The Impact of Serial Cyclone Clustering on Extremely High Sea Levels in the Baltic Sea

Abstract In the Baltic Sea, sea level variations are often very pronounced. During the winter season, storm surges caused by strong extratropical cyclones (ETCs) can have major societal impacts on coastal cities. In this study, using reanalysis‐based cyclone tracks and in‐situ tide gauge records, we...

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Main Authors: Mika Rantanen, Daan van denBroek, Joona Cornér, Victoria A. Sinclair, Milla M. Johansson, Jani Särkkä, Terhi K. Laurila, Kirsti Jylhä
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-03-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL107203
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author Mika Rantanen
Daan van denBroek
Joona Cornér
Victoria A. Sinclair
Milla M. Johansson
Jani Särkkä
Terhi K. Laurila
Kirsti Jylhä
author_facet Mika Rantanen
Daan van denBroek
Joona Cornér
Victoria A. Sinclair
Milla M. Johansson
Jani Särkkä
Terhi K. Laurila
Kirsti Jylhä
author_sort Mika Rantanen
collection DOAJ
description Abstract In the Baltic Sea, sea level variations are often very pronounced. During the winter season, storm surges caused by strong extratropical cyclones (ETCs) can have major societal impacts on coastal cities. In this study, using reanalysis‐based cyclone tracks and in‐situ tide gauge records, we show that serial cyclone clustering (SCC) leads to higher sea levels in the Baltic Sea than situations where only one ETC passes the tide gauge. Consequently, almost half of extreme sea level events in the Baltic Sea are associated with cyclone clustering periods. For example, in Helsinki, 45% of the extreme sea level events coincided with SCC periods of three or more ETCs, while only 6% of the events coincided with a single ETC. Our study represents a significant advance in the understanding of the factors influencing sea level variations in the Baltic Sea.
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institution Kabale University
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language English
publishDate 2024-03-01
publisher Wiley
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-e7abb1f765b94177945c58d00b832a832025-08-20T03:49:37ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-03-01516n/an/a10.1029/2023GL107203The Impact of Serial Cyclone Clustering on Extremely High Sea Levels in the Baltic SeaMika Rantanen0Daan van denBroek1Joona Cornér2Victoria A. Sinclair3Milla M. Johansson4Jani Särkkä5Terhi K. Laurila6Kirsti Jylhä7Finnish Meteorological Institute Helsinki FinlandFinnish Meteorological Institute Helsinki FinlandInstitute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandInstitute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandFinnish Meteorological Institute Helsinki FinlandFinnish Meteorological Institute Helsinki FinlandFinnish Meteorological Institute Helsinki FinlandFinnish Meteorological Institute Helsinki FinlandAbstract In the Baltic Sea, sea level variations are often very pronounced. During the winter season, storm surges caused by strong extratropical cyclones (ETCs) can have major societal impacts on coastal cities. In this study, using reanalysis‐based cyclone tracks and in‐situ tide gauge records, we show that serial cyclone clustering (SCC) leads to higher sea levels in the Baltic Sea than situations where only one ETC passes the tide gauge. Consequently, almost half of extreme sea level events in the Baltic Sea are associated with cyclone clustering periods. For example, in Helsinki, 45% of the extreme sea level events coincided with SCC periods of three or more ETCs, while only 6% of the events coincided with a single ETC. Our study represents a significant advance in the understanding of the factors influencing sea level variations in the Baltic Sea.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL107203extratropical cyclonescyclone clusteringsea levelBaltic sea
spellingShingle Mika Rantanen
Daan van denBroek
Joona Cornér
Victoria A. Sinclair
Milla M. Johansson
Jani Särkkä
Terhi K. Laurila
Kirsti Jylhä
The Impact of Serial Cyclone Clustering on Extremely High Sea Levels in the Baltic Sea
Geophysical Research Letters
extratropical cyclones
cyclone clustering
sea level
Baltic sea
title The Impact of Serial Cyclone Clustering on Extremely High Sea Levels in the Baltic Sea
title_full The Impact of Serial Cyclone Clustering on Extremely High Sea Levels in the Baltic Sea
title_fullStr The Impact of Serial Cyclone Clustering on Extremely High Sea Levels in the Baltic Sea
title_full_unstemmed The Impact of Serial Cyclone Clustering on Extremely High Sea Levels in the Baltic Sea
title_short The Impact of Serial Cyclone Clustering on Extremely High Sea Levels in the Baltic Sea
title_sort impact of serial cyclone clustering on extremely high sea levels in the baltic sea
topic extratropical cyclones
cyclone clustering
sea level
Baltic sea
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL107203
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