Climate Change Impacts in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: Trends and Extremes
Date:
Lecture / Seminar
Time: 11:00-12:00
Location: Sussman Family Building for Environmental Sciences
Lecturer: Dan Liberzon
Abstract: We will discuss the recent findings examining the physical impacts of climate ch ... Read more We will discuss the recent findings examining the physical impacts of climate change on the Eastern Mediterranean Sea coastal environment using long-term in-situ data. Specifically, we explore explores three decades of previously inaccessible data on surface waves and sea surface temperature, obtained from two buoys moored off the Israeli coastline, augmented with data from several coastline temperature sensors, and the sea level measurements. Our findings reveal only a moderate increase in sea surface temperature of 2.65°C per century, contradicting the current local scientific consensus of faster warming trends. Moreover, we will see that the widely used reanalysis models grossly overestimate the multiannual trends while underestimating the actual temperature values. Of particular interest is the identified alteration in the seasonal cooling-warming cycles, with shrinking transitional season periods that are replaced by prolonged summer and winter periods. While the extremes, in the form of Marine Heatwaves were found to become more frequent and severe.Maritime storm activity was observed to intensify over the observed period, with a sharp increase in storms’ intensity during the early 2000s. Such an increase was also accompanied by the rise in the occurrence of Rogue waves, including a notable 11.5-meter wave near Haifa in February 2015. A notable difference in the weather patterns causing significant waves in the North and the South along the Israel coats is also noted. The sea level rise trend was found to be 2.3 mm per year, in good agreement with the published estimates.Close abstract
