A 40 year objective climatology of surface cyclones in the Mediterranean region: spatial and temporal distribution

Maheras, P.; Flocas, Helena A.; Patrikas, I.; Αnagnostopoulou, Christina

doi:10.1002/joc.599

Cited by 202 publications

(232 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…2a on annual basis for the control run) are in agreement with previous findings (Trigo et al, 1999;Maheras et al, 2001;Campins et al, 2011). The main cyclogenetic regions (Gulf of Genoa, Cyprus, Atlas Mountains, Black Sea and Balearic Sea) are correctly represented and also the seasonality of cyclogenesis is realistically reproduced.…”

Section: Effect On Cyclones and Their Characteristicssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Basically, all tracking algorithms for extratropical cyclones are characterized by two steps: cyclone identification and tracking. Some methods use MSLP (Pettersen, 1956;Gulev et al, 2001;Maheras et al, 2001;Campins et al, 2011) or geopotential height at 1000 hPa (Alpert et al, 1990;Trigo et al, 1999), others use relative vorticity at 850 hPa (Sinclair, 1997;Flocas et al, 2001) or the Laplacian of sea level pressure (Simmonds and Murray, 1999;Simmonds and Key, 2000). In any case, Mediterranean cyclone climatology presents very distinctive features, which arise clearly, independent of the specific algorithm applied.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coupled atmosphere ocean climate model simulations in the Mediterranean region: effect of a high-resolution marine model on cyclones and precipitation

Sanna¹,

Lionello²,

Gualdi³

2013

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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In this study we investigate the importance of an eddy-permitting Mediterranean Sea circulation model on the simulation of atmospheric cyclones and precipitation in a climate model. This is done by analyzing results of two fully coupled GCM (general circulation models) simulations, differing only for the presence/absence of an interactive marine module, at very high-resolution (~ 1/16°), for the simulation of the 3-D circulation of the Mediterranean Sea. Cyclones are tracked by applying an objective Lagrangian algorithm to the MSLP (mean sea level pressure) field. On annual basis, we find a statistically significant difference in vast cyclogenesis regions (northern Adriatic, Sirte Gulf, Aegean Sea and southern Turkey) and in lifetime, giving evidence of the effect of both land–sea contrast and surface heat flux intensity and spatial distribution on cyclone characteristics. Moreover, annual mean convective precipitation changes significantly in the two model climatologies as a consequence of differences in both air–sea interaction strength and frequency of cyclogenesis in the two analyzed simulations

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Section: Effect On Cyclones and Their Characteristicssupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coupled atmosphere ocean climate model simulations in the Mediterranean region: effect of a high-resolution marine model on cyclones and precipitation

Sanna¹,

Lionello²,

Gualdi³

2013

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…In the first pattern (winter C1; Figure 9), the main feature is the low-pressure system positioned over the central Mediterranean. This pattern is presumably related to discernible areas of cyclogenesis, such as the Gulf of Genoa (Prezerakos et al, 1990;Maheras et al, 2001). The conjunction of the latter with the eastern European High skirting around the 25°E longitude causes moist meridional maritime airflow from the Mediterranean to intrude into the Balkan Peninsula.…”

Section: Surface Circulation Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive analysis of the climate variability in the eastern Mediterranean. Part I: map‐pattern classification

Κωστοπούλου

Jones

2007

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Abstract:This paper provides an extended study of the dominant daily circulation patterns governing the climate variability in the eastern Mediterranean. The methodology adopted to determine the circulation patterns is based on combined analysis of the spatial and temporal variation of rotated principal components of sea-level pressure. A catalogue of characteristic seasonal composites is presented and discussed. It is found that, during winter and spring, large scale features situated in northern Europe affect the atmospheric circulation over the domain of study, whereas the Atlantic (Azores) anticyclone and the Asian Thermal Low define most of the observed circulation types in summer. In autumn, the area exhibits a rapid transition from the warm to cold season showing climatic features from both extreme seasons. Similarities between winter and spring/autumn patterns are detected and correlation analyses are employed between their spatial patterns to reveal that similar circulation patterns occur amongst the three seasons, which usually appear more pronounced during winter. Frequencies and trends of the proposed circulation types are examined for each season. A linear trend analysis for the overall period exhibits a significant increase in the anticyclonic types particularly in winter. With respect to the cyclonic types, statistically significant negative trends have been found in all seasons especially for types associated with depressional activity in central the Mediterranean.

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“…Other studies focused on the Mediterranean show that cyclogenesis occurs at preferred regions, being the gulf of Genoa and Cyprus, the two most frequent regions (Alpert et al, 1990;Flocas et al, 2001;Maheras et al, 2001). These studies were performed employing lowresolution datasets, and so focusing on synoptic-scale systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatology of Mediterranean cyclones using the ERA‐40 dataset

Campins

Genovés

Picornell

et al. 2011

Intl Journal of Climatology

145

165

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ABSTRACT:The generation of cyclone climatologies has recently received a renewed interest. Cyclones are closely related to the climate of certain regions, and thus, their variability is one of the key points in current climate research. The Mediterranean is a region with high density of cyclones, but due to its location and its particular morphology, cyclones are subject to large spatial and seasonal variability. Moreover, some cyclones are related to hazardous weather events, in particular, heavy precipitation and strong winds. Improved knowledge of Mediterranean cyclones would contribute to the improvement of the forecasts of such damaging events. In this study, objective detection and tracking algorithms are used on the ERA-40 reanalysis to derive a climatology of surface cyclones for the Mediterranean region. The detection algorithm is also applied at various vertical levels, characterizing the three-dimensional structure of the cyclones, and allowing to derive their vertical thickness. The relatively high spatial resolution, but mainly the long period (45 years) makes the ERA-40 reanalysis especially suitable for the generation of a cyclone climatology. The aim of this study is twofold. First, a detailed description of the Mediterranean surface cyclones is obtained. This includes the spatial and seasonal variability and some of their main individual features, like the intensity, size, vertical thickness and life cycle. Moreover, some regions with a large cyclogenetic frequency are studied in detail. Second, the results of the present climatology are compared with many other studies. The qualitative comparison indicates a general agreement with most of previous climatologies. However, as a consequence of the ERA-40 resolution, the comparison with high-resolution cyclone datasets shows a shortcoming related to the detection of small cyclones. Nevertheless, it is concluded that the current climatology depicts a comprehensive view of the synoptic and sub-synoptic cyclonic activities in the Mediterranean.

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A 40 year objective climatology of surface cyclones in the Mediterranean region: spatial and temporal distribution

Cited by 202 publications

References 23 publications

Coupled atmosphere ocean climate model simulations in the Mediterranean region: effect of a high-resolution marine model on cyclones and precipitation

Coupled atmosphere ocean climate model simulations in the Mediterranean region: effect of a high-resolution marine model on cyclones and precipitation

Comprehensive analysis of the climate variability in the eastern Mediterranean. Part I: map‐pattern classification

Climatology of Mediterranean cyclones using the ERA‐40 dataset

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