Air-sea interaction in the Central Mediterranean: are surge-generating winds changing ?

International audience; Hourly sea surges from the records of 9 French and 19 Italian tide-gauge stations have been computed and the wind directions corresponding to significant surge heights have been determined. The frequency of such surge-related wind directions tends to increase almost everywhere, while extreme wind speeds (that are most effective to produce high surges) tend generally to decrease; this may be a consequence of the northward displacement of storm trajectories on the European area. There is, however, an exception in the Gulf of Lions (the most westward area considered), where surge height may reach higher elevations, with a recent dangerous increase of southerlies