Articles | Volume 23, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-107-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-107-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Observations of extreme wave runup events on the US Pacific Northwest coast
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
School of Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
H. Tuba Özkan-Haller
College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
School of Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
Gabriel García Medina
Coastal Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Seattle, WA, USA
Robert A. Holman
College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
Peter Ruggiero
College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
Treena M. Jensen
National Weather Service, National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, Portland, OR, USA
David B. Elson
National Weather Service, National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, Portland, OR, USA
William R. Schneider
National Weather Service, National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, Portland, OR, USA
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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS).
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This paper investigates the relationship between El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and coastal hazard risk in the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW) using probabilistic simulations of climate patterns, weather patterns, and coastal hazard drivers. Results indicate there is a weaker relationship between ENSO and PNW coastal hazard risk than suggested by observations. These findings advance understanding of ENSO dynamics and support climate-informed hazard management.
Raghavendra Krishnamurthy, Gabriel García Medina, Brian Gaudet, William I. Gustafson Jr., Evgueni I. Kassianov, Jinliang Liu, Rob K. Newsom, Lindsay M. Sheridan, and Alicia M. Mahon
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 5667–5699, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5667-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5667-2023, 2023
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Our understanding and ability to observe and model air–sea processes has been identified as a principal limitation to our ability to predict future weather. Few observations exist offshore along the coast of California. To improve our understanding of the air–sea transition zone and support the wind energy industry, two buoys with state-of-the-art equipment were deployed for 1 year. In this article, we present details of the post-processing, algorithms, and analyses.
Lindsay M. Sheridan, Raghu Krishnamurthy, Gabriel García Medina, Brian J. Gaudet, William I. Gustafson Jr., Alicia M. Mahon, William J. Shaw, Rob K. Newsom, Mikhail Pekour, and Zhaoqing Yang
Wind Energ. Sci., 7, 2059–2084, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-2059-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-2059-2022, 2022
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Using observations from lidar buoys, five reanalysis and analysis models that support the wind energy community are validated offshore and at rotor-level heights along the California Pacific coast. The models are found to underestimate the observed wind resource. Occasions of large model error occur in conjunction with stable atmospheric conditions, wind speeds associated with peak turbine power production, and mischaracterization of the diurnal wind speed cycle in summer months.
Michael Itzkin, Laura J. Moore, Peter Ruggiero, Sally D. Hacker, and Reuben G. Biel
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1223–1237, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1223-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1223-2021, 2021
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Studies of the impact of storms on dunes typically focus on the importance of dune elevation,
here we analyze the protective services offered by the dune height and width, the morphology
of the beach fronting the dune, and artificial dune construction via the use of sand fences.
We find that dune volume loss most strongly correlates to beach width rather than dune shape,
although when beach width is controlled for low and wide dunes offer greater protection than
tall and narrow dunes.
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Short summary
In this work, we examine a set of observed extreme, non-earthquake-related and non-landslide-related wave runup events. Runup events with similar characteristics have previously been attributed to trapped waves, atmospheric disturbances, and abrupt breaking of long waves. However, we find that none of these mechanisms were likely at work in the observations we examined. We show that instead, these runup events were more likely due to energetic growth of bound infragravity waves.
In this work, we examine a set of observed extreme, non-earthquake-related and...
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