Melisa Menéndez

Universidad de Cantabria

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Fernando J. Méndez

Universidad de Cantabria

ÍJ

Íñigo J. Losada

Universidad de Cantabria

Héctor Lobeto

Instituto de Física de Cantabria

Jorge Pérez

Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Paula Camus

Universidad de Cantabria

Cristina Izaguirre

Pacific Environment

ÁS

Álvaro Semedo

IHE Delft Institute for Water Education

Mark Hemer

CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere

Gil Lemos

Instituto Dom Luiz

Alberto Luceño

Universidad de Cantabria

Cooperative Institutions

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

112

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Universidad de Cantabria

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas

University of Colorado Boulder

Goddard Space Flight Center

Instituto de Física de Cantabria

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

NOAA National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

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Climate change effects on marine renewable energy resources and environmental conditions for offshore aquaculture in Europe

ICES Journal of Marine Science (2020)

Carlos V.C. Weiss Melisa Menéndez Bárbara Ondiviela Raúl Guanche Íñigo J. Losada

Abstract The development of the marine renewable energy and offshore aquaculture sectors is susceptible to being affected by climate change. Consequently, for the long-term planning of these activities, a holistic view on the effects of climate change on energy resources and environmental conditions is required. Based on present climate and future climate scenario, favourable conditions for wind and wave energy exploitation and for farming six marine fish species are assessed using a suitability index over all European regional seas. Regarding available energy potential, the estimated changes in climate do not have direct impacts on the geographic distribution of potential regions for the energy industry (both wind and wave based), that is they pose no threat to this industry. Long-term changes in environmental conditions could however require adaptation of the aquaculture sector and especially of its exploitation areas. Opportunities for aquaculture expansion of the assessed species are identified. Possibilities for co-location of these activities are observed in the different climate scenarios. The evaluation of potential zones for the exploitation of marine renewable energy resources and offshore aquaculture represents a stepping-stone, useful for improving decision-making and assisting in the management of marine economies both in the short-term and in the long-term development of these sectors.

10.1093/icesjms/fsaa226

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Citations (17)

Projections of Directional Spectra Help to Unravel the Future Behavior of Wind Waves

Frontiers in Marine Science (2021)

Héctor Lobeto Melisa Menéndez Íñigo J. Losada

Based on a novel approach, present-day and future spectral wind-wave conditions in a high-emission scenario from a seven-member wave climate projection ensemble are compared. The spectral analysis at the selected locations aids in understanding the propagation of swell projected changes from the generation areas across the ocean basins. For example, a projected increase in the energy from Southern Ocean swells can be observed in all ocean basins and both hemispheres, which is especially relevant in the west coast of North America due to the penetration of these swells beyond 30°N. Similarly, a consistent decrease in the energy of large northern Atlantic swells is noted close to the equator. This work provides evidence that assessments based on only integrated wave parameters (e.g., significant wave height and mean wave period) can mask information about the sign, magnitude, and robustness of the actual wave climate changes due to the offset of positive and negative variations within the spectrum, leading to a significant underestimation of the change associated with certain wave systems.

Swell

Wind wave model

Significant wave height

10.3389/fmars.2021.655490

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Citations (27)

A method for finding the optimal predictor indices for local wave climate conditions

Ocean Dynamics (2014)

Paula Camus Fernando J. Méndez Íñigo J. Losada Melisa Menéndez Antonio Guerrero Espejo

Swell

Significant wave height

Wave height

Principal component regression

10.1007/s10236-014-0737-2

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Citations (41)

Evaluating the performance of CMIP3 and CMIP5 global climate models over the north-east Atlantic region

Climate Dynamics (2014)

Jorge Pérez Melisa Menéndez Fernando J. Méndez Íñigo J. Losada

Atmospheric Circulation

10.1007/s00382-014-2078-8

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Citations (150)

Exploring changes in Caribbean hurricane-induced wave heights

Ocean Engineering (2018)

Rubén D. Montoya Melisa Menéndez Andrés F. Osorio

Caribbean region

Atlantic hurricane

Significant wave height

Return period

10.1016/j.oceaneng.2018.05.032

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Citations (24)

Exploring future wave climate changes from directional spectra: Implications for coastal impacts

Héctor Lobeto Melisa Menéndez Moises Alvarez Ottavio Mazzaretto

Climate change may alter wave climate along most of world&#8217;s coasts (Morin et al., 2019). This could have implications on coastal impacts such as flooding and erosion (Wong et al., 2014). Traditional approaches to assess coastal impacts due to wind waves rely on, among other variables, the bulk sea-state parameters (e.g. significant wave height, peak period, mean wave direction). In this work, we analyse projected changes in wave climate considering the full directional spectra, particularly focusing on the added information this approach could offer. The analysed wave database consists of directional spectra and sea-state parameters at several coastal locations worldwide and in the western Mediterranean basin. Multi-model ensemble wave climate projections are obtained using WaveWatchIII model forced with surface wind fields and ice marine coverage outputs from several global and regional climate models (CMIP5 and CORDEX projects, respectively). Hourly spectra are stored with a discretization of 32 frequencies and 24 directions.Results for sea-state parameters are coherent with previous studies about global wave climate changes (Camus et al., 2017; Collins et al., 2019), showing a wave height increase in the Southern Ocean and tropical eastern Pacific and a decrease in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Nevertheless, the spectral analysis of wave climate changes provides new insights about the wave climate change signal. Thus, while projected changes of sea-state parameters provide an averaged information (both in magnitude and sign), the use of the full directional spectra makes it possible to study the projected change of each individual wave system. Also, this approach helps to note displacements of wave energy to higher or lower periods at each direction, which is especially relevant due to the important role that wave period and direction plays in coastal impacts such as dune erosion (Van Gent, 2008). The main conclusions reached in this study are the expected general increase of wave height in swells generated in the Southern Hemisphere that can travel north beyond the equator, and the decrease of wave systems generated in the Northern Hemisphere.Finally, a comparison between the results from a coastal erosion assessment using estimated changes of sea-state parameters and climate change information from spectral wave data is shown.

