Changlong Guan

On the Linear Parameterization of Drag Coefficient over Sea Surface

Combining the logarithmic law with the Charnock relation yields a drag coefficient that is a function of wind speed with the Charnock coefficient as a parameter. It is found that the function is nearly linear within the typically measured range of the drag coefficient. The slope of the linear function is dominated by the Charnock coefficient. When the Charnock relation is extended to a wave age‐dependent function, the drag coefficient remains a near-linear function of wind speed after invoking the 3/2 power law. The slope of the linear function is dominated by wave steepness.

A Coupled Atmosphere–Wave–Ocean Modeling System: Simulation of the Intensity of an Idealized Tropical Cyclone

Abstract A coupled atmosphere–wave–ocean modeling system (CAWOMS) based on the integration of atmosphere–wave, atmosphere–ocean, and wave–current interaction processes is developed. The component models consist of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, the Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) model, and the Princeton Ocean Model (POM). The coupling between the model components is implemented by using the Model Coupling Toolkit. The CAWOMS takes into account various wave-related effects, including wave state and sea-spray-affected sea surface roughness, sea spray heat fluxes, and dissipative heating in atmosphere–wave coupling. It also considers oceanic effects such as the feedback of sea surface temperature (SST) cooling and the impact of sea surface current on wind stress in atmosphere–ocean coupling. In addition, wave–current interactions, including radiation stress and wave-induced bottom stress, are also taken into account. The CAWOMS is applied to the simulation of an idealized tropical cyclo...

The wave state and sea spray related parameterization of wind stress applicable from low to extreme winds

Received 28 November 2011; revised 21 May 2012; accepted 23 May 2012; published 3 July 2012. [1] Recent field and laboratory observations indicate that the variation of drag coefficient with wind speed at high winds is different from that under low-to-moderate winds. By taking the effects of wave development and sea spray into account, a parameterization of sea surface aerodynamic roughness applicable from low to extreme winds is proposed. The corresponding relationship between drag coefficient and sea surface wind speed agrees well with the existing field and laboratory observational data. It is shown that, under low-to-moderate wind conditions so that the sea spray effects could be neglected, the nondimensional aerodynamic roughness first increases and then decreases with the increasing wave age; whereas under high wind conditions, the drag coefficient decreases with the increasing wind speed due to the modification of the logarithmic wind profile by the effect of sea spray droplets produced by bursting bubbles or wind tearing breaking wave crests. The drag coefficients and sea surface aerodynamic roughnesses reach their maximum values when the 10 m wind speeds are between 25 and 33 m s � 1 for different wave developments. Correspondingly, the reduction of drag coefficient under high winds reduces the increasing rate of friction velocity with increasing wind speed.

Wind and Wave Climate in the Arctic Ocean as Observed by Altimeters

AbstractTwenty years (1996–2015) of satellite observations were used to study the climatology and trends of oceanic winds and waves in the Arctic Ocean in the summer season (August–September). The Atlantic-side seas, exposed to the open ocean, host more energetic waves than those on the Pacific side. Trend analysis shows a clear spatial (regional) and temporal (interannual) variability in wave height and wind speed. Waves in the Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea (near the northern Alaska), and Laptev Sea have been increasing at a rate of 0.1–0.3 m decade−1, found to be statistically significant at the 90% level. The trend of waves in the Greenland and Barents Seas, on the contrary, is weak and not statistically significant. In the Barents and Kara Seas, winds and waves initially increased between 1996 and 2006 and later decreased. Large-scale atmospheric circulations such as the Arctic Oscillation and Arctic dipole anomaly have a clear impact on the variation of winds and waves in the Atlantic sector. Comparison ...

An investigation of the effects of wave state and sea spray on an idealized typhoon using an air-sea coupled modeling system

In this study, the impact of atmosphere-wave coupling on typhoon intensity was investigated using numerical simulations of an idealized typhoon in a coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean modeling system. The coupling between atmosphere and sea surface waves considered the effects of wave state and sea sprays on air-sea momentum flux, the atmospheric low-level dissipative heating, and the wave-state-affected seaspray heat flux. Several experiments were conducted to examine the impacts of wave state, sea sprays, and dissipative heating on an idealized typhoon system. Results show that considering the wave state and sea-spray-affected sea-surface roughness reduces typhoon intensity, while including dissipative heating intensifies the typhoon system. Taking into account sea spray heat flux also strengthens the typhoon system with increasing maximum wind speed and significant wave height. The overall impact of atmosphere-wave coupling makes a positive contribution to the intensification of the idealized typhoon system. The minimum central pressure simulated by the coupled atmosphere-wave experiment was 16.4 hPa deeper than that of the control run, and the maximum wind speed and significant wave height increased by 31% and 4%, respectively. Meanwhile, within the area beneath the typhoon center, the average total upward air-sea heat flux increased by 22%, and the averaged latent heat flux increased more significantly by 31% compared to the uncoupled run.

