Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-101
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-101
04 Apr 2022
 | 04 Apr 2022

Modelled storm surge changes in a warmer world: the Last Interglacial

Paolo Scussolini, Job Dullaart, Sanne Muis, Alessio Rovere, Pepijn Bakker, Dim Coumou, Hans Renssen, Philip J. Ward, and Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts

Abstract. The Last Interglacial (LIG; ca. 125 ka) is a period of interest for climate research as it is the most recent period of the Earth’s history when the boreal climate was warmer than at present. Previous research, based on models and geological evidence, suggests that the LIG may have featured enhanced patterns of ocean storminess, but this remains hotly debated. Here, we apply state-of-the-art climate and hydrodynamic modeling to simulate changes in extreme sea levels caused by storm surges, under LIG and pre-industrial climate forcings. Significantly higher seasonal LIG sea level extremes emerge for the Gulf of Carpentaria, parts of Indonesia, the Mediterranean Sea and northern Africa, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the Persian Gulf, Pakistan, northwest India, and islands of the Pacific Ocean and of the Caribbean. Lower LIG sea level extremes emerge for the Baltic and North Seas, the Bay of Bengal, China and Vietnam. Some of these anomalies are clearly associated with anomalies in seasonal sea level pressure minima, and potentially also originate from anomalies in the meridional position and intensity of the predominant wind bands. In a qualitative comparison, LIG sea level extremes seem generally higher than those projected for future warmer climates. These results help to constrain the interpretation of coastal archives of LIG sea level indicators.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

16 Jan 2023
| Highlight paper
Modeled storm surge changes in a warmer world: the Last Interglacial
Paolo Scussolini, Job Dullaart, Sanne Muis, Alessio Rovere, Pepijn Bakker, Dim Coumou, Hans Renssen, Philip J. Ward, and Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts
Clim. Past, 19, 141–157, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-141-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-141-2023, 2023
Short summary Co-editor-in-chief
Paolo Scussolini, Job Dullaart, Sanne Muis, Alessio Rovere, Pepijn Bakker, Dim Coumou, Hans Renssen, Philip J. Ward, and Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-101', Anonymous Referee #1, 13 Apr 2022
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Paolo Scussolini, 30 Aug 2022
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-101', Anonymous Referee #2, 31 May 2022
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Paolo Scussolini, 30 Aug 2022
  • RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-101', Anonymous Referee #3, 29 Jun 2022
    • AC3: 'Reply on RC3', Paolo Scussolini, 30 Aug 2022

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-101', Anonymous Referee #1, 13 Apr 2022
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Paolo Scussolini, 30 Aug 2022
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-101', Anonymous Referee #2, 31 May 2022
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Paolo Scussolini, 30 Aug 2022
  • RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-101', Anonymous Referee #3, 29 Jun 2022
    • AC3: 'Reply on RC3', Paolo Scussolini, 30 Aug 2022

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
ED: Reconsider after major revisions (08 Sep 2022) by Ran Feng
AR by Paolo Scussolini on behalf of the Authors (27 Oct 2022)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (03 Nov 2022) by Ran Feng
RR by Anonymous Referee #1 (14 Nov 2022)
ED: Publish as is (15 Nov 2022) by Ran Feng
AR by Paolo Scussolini on behalf of the Authors (23 Nov 2022)  Manuscript 

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

16 Jan 2023
| Highlight paper
Modeled storm surge changes in a warmer world: the Last Interglacial
Paolo Scussolini, Job Dullaart, Sanne Muis, Alessio Rovere, Pepijn Bakker, Dim Coumou, Hans Renssen, Philip J. Ward, and Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts
Clim. Past, 19, 141–157, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-141-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-141-2023, 2023
Short summary Co-editor-in-chief
Paolo Scussolini, Job Dullaart, Sanne Muis, Alessio Rovere, Pepijn Bakker, Dim Coumou, Hans Renssen, Philip J. Ward, and Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts
Paolo Scussolini, Job Dullaart, Sanne Muis, Alessio Rovere, Pepijn Bakker, Dim Coumou, Hans Renssen, Philip J. Ward, and Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts

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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

Understanding future changes in storm surge is key to assessing the sustainability of coastal environment to global warming and sea level rise. Past climate intervals may provide useful insights into how storm surge and sea level extremes may respond to climate forcing conditions. Focusing on the Last Interglacial (LIG, ~127,000 years ago), the study by Scussolini and co-authors applied a novel hydrodynamic modelling framework to simulate changes in sea level extremes caused by storm surges under LIG and pre-industrial climate forcing conditions. They discovered a key role of the meridional position and intensity of predominant wind bands in driving spatial distributions of sea level extremes. Their findings have broad implications for interpretations of LIG sea level from coastal archives.
Short summary
Extremes of sea level at the coast are mostly generated by the temporary surges of ocean water associated with storms. It would be very valuable to understand how a changing climate will affect the occurrence of storms and thus coastal sea level extremes, but uncertainties are large. To increase our knowledge in this field, we adopt a modeling approach to study sea level extremes in a past period of climate that was warmer than the present, the Last Interglacial.