Articles | Volume 17, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-975-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-975-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
23 Jul 2021
Research article |
| 23 Jul 2021
| 23 Jul 2021
Impact of dense-water flow over a sloping bottom on open-sea circulation: laboratory experiments and an Ionian Sea (Mediterranean) example
Miroslav Gačić
National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics – OGS,
Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/C, Sgonico (TS) 34010, Italy
Laura Ursella
National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics – OGS,
Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/C, Sgonico (TS) 34010, Italy
National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics – OGS,
Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/C, Sgonico (TS) 34010, Italy
Milena Menna
National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics – OGS,
Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/C, Sgonico (TS) 34010, Italy
Vlado Malačič
National Institute of Biology, Marine Biology Station, Fornače
41, Piran 6330, Slovenia
Manuel Bensi
National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics – OGS,
Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/C, Sgonico (TS) 34010, Italy
Maria-Eletta Negretti
LEGI, CNRS UMR5519, University of Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, 1209-1211 rue de la piscine, Domaine Universitaire, Saint Martin d'Hères 38400,
France
Vanessa Cardin
National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics – OGS,
Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/C, Sgonico (TS) 34010, Italy
Mirko Orlić
Andrija Mohorovičić Geophysical Institute, Faculty of
Science, University of Zagreb, Horvatovac 95, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Joël Sommeria
LEGI, CNRS UMR5519, University of Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, 1209-1211 rue de la piscine, Domaine Universitaire, Saint Martin d'Hères 38400,
France
Ricardo Viana Barreto
University Ca' Foscari of Venice, Department of Environmental Sciences,
Informatics and Statistics, Via Torino 155, Mestre 30172, Italy
Samuel Viboud
LEGI, CNRS UMR5519, University of Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, 1209-1211 rue de la piscine, Domaine Universitaire, Saint Martin d'Hères 38400,
France
Thomas Valran
LEGI, CNRS UMR5519, University of Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, 1209-1211 rue de la piscine, Domaine Universitaire, Saint Martin d'Hères 38400,
France
Boris Petelin
National Institute of Biology, Marine Biology Station, Fornače
41, Piran 6330, Slovenia
Giuseppe Siena
National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics – OGS,
Borgo Grotta Gigante 42/C, Sgonico (TS) 34010, Italy
Angelo Rubino
University Ca' Foscari of Venice, Department of Environmental Sciences,
Informatics and Statistics, Via Torino 155, Mestre 30172, Italy
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Manuel Bensi, Giuseppe Civitarese, Diego Borme, Carmela Caroppo, Gabriella Caruso, Federica Cerino, Franco Decembrini, Alessandra de Olazabal, Tommaso Diociaiuti, Michele Giani, Vedrana Kovacevic, Martina Kralj, Angelina Lo Giudice, Giovanna Maimone, Marina Monti, Maria Papale, Luisa Patrolecco, Elisa Putelli, Alessandro Ciro Rappazzo, Federica Relitti, Carmen Rizzo, Francesca Spataro, Valentina Tirelli, Clara Turetta, and Maurizio Azzaro
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Over 100 experiments were realized between 1998 and 2022 in the Mediterranean Sea using surface coastal and offshore Lagrangian drifters. Raw data were initially unified and pre-processed. Then, the integrity of the received data packages was checked and incomplete ones were discarded. Deployment information was retrieved and integrated into the PostgreSQL database. Data were interpolated at defined time intervals, providing a dataset of 158 trajectories, available in different formats.
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Oxygen is essential to all aerobic organisms, and its content in the marine environment is continuously under assessment. By integrating observations with a model, we describe the dissolved oxygen variability in a sensitive Mediterranean area in the period 1999–2021 and ascribe it to multiple acting physical and biological drivers. Moreover, the reduction recognized in 2021, apparently also due to other mechanisms, requires further monitoring in light of its possible impacts.
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Explaining the dynamics of jellyfish blooms is a challenge for scientists. Biological and meteo-oceanographic data were combined on different timescales to explain the exceptional bloom of the jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo in the Gulf of Trieste (Adriatic Sea) in April 2021. The bloom was associated with anomalously warm seasonal sea conditions. Then, a strong bora wind event enhanced upwelling and mixing of the water column, causing jellyfish to rise to the surface and accumulate along the coast.
