Mediterranean climate variability

Title:

Author:

Lionello, Piero.

ISBN:

9780444521705

Edition:

1st ed.

Publication Information:

Amsterdam ; Oxford : Elsevier, 2006.

Physical Description:

xv, 421 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.) ; 25 cm.

Series:

Developments in earth & environmental sciences ; 4

Series Title:

Developments in earth & environmental sciences ; 4

Contents:

The Mediterranean climate : an overview of the main characteristics and issues -- Mediterranean climate variability over the last centuries : a review -- Relations between climate variability in the Mediterranean region and the tropics : ENSO, South Asian and African monsoons, hurricanes and Saharan dust -- Relations between variability in the Mediterranean region and mid-latitude variability -- Changes in the oceanography of the Mediterranean Sea and their link to climate variability -- The Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea as connected systems -- Cyclones in the Mediterranean region : climatology and effects on the environment -- Regional atmospheric, marine processes and climate modelling -- The Mediterranean climate change under global warming.

Subject Term:

Akdeniz iklimi.

İklim değişiklikleri -- Akdeniz Bölgesi.

Mediterranean climate.

Climatic changes -- Mediterranean Region.

Added Author:

Lionello, Piero.

Malanotte-Rizzoli, Paola, 1946-

Boscolo, R. (Roberta)

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Searching... Pamukkale Central Library	Book	0050152	QC993.8M42 2006	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

This multi-authored book provides an updated description of climate variability in the Mediterranean basin, focusing on decadal and centennial time scales and on the results available on the impact of future emission scenarios at regional scale. The authors describs both local physical processes responsible for these variability - such as changes in the surface properties and land use- and globalprocesses - such as changes in the large scale atmospheric circulation associated to global warming, NAO, tropical monsoon and ENSO. Regional climate change issues are also addressed. Mediterranean Climate Variability aims to review the research on this region and to provide at the same time both an introduction and a reference for researchers. It covers topics typical of Climatology, Climate history, Meteorology, Oceanography, Environmental Science but the information here provided would also be useful for research in agriculture, social and economic studies. It is addressed to scientists and students interested in the Mediterranean climate and environment. Some topics have interesting connections to nearby regions: Northern Atlantic, West Africa, central and Eastern Europe. Each chapter will contain a summary meant to provide information to policy makers, researchers from other fields, and in general to a wide audience without a technical expertise on climate.

Author Notes

Dr P. Lionello is chairman of the international program MedCLIVAR (Mediterranean CLImate VARiability and predictability) and the International Scientific Steering Committee of the HyMeX program. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Council of ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). He is currently teaching physics of the atmosphere and of the oceans at the University of Lecce for courses in physics and environmental science.

