Extreme Wave Energy Flux

In this study we analyzed the global future trends in extreme wave energy flux along coastlines under a scenario of high emission of greenhouse gases. By the end of the century, results show a significant increase up to 30% in the wave power of the one-every-100-year storm for the majority of the coastal areas of the Southern Temperate Zone, and a more than doubling frequency of extreme events, while in the Northern Hemisphere large coastal areas are characterized by a significant negative trend. We show that the most significant long term trends of extreme WEF can be explained by an intensification of climatic patterns such as the Antarctic Oscillation (AAO), El-Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The projected changes will have broad implications for ocean engineering applications and disaster risk management. Especially low-lying coastal countries in the Southern Hemisphere will be particularly vulnerable due to the combined effects of projected Sea Level Rise and more extreme wave activity. For further information regarding this dataset, the users are referred to the following article Lorenzo Mentaschi, Michalis Vousdoukas, Evangelos Voukouvalas, Alessandro Dosio, Luc Feyen (in press 2017). Global changes of extreme coastal wave energy fluxes triggered by intensified teleconnection patterns. Geophysical Research Letters. DOI:10.1002/2016GL072488 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2016GL072488/full