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Effects of surface waves and sea spray on air–sea fluxes during the passage of Typhoon Hagupit

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Abstract

Air–sea exchange plays a vital role in the development and maintenance of tropical cyclones (TCs). Although studies have suggested the dependence of air–sea fluxes on surface waves and sea spray, how these processes modify those fluxes under TC conditions have not been sufficiently investigated based on in-situ observations. Using continuous meteorological and surface wave data from a moored buoy in the northern South China Sea, this study examines the effects of surface waves and sea spray on air–sea fluxes during the passage of Typhoon Hagupit. The mooring was within about 40 km of the center of Hagupit. Surface waves could increase momentum flux to the ocean by about 15%, and sea spray enhanced both sensible and latent heat fluxes to the atmosphere, causing Hagupit to absorb 500 W/m2 more heat flux from the ocean. These results have powerful implications for understanding TC–ocean interaction and improving TC intensity forecasting.

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Acknowledgements

The AMSR data are produced by Remote Sensing Systems and sponsored by the NASA Earth Science MEaSUREs DISCOVER Project and the NASA AMSR-E Science Team (www.remss.com). The NCEP Reanalysis data are provided by the NOAA/OAR/ESRL PSD (http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/). The sea spray code is from Dr. E. L. Andreas (http://www.nwra.com/resumes/andreas/).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou, 310012, China

    Hailun He, Qiaoyan Wu, Dake Chen, Chujin Liang & Weifang Jin

  2. The First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, 266061, China

    Jia Sun

  3. Laboratory for Regional Oceanography and Numerical Modeling, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266061, China

    Jia Sun

  4. School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Yao Xu

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  1. Hailun He
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  2. Qiaoyan Wu
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  3. Dake Chen
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  4. Jia Sun
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  5. Chujin Liang
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  6. Weifang Jin
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  7. Yao Xu
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Correspondence to Hailun He.

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Foundation item: Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. LR15D060001; the National Program on Global Change and Air-Sea Interactions under contract No. GASI-IPOVAI-04; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 41476021, 41706034 and 41321004.

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He, H., Wu, Q., Chen, D. et al. Effects of surface waves and sea spray on air–sea fluxes during the passage of Typhoon Hagupit. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 37, 1–7 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-018-1208-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-018-1208-2

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