Offshore wind climate analysis and variability in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The long-term offshore wind characteristics in the Mediterranean Sea are assessed using the ERA-Interim dataset for the period 1979-2014. Three main aspects of the wind climate analysis are examined in detail; the spatio-temporal behaviour (including variability characteristics) of wind speed and direction for the annual and monthly time scale; the joint association of wind speed and direction for the annual and monthly time scale, and; the wind speed trends and wind direction changes. From this analysis, the systematic wind flow patterns are identified and the general features of the wind climatology patterns are revealed. The most typical examples of stable and intense regional winds are the Mistral (throughout the year) in the Gulf of Lion and the Etesians (during summer) in the Aegean Sea. High values of mean annual variability of wind speed occur over the western part of the basin (Balearic, Tyrrhenian and Ligurian sub-basins) as well as over the Adriatic and N Aegean Seas, and the E Levantine Basin. Moreover, the assessment of the joint association of wind speed and direction indicates that areas with high values of linear-circular correlation are the ones characterized by intense wind climate. As regards, long-term changes of wind speed and direction, the linear trend for the former and the angular distance for the latter variable are provided. The fastest increasing wind speed trends are observed in the Ionian, the N Tyrrhenian and N Adriatic Seas, the eastern part of the Algerian Basin up to Balearic Isl. and the western part of the S Levantine Basin while the fastest decreasing ones are observed offshore Monaco, the central Aegean and the E Alboran Seas and the N Levantine Basin. The highest values of angular variance and mean angular distances are depicted for the Ligurian, Balearic and Alboran Seas.

Projected Changes in European and North Atlantic Seasonal Wind Climate Derived from CMIP5 Simulations

“…To give some examples of recent observational studies, wind speeds have shown a negative trend in Finland (years 1959-2015) throughout the year (Laapas and Venäläinen 2017) and in southwestern Germany (years 1974-2013) in spring and summer (Kohler et al 2018). In the Mediterranean area during 1979-2014, by contrast, the observational trends have been spatially divergent (Soukissian et al 2018).…”

Marine Renewable Energy in the Mediterranean Sea: Status and Perspectives

“…The highest inter-annual variability appears near the coasts of Monaco and then in the northern Adriatic, Tyrrhenian, and Balearic Seas; the Gulf of Lion; the coasts of Algeria; and the Ionian and the central Aegean Sea. Recently, an in-depth assessment of the wind climate and its variability in the MS is analytically presented, using a 36-year dataset (1979-2014) from the ERA-Interim reanalysis [106]. The data were available from the European Centre For Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).…”

Intercontinental long‐distance seed dispersal across the Mediterranean Basin explains population genetic structure of a bird‐dispersed shrub

“…As anemophilous species, wind strength and direction during flowering time would determine pollen flow patterns in P. lentiscus . The prevailing winds in the Mediterranean Basin flow from the Northwest to the Southeast from March to May with a greater angular variance in the western than in the eastern regions (Soukissian, Karathanasi, Axaopoulos, Voukouvalas, & Kotroni, 2018). Even though pollen flow might account for low genetic distances among some populations at both shores of the Mediterranean Sea (e.g., Iberian Peninsula and Balearic populations), it does not explain the observed patterns for other populations (e.g., low genetic distance among Aegean and Libyan populations).…”