Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Oceanography
Efficient Probabilistic Prediction and Uncertainty Quantification of Hurricane Surge and Inundation
Published: 2022-05-31
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
This study proposes a methodology for efficient probabilistic prediction of near-landfall hurricane-driven storm surge, tide, and inundation. We perturb forecasts of hurricane track, intensity, and size according to quasi-random low-discrepancy Korobov sequences of historical forecast errors with assumed Gaussian and uniform statistical distributions. These perturbations are run in an ensemble of [...]
How to drain a megalake: Comments on a study by Palcu et al. (2021) Scientific Reports 11, Art. Nr.: 11471.
Published: 2022-05-27
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Oceanography, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure
In a recent paper by Palcu et al. (2021: Scientific Reports 11, Art. Nr.: 11471), the Cape Panagia section on the Taman peninsula (Russian Black Sea) was dated using magnetostratigraphy, in order to calibrate the timing of previously published regressions of the Paratethys megalake. The authors of the paper claim that this “largest megalake in the geological record” experienced four major [...]
Using Lagrangian filtering to remove waves from the ocean surface velocity field
Published: 2022-05-19
Subjects: Oceanography
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite will measure altimetry on scales down to about 15km: at these scales, the sea-surface-height signature of inertia-gravity waves, including barotropic tides and internal tides, will be visible. However, tides and inertia-gravity waves have little impact on tracer transport. Recent work has shown that Lagrangian filtering can be used to [...]
Data from the drain: a sensor framework that captures multiple drivers of chronic coastal floods
Published: 2022-04-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Hydrology, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Tide gauge water levels are commonly used as a proxy for flood incidence on land. These proxies are useful for projecting how sea-level rise (SLR) will increase the frequency of coastal flooding. However, tide gauges do not account for land-based sources of coastal flooding and therefore flood thresholds and the proxies derived from them likely underestimate the current and future frequency of [...]
Deep submarine infiltration of altered geothermal groundwater on the south Chilean Margin
Published: 2022-01-25
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Hydrology, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Submarine groundwater discharge is increasingly recognized as an important component of the oceanic geochemical budget, but knowledge of the distribution of this phenomenon is limited. To date, reports of meteoric inputs to marine sediments are typically limited to shallow shelf and coastal environments, whereas contributions of freshwater along deeper sections of tectonically active margins like [...]
Diapycnal Displacement, Diffusion, and Distortion of Tracers in the Ocean
Published: 2022-01-07
Subjects: Applied Mathematics, Fluid Dynamics, Non-linear Dynamics, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Small-scale mixing drives the diabatic upwelling that closes the abyssal ocean overturning circulation. Indirect microstructure measurements of in situ turbulence suggest that mixing is bottom enhanced over rough topography, implying downwelling in the interior and stronger upwelling in a sloping bottom boundary layer. Tracer release experiments (TREs), in which inert tracers are purposefully [...]
Quantifying the environmental impact of a major coal mine project on the adjacent Great Barrier Reef ecosystems
Published: 2021-12-23
Subjects: Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Sciences, Oceanography, Oil, Gas, and Energy
A major coal mine project in Queensland, Australia, is currently under review. It is planned to be located about 10 km away from the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA). Sediment dispersal patterns and their impact on marine ecosystems have not been properly assessed yet. Here, we simulate the dispersal of different sediment types with a high-resolution ocean model, and derive their [...]
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: 2021-11-08
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 [...]