Sensitivity of ferry services to the western isles of Scotland to changes in wave and wind climate
Sensitivity of ferry services to the western isles of Scotland to changes in wave and wind climate
The roughness of the seas is rarely mentioned as a major factor in the economic or social welfare of a region. In this study, the relationship between the ocean wave climate and the economy of the Western Isles of Scotland is examined. This sparsely populated region has a high dependency on marine activities, and ferry services provide vital links between communities. The seas in the region are among the roughest in the world during autumn and winter, however, making maintenance of a reliable ferry service both difficult and expensive. A deterioration in wave and wind climate either in response to natural variability or as a regional response to anthropogenic climate change is possible. Satellite altimetry and gale-frequency data are used to analyze the contemporary response of wave and wind climate to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The sensitivity of wave climate to the NAO extends to ferry routes that are only partially sheltered and are exposed to ocean waves; thus, the reliability of ferry services is sensitive to NAO. Any deterioration of the wave climate will result in a disproportionately large increase in ferry-service disruption. The impacts associated with an unusually large storm event that affected the region in January 2005 are briefly explored to provide an insight into vulnerability to future storm events.
Europe, Climate change, Climate variability, Satellite observations, Statistics, Time series
1069-1084
Coll, John
7cff6fd0-3da5-453d-8b9d-a09e235bef0b
Woolf, David K.
ba6655c3-b4ac-4f40-a483-e4bf6c800f9a
Gibb, Stuart W.
632f520c-e623-43cd-9262-1ff3b2e8d45b
Challenor, Peter G.
a7e71e56-8391-442c-b140-6e4b90c33547
May 2013
Coll, John
7cff6fd0-3da5-453d-8b9d-a09e235bef0b
Woolf, David K.
ba6655c3-b4ac-4f40-a483-e4bf6c800f9a
Gibb, Stuart W.
632f520c-e623-43cd-9262-1ff3b2e8d45b
Challenor, Peter G.
a7e71e56-8391-442c-b140-6e4b90c33547
Coll, John, Woolf, David K., Gibb, Stuart W. and Challenor, Peter G.
(2013)
Sensitivity of ferry services to the western isles of Scotland to changes in wave and wind climate.
Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 52 (5), .
(doi:10.1175/JAMC-D-12-0138.1).
Abstract
The roughness of the seas is rarely mentioned as a major factor in the economic or social welfare of a region. In this study, the relationship between the ocean wave climate and the economy of the Western Isles of Scotland is examined. This sparsely populated region has a high dependency on marine activities, and ferry services provide vital links between communities. The seas in the region are among the roughest in the world during autumn and winter, however, making maintenance of a reliable ferry service both difficult and expensive. A deterioration in wave and wind climate either in response to natural variability or as a regional response to anthropogenic climate change is possible. Satellite altimetry and gale-frequency data are used to analyze the contemporary response of wave and wind climate to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The sensitivity of wave climate to the NAO extends to ferry routes that are only partially sheltered and are exposed to ocean waves; thus, the reliability of ferry services is sensitive to NAO. Any deterioration of the wave climate will result in a disproportionately large increase in ferry-service disruption. The impacts associated with an unusually large storm event that affected the region in January 2005 are briefly explored to provide an insight into vulnerability to future storm events.
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Published date: May 2013
Keywords:
Europe, Climate change, Climate variability, Satellite observations, Statistics, Time series
Organisations:
Marine Systems Modelling
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 371806
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/371806
ISSN: 1558-8424
PURE UUID: abcabcdb-a13a-497c-a391-d10ca281e66b
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Date deposited: 14 Nov 2014 16:32
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 18:27
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Contributors
Author:
John Coll
Author:
David K. Woolf
Author:
Stuart W. Gibb
Author:
Peter G. Challenor
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