Pablo Lorente, Eva Aguiar, Michele Bendoni, Maristella Berta, Carlo Brandini, Alejandro Cáceres-Euse, Fulvio Capodici, Daniela Cianelli, Giuseppe Ciraolo, Lorenzo Corgnati, Vlado Dadić, Bartolomeo Doronzo, Aldo Drago, Dylan Dumas, Pierpaolo Falco, Maria Fattorini, Adam Gauci, Roberto Gómez, Annalisa Griffa, Charles-Antoine Guérin, Ismael Hernández-Carrasco, Jaime Hernández-Lasheras, Matjaž Ličer, Marcello G. Magaldi, Carlo Mantovani, Hrvoje Mihanović, Anne Molcard, Baptiste Mourre, Alejandro Orfila, Adèle Révelard, Emma Reyes, Jorge Sánchez, Simona Saviano, Roberta Sciascia, Stefano Taddei, Joaquín Tintoré, Yaron Toledo, Laura Ursella, Marco Uttieri, Ivica Vilibić, Enrico Zambianchi, and Vanessa Cardin
Ocean Sci., 18, 761–795, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-761-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-761-2022, 2022
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High-frequency radar (HFR) is a land-based remote sensing technology that can provide maps of the surface circulation over broad coastal areas, along with wave and wind information. The main goal of this work is to showcase the current status of the Mediterranean HFR network as well as present and future applications of this sensor for societal benefit such as search and rescue operations, safe vessel navigation, tracking of marine pollutants, and the monitoring of extreme events.
Emma Reyes, Eva Aguiar, Michele Bendoni, Maristella Berta, Carlo Brandini, Alejandro Cáceres-Euse, Fulvio Capodici, Vanessa Cardin, Daniela Cianelli, Giuseppe Ciraolo, Lorenzo Corgnati, Vlado Dadić, Bartolomeo Doronzo, Aldo Drago, Dylan Dumas, Pierpaolo Falco, Maria Fattorini, Maria J. Fernandes, Adam Gauci, Roberto Gómez, Annalisa Griffa, Charles-Antoine Guérin, Ismael Hernández-Carrasco, Jaime Hernández-Lasheras, Matjaž Ličer, Pablo Lorente, Marcello G. Magaldi, Carlo Mantovani, Hrvoje Mihanović, Anne Molcard, Baptiste Mourre, Adèle Révelard, Catalina Reyes-Suárez, Simona Saviano, Roberta Sciascia, Stefano Taddei, Joaquín Tintoré, Yaron Toledo, Marco Uttieri, Ivica Vilibić, Enrico Zambianchi, and Alejandro Orfila
Ocean Sci., 18, 797–837, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-797-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-797-2022, 2022
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This work reviews the existing advanced and emerging scientific and societal applications using HFR data, developed to address the major challenges identified in Mediterranean coastal waters organized around three main topics: maritime safety, extreme hazards and environmental transport processes. It also includes a discussion and preliminary assessment of the capabilities of existing HFR applications, finally providing a set of recommendations towards setting out future prospects.
Manuel Bensi, Vedrana Kovačević, Federica Donda, Philip Edward O'Brien, Linda Armbrecht, and Leanne Kay Armand
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 65–78, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-65-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-65-2022, 2022
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The Totten Glacier (Sabrina Coast, East Antarctica) has undergone significant retreat in recent years, underlining its sensitivity to climate change and its potential contribution to global sea-level rise. The melting process is strongly influenced by ocean dynamics and the spatial distribution of water masses appears to be linked to the complex morpho-bathymetry of the area, supporting the hypothesis that downwelling processes contribute to shaping the architecture of the continental margin.
Davide Zanchettin, Sara Bruni, Fabio Raicich, Piero Lionello, Fanny Adloff, Alexey Androsov, Fabrizio Antonioli, Vincenzo Artale, Eugenio Carminati, Christian Ferrarin, Vera Fofonova, Robert J. Nicholls, Sara Rubinetti, Angelo Rubino, Gianmaria Sannino, Giorgio Spada, Rémi Thiéblemont, Michael Tsimplis, Georg Umgiesser, Stefano Vignudelli, Guy Wöppelmann, and Susanna Zerbini
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2643–2678, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2643-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2643-2021, 2021
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Relative sea level in Venice rose by about 2.5 mm/year in the past 150 years due to the combined effect of subsidence and mean sea-level rise. We estimate the likely range of mean sea-level rise in Venice by 2100 due to climate changes to be between about 10 and 110 cm, with an improbable yet possible high-end scenario of about 170 cm. Projections of subsidence are not available, but historical evidence demonstrates that they can increase the hazard posed by climatically induced sea-level rise.
Piero Lionello, David Barriopedro, Christian Ferrarin, Robert J. Nicholls, Mirko Orlić, Fabio Raicich, Marco Reale, Georg Umgiesser, Michalis Vousdoukas, and Davide Zanchettin
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2705–2731, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2705-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2705-2021, 2021
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In this review we describe the factors leading to the extreme water heights producing the floods of Venice. We discuss the different contributions, their relative importance, and the resulting compound events. We highlight the role of relative sea level rise and the observed past and very likely future increase in extreme water heights, showing that they might be up to 160 % higher at the end of the 21st century than presently.
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Short summary
Experiments in rotating tanks can simulate the Earth system and help to represent the real ocean, where rotation plays an important role. We wanted to show the minor importance of the wind in driving the flow in the Ionian Sea. We did this by observing changes in the water current in a rotating tank affected only by the pumping of dense water into the system. The flow variations were similar to those in the real sea, confirming the scarce importance of the wind for the flow in the Ionian Sea.
Experiments in rotating tanks can simulate the Earth system and help to represent the real...
