Impact of storms on waves and surges: changing climate in the past 100 years and perspectives for the future

Objective

To document change in storminess and in the wave climate of the
Northeast Atlantic and the North Sea on the basis of quality-controlled
homogenous long times series of wind-related data; to clarify
conflicting reports on changes in storminess and wave climate, which
have raised concern not only in the some industries, such as the
offshore oil industry and the insurance industry, but also in the
general public; to analyse the output of climate model runs with
respect to future storminess and implications for the future wave
climate. Special emphasis will be laid upon the problem of deriving
thresholds for extreme values.


Methodically, the project will be based on the analysis of reports from
fixed sites, such as ocean weather stations and "synop"-stations, in
contrast to mobile sites such as Voluntary Observing Ships. Operational
historical weather maps will be used as auxiliary data only because of
unavoidable inhomogeneities.

For the wavefield, homogeneous hindcasts will be exploited and, if
necessary, new hindcasts will be done.

The various parameters which represent the storm and wave climate will
be statistically linked to the large-scale state of the atmosphere so
that through a "downscaling strategy" historical states will be
reconstructed and future perspectives will be inferred from climate
model output.

Programme(s)

• FP3-ENV 1C - Specific research and technological development programme (EEC) in the field of the environment, 1990-1994

Topic(s)

• 0103 - Climate change impacts

Call for proposal

Data not available

Funding Scheme

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN E.V.

Address

Bundesstra¯e 55
20146 Hamburg
Germany

Participants (8)

DANISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE

Denmark

Address

100,lyngbyvej 100
2100 Koepenhagen

Det Norske Meteorologiske Institutt

Norway

Address

70,allegt
5007 Bergen

ENTE PUBLICO PUERTOS DEL ESTADO

Spain

Address

81,antonio Lopez 81
28026 Madrid

GKSS - FORSCHUNGSZENTRUM GEESTHACHT GMBH

Germany

Address

Max-planck-strasse 1
Geesthacht

Links

MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT PUBLIC WORKS AND WATER MANAGEMENT

Netherlands

Address

Kortenaerkade 1
2500 EX Den Haag ('S-gravenhage)

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL

United Kingdom

Address

Bidston Observatory
L43 7RA Birkenhead

ROYAL NETHERLANDS METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE

Netherlands

Address

10,wilhelminalaan 10
3730 AE De Bilt

SWEDISH METEOROLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL INSTITUTE

Sweden

Address

Folkborgsvägen 1
601 76 Norrköping

Links