Seasonal and Interannual Variability in the Atmosphere and in the Sea

Abstract

During the ZISCH project, several cruises were carried out in the period 1986–1989 to investigate concentration and transport of contaminants in the North Sea. Since this transport is also affected by atmospheric fields, wind and temperature fields were determined for a region encompassing the North Sea and the adjoining parts of the Atlantic for the years mentioned above. In order to evaluate the representativity of the cruise results it is necessary to know the major parameters of the meteorological field and their deviation from long-term means over the North Sea for the years in question. A publication on the North Sea climate (Korevaar 1990) is available; the extensive climate data and maps of the German Marine Weather Office have not yet been published. Since variances of the meteorological field are unknown, it is only possible to detect sizeable deviations from the long-term mean state. Such is the case for the winters of 1987/88 and 1988/89, which were particularly mild and which - together with the third mild winter of 1989/90 - have gained the attention of climatologists.