Weather Systems Affecting the Meteorological Conditions over the Aegean Sea
The meteorological conditions over the Aegean Sea are subjected to strong influences from the large-scale patterns of the general atmospheric circulation, the surrounding continents, the almost enclosed Mediterranean Sea, the complex topography and coastl
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Contents 1 Introduction 2 Weather Systems over the Aegean Sea 2.1 Cold Season 2.2 Warm Season 2.3 Transient Seasons 3 Cyclogenesis over the Aegean Sea 4 Explosive Cyclogenesis 4.1 The “Meteorological Bomb” of 21–22 January 2004 4.2 The “Meteorological Bomb” of 6–7 January 2012 5 Medicanes (Mediterranean Hurricanes) 6 Air Temperature and Precipitation Across the Aegean Sea 6.1 Air Temperature 6.2 Precipitation 7 Concluding Remarks References
Abstract The meteorological conditions over the Aegean Sea are subjected to strong influences from the large-scale patterns of the general atmospheric circulation, the surrounding continents, the almost enclosed Mediterranean Sea, the complex topography and coastline, as well as the mesoscale and local phenomena imposed on the synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation. This chapter discusses the most important circulation patterns that affect the area determining not only the weather conditions but also the climatic characteristics. The discussion unravels seasonal and spatial characteristics of the weather and climate patterns giving also a particular emphasis on the formation of cyclones (cyclogenesis). The role of upperA. Papadopoulos (*) and G. Varlas Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Anavissos Attikis, Greece e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Christos L. Anagnostou, Andrey G. Kostianoy, Ilias D. Mariolakos, Panayotis Panayotidis, Marina Soilemezidou, and Grigoris Tsaltas (eds.), The Aegean Sea Environment: The Natural System, Hdb Env Chem, DOI 10.1007/698_2020_657, © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
A. Papadopoulos and G. Varlas
air conditions and air-sea interaction is highlighted, especially demonstrating the remarkable patterns of explosive cyclones and Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones (medicanes). This chapter also provides a preliminary analysis of air temperature and precipitation over the Aegean Sea unveiling spatiotemporal variabilities and trends. Keywords ERA-5, Explosive cyclones, Medicanes, The Aegean Sea, Weather systems
1 Introduction The Aegean Sea is located between the Greek Peninsula at the west and Asia Minor at the east. Due to its geographical position, the prevailing weather conditions over the Aegean Sea are strongly influenced by the surrounding continents (Europe, North Africa, Asia) and the almost enclosed Mediterranean Sea as well as by the long-distance large-scale patterns of the general atmospheric circulation. The maps of Fig. 1 show the main large-scale atmospheric systems affecting the weather conditions over the Aegean Sea. The January map (Fig. 1a) and the July map (Fig. 1b) have been plotted based on the ERA-5 reanalysis data at spatial resolution of 0.25 0.25 for the 41-year period from 1979 to 2019. ERA-5 is the fifthgeneration atmospheric reanalysis of the global climate made by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) [1]. Reanalysis combines model data with observations using advanced 4D-Var data assimilation techniques and is co
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