Sea state

Significant wave height

Wave height

Coastal flood

Wave model

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7851

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Remote climate change propagation across the oceans—the directional swell signature

Environmental Research Letters (2021)

Gil Lemos Álvaro Semedo Mark Hemer Melisa Menéndez Pedro Miranda

Abstract The energy content of wind-waves is propagated across the oceans in the form of swell waves, the main drivers of long-term changes in coastal morphology and offshore hazards. A state-of-the-art swell tracking algorithm is applied to a global ensemble of CMIP5 dynamic wave climate projections, to assess future changes in remotely originated swell events towards the end of the 21st century, and how they propagate. The contribution of multiple wave generation areas is considered. It is found that the projected climate change signal is effectively propagated from the winds along the extratropical storm tracks to remote locations, in the tropical and subtropical latitudes, through swell waves. The statistically significant projected changes in swell wave heights and swell predominance at the remote swell arrival locations are comparable with the ones at the wave generation areas. Furthermore, different incoming directions for swell events at remote locations are shown to often carry opposite climate change signals, propagated from different remote origins. These results highlight the need for a directional approach on wave climate projections, critical for improved vulnerability assessments and adaptation measures from the climate community.

Swell

Extratropical cyclone

Sea state

10.1088/1748-9326/ac046b

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Citations (29)

Atmosphere-ocean linkages in the eastern equatorial Pacific over the early Pleistocene

Paleoceanography (2016)

Patricia Povea Isabel Cacho Ana Moreno Leopoldo D. Pena Melisa Menéndez

Here we present a new set of high-resolution early Pleistocene records from the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP). Sediment composition from Ocean Drilling Program Sites 1240 and 1238 is used to reconstruct past changes in the atmosphere-ocean system. Particularly remarkable is the presence of laminated diatom oozes (LDOs) during glacial periods between 1.85 and 2.25 Ma coinciding with high fluxes of opal and total organic carbon. Relatively low lithic particles (coarse and poorly sorted) and iron fluxes during these glacial periods indicate that the increased diatom productivity did not result from dust-stimulated fertilization events. We argue that glacial fertilization occurred through the advection of nutrient-rich waters from the Southern Ocean. In contrast, glacial periods after 1.85 Ma are characterized by enhanced dust transport of finer lithic particles acting as a new source of nutrients in the EEP. The benthic ecosystem shows dissimilar responses to the high productivity recorded during glacial periods before and after 1.85 Ma, which suggests that the transport processes delivering organic matter to the deep sea also changed. Different depositional processes are interpreted to be the result of two distinct glacial positions of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Before 1.85 Ma, the ITCZ was above the equator, with weak local winds and enhanced wet deposition of dust. After 1.85 Ma, the glacial ITCZ was displaced northward, thus bringing stronger winds and stimulating upwelling in the EEP. The glacial period at 1.65 Ma with the most intense LDOs supports a rapid southward migration of the ITCZ comparable to those glacial periods before 1.85 Ma.

Intertropical Convergence Zone

Last Glacial Maximum

Deglaciation

10.1002/2015pa002883

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Citations (5)

Global extreme wave height variability based on satellite data

Geophysical Research Letters (2011)

Cristina Izaguirre Fernando J. Méndez Melisa Menéndez Íñigo J. Losada

[1] The spatial and temporal variability of the extreme significant wave height (SWH) in the ocean is presented. The study has been performed using a highly reliable dataset from several satellite altimeter missions, which provide a good worldwide coverage for the period 1992 onwards. A non-stationary extreme value analysis, which models seasonality and interannual variations, has been applied to characterize the extreme SWH. The interannual variability is explained through variations in the atmosphere and ocean systems, represented by different climate indices, allowing a quantitative contribution of the climate-related patterns. Results demonstrate the strong relationship between the interannual variability of extreme SWH and different ocean and atmosphere variations. A contribution of the AO and NAO indices in the North Atlantic ocean (e.g., every positive unit of the AO explains up to 70 cm of extreme wave height south of Iceland), the NINO3 in the Pacific (every negative unit of NINO3 explains up to 60 cm of extreme wave height in the Drake Passage), the SAM in the Southern ocean and the DMI in the Indian ocean reveal these climate patterns as the most relevant in the interannual extreme wave climate.

Significant wave height

Extreme Weather

Rogue wave

Wave height

10.1029/2011gl047302

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Citations (186)

Modelling the interannual variability of extreme wave climate combining a time-dependent GEV model and Self-Organizing Maps

EGUGA (2010)

Cristina Izaguirre Fernando J. Méndez Paula Camus Roberto Mı́nguez Melisa Menéndez

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