Calibration and Validation of HY-2 Altimeter Wave Height

AbstractHai Yang-2 (HY-2) satellite altimeter measurements of significant wave height () are analyzed over the period from 1 October 2011 to 6 December 2014. They are calibrated and validated against in situ buoys and other concurrently operating altimeters: Jason-2, CryoSat-2, and Satellite with Argos and ALtiKa (SARAL). In general, the HY-2 altimeter measurements agree well with buoy measurements, with a bias of −0.22 m and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.30 m. When the reduced major axis (RMA) regression procedure was applied to the entire period, the RMSE was reduced by 33% to 0.2 m. A further comparison with other satellite altimeters, however, revealed two additional features of HY-2 estimates over this period. First, a noticeable mismatch is present between HY-2 and the other satellite altimeters for high seas ( > 6 m). Second, a jump increase in HY-2 values was detected starting in April 2013, which was associated with the switch to backup status of the HY-2 sensors and the subsequent update ...

Several Important Issues in Salinity Quality Control of Argo Float

Several floats that deployed by different countries during the last years over the global ocean, which served as a contribution to the Array for real time geostrophic oceanography (Argo), are studied in this paper with respect to their uniqueness in the Delayed Mode Quality Control (DMQC) process. Of these floats, issues were found in the temperature-salinity relationships during the DMQC, which would easily be misinterpreted or overlooked. This study lists and summarizes the possible situations of the floats that might confront in their observation life, together with the reasonable explanations. The authors present some thoughts on evaluating the performance of the conductivity sensors and calibrating the float salinity data.

On the joint distribution of surface slopes for the fourth order nonlinear random sea waves

Based upon the nonlinear model of Longuet-Higgins the joint distribution of wave surface slopes is theoretically investigated. It is shown that in the fourth order approximation, the distribution is given by truncated Gram-Charlier series. The types of wave-wave coupling interactions are related to the order of approximation to nonlinearity of sea surface, which eventually defines the truncated term of the Gram-Charlier series. For each order approximation, the coefficients in the series are modified comparatively to the corresponding ones for the previous order approximation. If the nonlinear effect of the kurtosis is considered, the wave surface must be as accurate at least as to the third order approximation, and with regard to skewness, the wave surface must be as accurate at least as to the fourth order approximation.

Statistical distribution of surface elevation for the fourth order nonlinear random sea waves

Based upon the nonlinear model of random sea waves, the statistical distribution of wave surface elevation exact to the fourth order is derived as the truncated Gram-Charlier series,by calculating directly each order moment. The phenomenon found by Huanget al. that the agreement between observed data and investigated series deteriorates much more when the series is kept to λ8 is explained. The effect of the approximation order on the truncation of series and the determination of coefficients is investigated. For themth order approximation, the derived series is truncated atH3m-3 with the absence of H3m-4, and the coefficients ofH3m-3 andH3m-6 are connected by a simple algebraic relation.

Impact of sea spray on the Yellow and East China Seas thermal structure during the passage of Typhoon Rammasun (2002)

Strong winds lead to large amounts of sea spray in the lowest part of the atmospheric boundary layer. The spray droplets affect the air-sea heat fluxes due to their evaporation and the momentum due to the change of sea surface, and in turn change the upper ocean thermal structure. In this study, impact of sea spray on upper ocean temperatures in the Yellow and East China Seas (YES) during typhoon Rammasuns passage is investigated using the POMgcs ocean model with a sea spray parameterization scheme, in which the sea spray-induced heat fluxes are based on an improved Fairalls sea spray heat fluxes algorithm, and the sea spray-induced momentum fluxes are derived from an improved COARE version 2.6 bulk model. The distribution of the sea spray mediated turbulent fluxes was primarily located at Rammasun eye-wall region, in accord with the maximal wind speeds regions. When Rammasun enters the Yellow sea, the sea spray mediated latent (sensible) heat flux maximum is enhanced by 26% (13.5%) compared to that of the interfacial latent (sensible) heat flux. The maximum of the total air-sea momentum fluxes is enhanced by 43% compared to the counterpart of the interfacial momentum flux. Furthermore, the sea spray plays a key role in enhancing the intensity of the typhoon-induced “cold suction” and “heat pump” processes. When the effect of sea spray is considered, the maximum of the sea surface cooling in the right side of Rammasuns track is increased by 0.5°C, which is closer to the available satellite observations.