Challenge  

Medicane animation, source: NOAA

"Medicane" is a term derived from combining "Mediterranean" and "hurricane." It refers to a rare weather phenomenon in which a storm system with characteristics similar to a tropical cyclone develops over the Mediterranean Sea. While the Mediterranean Sea is not a typical breeding ground for hurricanes, certain conditions can lead to the formation of medicanes.

Medicanes can bring heavy rainfall, strong winds, and storm surges to coastal areas around the Mediterranean. The impact can vary depending on the specific characteristics of the medicane, its track, and the local geography.

Forecasting medicanes can be challenging due to their relatively small size and the complex interactions between atmospheric and oceanic conditions in the Mediterranean. Advances in meteorological models and satellite technology have improved the ability to predict the formation and movement of medicanes, but uncertainties still exist.

Research on medicanes is ongoing, and scientists continue to study these unique weather events to improve understanding and forecasting capabilities.

 

  Capabilities Demonstrated  

  • provide Mediterranean heavy weather data as 4D x/y/z/t datacubes, in analysis and visualization ready form
  • make these data and services available through the Cube4EnvSec federation
  • updated these datacubes at the frequency new data arrive
  • enable ad-hoc products derivation and analytics without programming
  • make data products available on any end device and through manifold clients, based on open standards
 

  Demonstrator  

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Contact us for your individual demonstration!

 

  Benefit  

Medicane, source: Aydin

Timely information about medicane risk, and monitoring of medicanes active.

 

  Contributors  

Scientific lead and data provision Aydin University, data by tbd, service by rasdaman GmbH, project management by Constructor University L-SIS Research Group.

 

  Terms of Reference 

This service is part of the Cube4EnvSec project whose Terms of Reference apply in full.

Image credits: Aydin U; ESA; NOAA; R. Portmann et al: Medicane Zorbas: Origin and impact of an uncertain potential vorticity streamer, EGU 2019.