Abridged Contents	p. v
Preface	p. xiii
Introduction. The Mediterranean Climate: An Overview of the Main Characteristics and Issues	p. 1
1 The Mediterranean Region: Climate and Characteristics	p. 1
2 Regional Processes and Links to the Global Climate	p. 6
3 Climate Trends and Change at Regional Scale	p. 11
4 Socio-environmental Aspects	p. 14
Acknowledgements	p. 17
References	p. 18
Chapter 1 Mediterranean Climate Variability over the Last Centuries: A Review	p. 27
1.1 Introduction	p. 29
1.2 Past Regional Mediterranean Climate Evidence and Extremes	p. 32
1.2.1 Evidence from Early Instrumental and Documentary Data	p. 32
1.2.2 Evidence from Natural Proxies	p. 57
1.3 Large-Scale Climate Reconstructions and Importance of Proxy Data for the Mediterranean	p. 77
1.4 Mediterranean Winter Temperature and Precipitation Variability over the Last 500 Years	p. 83
1.5 Connection between the Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation and Mediterranean Winter Climate over the Last Centuries	p. 98
1.5.1 Major Atmospheric Circulation Patterns Associated with Mediterranean Winter Climate Anomalies	p. 98
1.5.2 Mediterranean Climate Variability since the Mid-Seventeenth Century in Terms of Large-Scale Circulation Dynamics	p. 103
1.5.3 Running Correlation Analysis between the Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation and Mediterranean Winter Climate over the Last Centuries	p. 105
1.6 Teleconnection Studies with Other Parts of the Northern Hemisphere	p. 109
1.7 Mediterranean Winter Temperature and Precipitation Reconstructions in Comparison with the ECHO-G and HadCM3 Coupled Models	p. 113
1.7.1 Past Climate Variability and its Relations to Volcanism, Solar Activity and GHG Concentrations: Reconstructions and Models	p. 117
1.8 Conclusions	p. 119
1.9 Outlook	p. 122
Acknowledgements	p. 125
References	p. 126
Chapter 2 Relations between Climate Variability in the Mediterranean Region and the Tropics: ENSO, South Asian and African Monsoons, Hurricanes and Saharan Dust	p. 149
2.1 Introduction	p. 149
2.2 ENSO Impact on the Mediterranean Climate	p. 150
2.2.1 ENSO and Eastern Mediterranean (EM) Rainfall	p. 151
2.2.2 ENSO and the Western Mediterranean Relationship	p. 154
2.2.3 ENSO and Extreme Mediterranean Rainfall	p. 156
2.2.4 Transient and Stationary Waves Approach	p. 157
2.2.5 Possible Coupling Mechanism of ENSO and the Mediterranean	p. 157
2.3 South Asian Monsoon Variability and the Mediterranean Climate	p. 159
2.3.1 Mediterranean Climate and the South Asian Rainfall	p. 160
2.4 African Monsoon Impact on the Climate of the Mediterranean	p. 161
2.5 Tropical Cyclones' Impact on the Mediterranean Climate	p. 162
2.6 Tropical Intrusions into the Mediterranean Basin	p. 164
2.7 Mediterranean Dust Transport from Sahara	p. 165
2.8 Conclusions and Outlook	p. 168
2.8.1 Future Research on ENSO Impact on Mediterranean Climate	p. 170
2.8.2 Future Research on South Asian Monsoon Variability and the Mediterranean Climate	p. 170
2.8.3 Future Research on African Monsoon Impacts on the Climate of the Mediterranean	p. 171
2.8.4 Future Research on Tropical Intrusions into the Mediterranean Basin	p. 171
Acknowledgements	p. 172
References	p. 172
Chapter 3 Relations between Variability in the Mediterranean Region and Mid-Latitude Variability	p. 179
3.1 Introduction	p. 180
3.2 Mid-Latitude Modes of Atmospheric Variability and their Impact	p. 182
3.2.1 The North Atlantic Oscillation Pattern	p. 183
3.2.2 The Eastern Atlantic and Eastern Atlantic/Western Russia Patterns	p. 187
3.2.3 The Scandinavian and Blocking Patterns	p. 189
3.2.4 Other Modes	p. 191
3.3 Temperature Variability	p. 192
3.4 Precipitation Variability	p. 193
3.5 Trends	p. 198
3.5.1 Temperature Trends	p. 198
3.5.2 Precipitation Trends	p. 202
3.5.3 Contributing Factors for Observed Temperature and Precipitation Trends	p. 204
3.6 Other Important Forcing Factors	p. 212
3.6.1 Tropical and Extratropical SST	p. 212
3.6.2 Solar Variability	p. 213
3.7 Future Outlook	p. 215
Acknowledgements	p. 218
References	p. 219
