A Diagnostic diagram to understand atmosphere-ocean dynamics in the southern North Sea at high wind speeds

Long time series of offshore meteorological measurements in the lower marine atmospheric boundary layer show dynamical regimes and variability that are forced partly by interaction with the underlying sea surface and partly by the passage of cloud systems overhead. At low wind speeds, the dynamics and stability structure of the surface layer depend mainly on the air-sea temperature difference and measured wind speed at a standard height. The physical processes are mostly understood and quantified through Monin-Obukhov (MO) similarity theory. At high wind speeds, different dynamical regimes become dominant, with breaking waves, sea spray, and organized boundary layer convection cells contributing to observed effects. Data from offshore meteorological monitoring sites typically show different behavior and regime shifts depending on the local winds and synoptic conditions. However, the regular methods to interpret time series through spectral analysis only give a partial view of the dynamics in the atmospheric boundary layer. Wind speed and the air-sea temperature difference are important factors that characterize the dynamics of the lower atmospheric boundary layer, and they provide a dynamic and thermodynamic constraint to frame observed processes, especially at high wind speeds. Early studies of long time series of automated offshore meteorological data recognized the value of the joint probability distribution on axes of wind speed and air-sea temperature difference to summarize large segments of the data. The approach can be extended to probe the marine atmospheric boundary layer conditions that are important for the loading of offshore wind turbines: turbulence intensity and wave conditions. The increasing numbers of offshore meteorological masts that are associated with the offshore wind industry are amenable to a similar approach to understand the main characteristics of the boundary layer. In this case, the diagnostic figure provides a method to ‘fingerprint’ the atmospheric conditions at an offshore site

A model of the temporal and spatial distribution of carbon monoxide in the mixed layer

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 1994.Includes bibliographic references. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-146).by Anthony James Kettle.M.S

Refugia of marine fish in the northeast Atlantic during the last glacial maximum: concordant assessment from archaeozoology and palaeotemperature reconstructions

Archaeozoological finds of the remains of marine and amphihaline fish from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ca. 21 ka ago show evidence of very different species ranges compared to the present. We have shown how an ecological niche model (ENM) based on palaeoclimatic reconstructions of sea surface temperature and bathymetry can be used to effectively predict the spatial range of marine fish during the LGM. The results indicate that the ranges of marine fish species now in northwestern Europe were displaced significantly southwards from the modern distribution, challenging an existing paradigm of marine glacial refugia. The model presents strong evidence that there was an invasion of important fish through the Straits of Gibraltar in glacial times, where they were exploited by Palaeolithic human populations around the western Mediterranean Sea. The ENM results are important for ongoing studies of molecular ecology that aim to assess marine glacial refugia from the genetic structure of living populations, and they pose questions about the genetic identity of vanished marine populations during the LGM. Economically, the approach may be used to understand how the ranges of exploited fish species may be displaced with the future climate warming. The research presents a challenge for future archaeozoological work to delimit the glacial refugia and to verify palaeoclimatic reconstructions based on deep-sea core record

Assessing extreme events for energy meteorology: media and scientific publications to track the events of a North Sea storm

Important issues for energy meteorology are to assess environmental conditions for normal operating conditions and extreme events for the ultimate limit state of engineering structures. Autumn and winter storms are a challenge for onshore and offshore energy infrastructure in northern Europe, and sometimes cause damage and disruptions. The incidence of extreme storms has increased over the past 20 years, leading to increased pressure on energy infrastructure. This paper summarizes the events of a storm from October 30 to November 2, 2006 using media reports, government publications, and scientific articles to create an overview of the meteorology and infrastructure impacts

Roadmap on Photovoltaic Absorber Materials for Sustainable Energy Conversion

Photovoltaics (PVs) are a critical technology for curbing growing levels of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, and meeting increases in future demand for low-carbon electricity. In order to fulfil ambitions for net-zero carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) emissions worldwide, the global cumulative capacity of solar PVs must increase by an order of magnitude from 0.9 TWp in 2021 to 8.5 TWp by 2050 according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, which is considered to be a highly conservative estimate. In 2020, the Henry Royce Institute brought together the UK PV community to discuss the critical technological and infrastructure challenges that need to be overcome to address the vast challenges in accelerating PV deployment. Herein, we examine the key developments in the global community, especially the progress made in the field since this earlier roadmap, bringing together experts primarily from the UK across the breadth of the photovoltaics community. The focus is both on the challenges in improving the efficiency, stability and levelized cost of electricity of current technologies for utility-scale PVs, as well as the fundamental questions in novel technologies that can have a significant impact on emerging markets, such as indoor PVs, space PVs, and agrivoltaics. We discuss challenges in advanced metrology and computational tools, as well as the growing synergies between PVs and solar fuels, and offer a perspective on the environmental sustainability of the PV industry. Through this roadmap, we emphasize promising pathways forward in both the short- and long-term, and for communities working on technologies across a range of maturity levels to learn from each other.Comment: 160 pages, 21 figure

A diagram of wind speed versus air-sea temperature difference to understand the marine atmospheric boundary layer

This contribution reviews the dynamics in the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) with a diagnostic diagram: wind speed versus air-sea temperature difference or U-ΔT. The diagram was first used by Alfred Woodcock in a series of observational studies from the early 1940s of gull flight patterns, and it was revisited in later decades to illustrate the dynamic and thermodynamic controls of fog formation, mesoscale convective clouds, surface fluxes of heat and momentum, whitecap formation, and vessel icing. The present report uses the figure to compare recent met-ocean conditions for a series of Norwegian offshore production platforms in northern Europe

The North Sea surge of 31 October–1 November 2006 during Storm Britta

Offshore energy infrastructure, including the petroleum and wind energy sectors, are susceptible to damage and interruption by extreme meteorological events. In northwest Europe and especially the North Sea, these extreme meteorological events are mostly associated with severe storms in the autumn and winter seasons. In the North Sea, storm surges have an impact on the offshore energy sector mainly from the flooding of port facilities and from strong ocean currents causing extra structural loading and bottom scouring. Storm Britta on 31 October–1 November 2006 was an important North Sea storm with a high surge along the coast of the Netherlands and Germany and a significant number of high wave reports. The paper presents an analysis of the national tide gauge records of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark to spectrally isolate and reconstruct time series components corresponding to the storm surge, semi-diurnal tide, and short period contribution. The semi-diurnal tides and storm surge during Storm Britta are tracked counter-clockwise around the North Sea from Scotland to northern Denmark. The storm surge was remarkable for its pronounced peak in the coastal area between the Netherlands and Germany with no precedent in the ∼ 100 year measurement record. The short period component of the tide gauge records show large oscillations during the height of the storm that may correspond with reports of unusually high waves at nearby coastal locations

Erratum: Refugia of marine fish in the northeast Atlantic during the last glacial maximum: Concordant assessment from archaeozoology and palaeotemperature reconstructions (Climate of the Past (2011) 7 (181-201)

[No abstract available

Erratum: Refugia of marine fish in the northeast Atlantic during the last glacial maximum: Concordant assessment from archaeozoology and palaeotemperature reconstructions (Climate of the Past (2011) 7 (181-201)

[No abstract available