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Improving simulation of a tropical cyclone using dynamical initialization and large-scale spectral nudging: A case study of Typhoon Megi (2010)

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Abstract

In this study, an approach combining dynamical initialization and large-scale spectral nudging is proposed to achieve improved numerical simulations of tropical cyclones (TCs), including track, structure, intensity, and their changes, based on the Advanced Weather Research and Forecasting (ARW-WRF) model. The effectiveness of the approach has been demonstrated with a case study of Typhoon Megi (2010). The ARW-WRF model with the proposed approach realistically reproduced many aspects of Typhoon Megi in a 7-day-long simulation. In particular, the model simulated quite well not only the storm track and intensity changes but also the structure changes before, during, and after its landfall over the Luzon Island in the northern Philippines, as well as after it reentered the ocean over the South China Sea (SCS). The results from several sensitivity experiments demonstrate that the proposed approach is quite effective and ideal for achieving realistic simulations of real TCs, and thus is useful for understanding the TC inner-core dynamics, and structure and intensity changes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster of Ministry of Education, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Hui Wang  (王 慧) & Haiming Xu  (徐海明)

  2. International Pacific Research Center and Department of Meteorology, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    Hui Wang  (王 慧) & Yuqing Wang  (王玉清)

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  1. Hui Wang  (王 慧)
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  2. Yuqing Wang  (王玉清)
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  3. Haiming Xu  (徐海明)
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Correspondence to Yuqing Wang  (王玉清).

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Supported by the National Basic Research and Development (973) Program of China (2009CB421505), National Natural Science Foundation of China (41130964), and the United States NOAA/JHT grant (NA09OAR4310081). Additional support has been provided by the JAMSTEC, NASA, and NOAA through their sponsorships of the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

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Wang, H., Wang, Y. & Xu, H. Improving simulation of a tropical cyclone using dynamical initialization and large-scale spectral nudging: A case study of Typhoon Megi (2010). Acta Meteorol Sin 27, 455–475 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-013-0418-y

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