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Does microseisms in Hamburg (Germany) reflect the wave climate in the North Atlantic?

Spiegelt die in Hamburg gemessene Mikroseismik das Wellenklima im Nordatlantik wider?

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Summary

The possibility of monitoring climate variability on decadal scales by means of microseisms is investigated. For this purpose, digital microseismic data from Hamburg (Germany) of the six winters 1992/93 to 1997/98 are compared with model ocean-wave fields of the North Atlantic. A correlation coefficient of aboutr= 0.7 was found between the linear ocean-wave amplitude at the Norwegian coast and the square-root of the microseismic amplitude. Considering monthly means of the energy of both ocean waves and microseisms the correlation exceedsr= 0.8 in special areas. A correlation coefficient ofr = 0.6 was found between the monthly winter index of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the respectively averaged microseismic energy. Encouraged by these results, further investigations are planned for analysing earlier microseisms which has been recorded in Hamburg since 1905.

Zusammenfassung

Es wird untersucht, ob sich Klimaschwankungen mit Perioden um zehn Jahre aus Aufzeichnungen der Mikroseismik erfassen lassen. Zu diesem Zweck werden digitale Mikroseismikdaten der sechs Winter 1992/93 bis 1997/98 aus Hamburg mit Modelldaten des Seegangs im Nordatlantik verglichen. Es ergibt sich ein Korrelationskoeffizient vonr= 0,7 zwischen den mittleren linearen Amplituden des Seegangs an der norwegischen Küste und der Wurzel aus der Amplitude der Mikroseismik. Für monatliche Mittel der Energien des Seegangs und der Mikroseismik werden in einigen Gebieten Korrelationskoeffizienten über r= 0,8 gefunden. Der Korrelationskoeffizient zwischen dem monatlichen Index der nordatlantischen Oszillation (NAO) und der entsprechend gemittelten Energie der Mikroseismik beträgtr= 0,6. Ermutigt durch diese Ergebnisse sollen historische Registrierungen der Mikroseismik analysiert werden, die in Hamburg seit 1905 vorliegen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Meereskunde, Universität Hamburg, Troplowitzstr. 7, D-22529, Hamburg

    H. -H. Essen

  2. Institut für Geophysik, Universität Hamburg, Bundesstr. 55, D-20146, Hamburg

    J. Klussmann & R. Herber

  3. Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Universität Bremen, Klagenfurter Str., D-28359, Bremen

    I. Grevemeyer

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  1. H. -H. Essen
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  2. J. Klussmann
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  3. R. Herber
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  4. I. Grevemeyer
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Essen, H.H., Klussmann, J., Herber, R. et al. Does microseisms in Hamburg (Germany) reflect the wave climate in the North Atlantic?. Deutsche Hydrographische Zeitschrift 51, 33–45 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02763955

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