Affiliation:
1. Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research Bremerhaven Germany
2. Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research List/Sylt Germany
3. Department of Physics University of Torino Torino Italy
4. National Research Council of Italy Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (CNR‐ISAC) Torino Italy
Abstract
AbstractThe German Bight is a shallow area in the southeastern North Sea. Atmospheric forcing, particularly wind stress, plays an essential role in the sea circulation dynamics in the area as a source of momentum and consequent driver of the variability on seasonal to interannual timescales. Westerly and SouthWesterly winds constitute the mean state of this forcing over the North Sea due to the persistent pressure gradients between the Icelandic Low and the Azores High. Consequently, the transport in the North Sea is primarily cyclonic. Nevertheless, the presence of land influences wind stress in the coastal regions (in terms of both intensity and direction). Moreover, distant locations respond differently to the action of the atmospheric pressure centers. Therefore, studies characterizing wind statistics in specific regions are mandatory for understanding and numerically simulating the sea circulation patterns in such areas. We present a detailed analysis of wind patterns in the German Bight, specifically in the Marine Protected Areas and Helgoland Island, using ERA5 reanalysis atmospheric data. We define and catalog area‐specific “events” according to their typical duration and magnitude and analyze their seasonality and interannual variability. We investigate the most recurrent locations and intensities of the high‐ and low‐pressure dipoles causing specific wind patterns over the German Bight during the different periods of the year. We show how, besides Westerly and SouthWesterly winds, NorthWesterly flows are a recurrent pattern in the area; winds from the East are less frequent but can be extremely persistent over the same site in the spring.
Funder
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Subject
General Earth and Planetary Sciences,Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
Cited by
1 articles.
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