Chapter 4 Changes in the Oceanography of the Mediterranean Sea and their Link to Climate Variability	p. 227
4.1 Introduction	p. 227
4.2 The Forcing of the Mediterranean Sea	p. 229
4.2.1 Air-Sea Interaction	p. 229
4.2.2 River Outflow	p. 231
4.2.3 Exchanges through the Strait of Gibraltar	p. 235
4.2.4 The Exchange with the Black Sea	p. 236
4.3 The Mediterranean Overturning Circulation	p. 239
4.3.1 The Modification of the Atlantic Inflow	p. 239
4.3.2 Intermediate Water Formation	p. 241
4.3.3 Deep Water Formation in the Eastern Mediterranean	p. 243
4.3.4 Deep Water Formation in the Western Mediterranean	p. 245
4.4 Climatic Changes in the Mediterranean Sea Circulation	p. 246
4.4.1 Multidecadal Trends in Water Mass Characteristics	p. 246
4.4.2 Rapid Changes: The Eastern Mediterranean Transient	p. 249
4.4.3 What Caused the EMT?	p. 251
4.5 The Impact of Large-Scale Atmospheric Variability on the Mediterranean Sea	p. 260
4.6 Sea Level Changes in the Mediterranean Sea	p. 261
4.6.1 Extreme Sea Levels	p. 263
4.7 Changes in the Wind-wave Field	p. 265
4.8 Outlook and Future Challenges	p. 268
Acknowledgements	p. 270
References	p. 270
Chapter 5 The Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea as Connected Systems	p. 283
5.1 Introduction	p. 283
5.2 Mediterranean Outflow vs. Mediterranean Internal Variability	p. 284
5.2.1 Description of Numerical Model	p. 285
5.2.2 Zonal and Meridional Cells	p. 285
5.2.3 Mean State and Variability	p. 286
5.2.4 Timescales of Mediterranean Thermohaline Circulation	p. 287
5.2.5 Decadal Oscillations in the Mediterranean Sea	p. 293
5.3 The Strait of Gibraltar: A Gate to the Atlantic	p. 299
5.4 Spreading of Mediterranean Outflow Water in the North Atlantic	p. 303
5.4.1 Dynamics of Mediterranean Outflow Water	p. 305
5.4.2 Mediterranean Outflow Water and Stability and Variability of Meridional Overturning Circulation	p. 307
5.4.3 Modelling of Mediterranean Outflow Water	p. 310
5.5 Discussion and Future Challenges	p. 314
References	p. 316
Chapter 6 Cyclones in the Mediterranean Region: Climatology and Effects on the Environment	p. 325
6.1 Introduction	p. 325
6.1.1 "Historical" Notes	p. 328
6.2 Mediterranean Cyclones: Data, Methods and Dynamics	p. 329
6.2.1 Dynamics of Cyclones in the Mediterranean Region	p. 329
6.2.2 Available Sets of Data	p. 332
6.2.3 Methodology	p. 333
6.3 Climatology of Cyclones in the Mediterranean	p. 337
6.3.1 Characteristics, Sub-Areas of Cyclogenesis, Seasonality and Generation Mechanisms	p. 337
6.3.2 The Role of Large-Scale Climate Patterns on the Mediterranean Cyclones	p. 342
6.3.3 Trends	p. 343
6.4 Weather Patterns and Mediterranean Environment	p. 344
6.4.1 Precipitation	p. 345
6.4.2 Strong Winds	p. 351
6.4.3 Storm Surge	p. 353
6.4.4 Wind Waves	p. 357
6.4.5 Landslides	p. 360
6.5 Conclusions	p. 362
6.6 Outlook	p. 364
Acknowledgements	p. 365
References	p. 365
Chapter 7 Regional Atmospheric, Marine Processes and Climate Modelling	p. 373
7.1 Introduction	p. 373
7.2 Teleconnection Patterns from the Mediterranean Region	p. 376
7.3 Mediterranean Thermohaline Circulation and its Sensitivity to Atmospheric Forcing	p. 379
7.4 Sensitivity of the Mediterranean Thermohaline Circulation to Anthropogenic Global Warming	p. 381
7.5 Current Status of Mediterranean Regional Climate Modelling	p. 386
7.6 Atmosphere-Sea Coupled Modelling	p. 387
7.7 Perspectives and Outlooks	p. 390
7.7.1 High-Resolution Mediterranean Climate Modelling Systems	p. 391
7.7.2 Development and Validation of Integrated Regional Modelling Systems	p. 392
Acknowledgements	p. 393
References	p. 393
Chapter 8 The Mediterranean Climate Change under Global Warming	p. 399
8.1 Introduction	p. 399
8.2 Global-Coupled Climate Models	p. 400
8.3 Regional Climate Scenarios	p. 405
8.3.1 Statistical Downscaling	p. 405
8.3.2 RCM Simulations	p. 406
8.3.3 AGCM Simulations with Variable Resolution	p. 407
8.4 Impacts on Land Surface and Vegetation	p. 412
8.5 Future Research	p. 413
References	p. 413
Subject Index	p. 417

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