. To guarantee safety and belonging, participants’ identities (backgrounds and protected characteristics) must be considered as a part of fieldwork planning and implementation. Furthermore, getting fieldwork right is an important step in [...]
Combining shallow-water and analytical wake models for tidal array micro-siting
Published: 2021-07-30
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering, Oceanography
For tidal-stream energy to become a competitive renewable energy source, clustering multiple turbines into arrays is paramount. As a result, array optimisation is critical for achieving maximum power performance and reducing cost of energy. However, ascertaining an optimal array layout is a highly complex problem, subject to specific site hydrodynamics and multiple inter-disciplinary [...]
Creating a climate changed future with the sea level rise interactive- fiction game ‘Lagos2199’
Published: 2021-07-26
Subjects: Climate, Education, Environmental Education, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Geographic Information Sciences, Geography, Instructional Media Design, International and Area Studies, Nature and Society Relations, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Earth Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences, Physical and Environmental Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Science and Mathematics Education, Sustainability
Story-based futures serve an important role in climate change scenario development. Stories are particularly useful in exploring sea level rise possibilities, since we know many coastal areas are specifically vulnerable to accelerating rises in sea level. This discrete change in coastline is different from most other climate change impacts, and offers a clear basis for scientifically-informed, [...]
Energetics and mixing of stratified, rotating flow over abyssal hills
Published: 2021-07-12
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
One of the proposed mechanisms for energy loss in the ocean is through dissipation of internal waves, in particular above rough topography where internal lee waves are generated. Rates of dissipation and diapycnal mixing are often estimated using linear theory and a constant value for mixing efficiency. However, previous oceanographic measurements found that non-linear dynamics may be important [...]
OpenOBS: Open-source, low-cost optical backscatter sensors for water quality and sediment-transport research
Published: 2021-06-17
Subjects: Environmental Monitoring, Fluid Dynamics, Fresh Water Studies, Geomorphology, Oceanography, Sedimentology, Water Resource Management
Optical backscatter sensors (OBSs) are commonly used to measure the turbidity, or light obscuration, of water in fresh and marine environments and various industrial applications. These turbidity measurements are commonly calibrated to yield total suspended solids (TSS) or suspended sediment concentration (SSC) measurements for water quality, sediment transport, and diverse other research and [...]
Matchup Characteristics of Sea Surface Salinity using a High-resolution Ocean Model
Published: 2021-06-16
Subjects: Oceanography
Sea surface salinity (SSS) satellite measurements are validated using in situ observations usually made by surfacing Argo floats. Validation statistics are computed using matched values of SSS from satellites and floats. This study explores how the matchup process is done using a high-resolution numerical ocean model, the MITgcm. One year of model output is sampled as if the Aquarius and Soil [...]
Ubiquity of human-induced changes in climate variability
Published: 2021-06-12
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Biogeochemistry, Climate, Earth Sciences, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
While climate change mitigation targets necessarily concern maximum mean state changes, understanding impacts and developing adaptation strategies will be largely contingent on how climate variability responds to increasing anthropogenic perturbations. Here we present a new 100-member large ensemble of climate change projections conducted with the Community Earth System Model version 2 to examine [...]
Non-deterministic effects in modelling the tidal currents in a high-energy coastal site
Published: 2021-05-27
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Oceanography
Numerical models are commonly employed for predicting tidal stream resource, since harmonic analysis is typically insufficient for representing tidal currents. This is particularly true in regions of high-energy flow and complex bathymetric and coastline features, resulting in highly nonlinear dynamics. Within this work, we demonstrate that non-deterministic effects pose a further barrier to [...]
CO2 capture by pumping surface acidity to the deep ocean
Published: 2021-04-30
Subjects: Chemical Engineering, Climate, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The majority of IPCC scenarios call for active CO2 removal (CDR) to remain below 2oC of warm- ing. On geological timescales, ocean uptake regulates atmospheric CO2 concentration, with two homeostats driving CO2 uptake: dissolution of deep ocean calcite deposits and terrestrial weathering of silicate rocks, acting on 1ka to 100ka timescales, respectively. Many current ocean-based CDR proposals [...]