Cyclonic Wave Simulations Based on WAVEWATCH-III Using a Sea Surface Drag Coefficient Derived from CFOSAT SWIM Data

It is well known that numerical models are powerful methods for wave simulation of typhoons, where the sea surface drag coefficient is sensitive to strong winds. With the development of remote sensing techniques, typhoon data (i.e., wind and waves) have been captured by optical and microwave satellites such as the Chinese-French Oceanography SATellite (CFOSAT). In particular, wind and wave spectra data can be simultaneously measured by the Surface Wave Investigation and Monitoring (SWIM) onboard CFOSAT. In this study, existing parameterizations for the drag coefficient are implemented for typhoon wave simulations using the WAVEWATCH-III (WW3) model. In particular, a parameterization of the drag coefficient derived from sea surface roughness is adopted by considering the terms for wave steepness and wave age from the measurements from SWIM products of CFOSAT from 20 typhoons during 2019–2020 at winds up to 30 m/s. The simulated significant wave height (Hs) from the WW3 model was validated against the observations from several moored buoys active during three typhoons, i.e., Typhoon Fung-wong (2014), Chan-hom (2015), and Lekima (2019). The analysis results indicated that the proposed parameterization of the drag coefficient significantly improved the accuracy of typhoon wave estimation (a 0.49 m root mean square error (RMSE) of Hs and a 0.35 scatter index (SI)), greater than the 0.55 RMSE of Hs and >0.4 SI using other existing parameterizations. In this sense, the adopted parameterization for the drag coefficient is recommended for typhoon wave simulations using the WW3 model, especially for sea states with Hs < 7 m. Moreover, the accuracy of simulated waves was not reduced with growing winds and sea states using the proposed parameterization. However, the applicability of the proposed parameterization in hurricanes necessitates further investigation at high winds (>30 m/s).

Dynamic Stability and Protection Design of a Submarined Floater Platform Avoiding Typhoon Wave Impact

This research proposes the design of a mooring system that allows the floating platform to stably dive deep enough to prevent damage induced by typhoon waves. The design principle of the mechanism is that the submarined floating platform with negative buoyancy is connected to a pontoon with positive buoyancy. The diving depth of the floating platform is determined by the rope length. If the static equilibrium of the two forces is satisfied, the diving depth will be kept. If the diving depth of the floating platform is enough, the platform will not be directly damaged by the wave impact. In reality, the system will be greatly subjected to the typhoon wave and the ocean current. The stability of the system and the dynamic tension of the rope must be significantly concerned. In this study, the linear elastic model of the mooring system composed of a floater platform, towed parachute, pontoon, traction rope, and mooring foundation is derived. The theoretical solution of the static and dynamic stability analysis of the mooring system is proposed. The dynamic behaviors of the floating platform and pontoon, and the tension of the rope under the effects of waves and ocean currents, are investigated. It is discovered that the buffer spring helps reduce the tension of the rope. The proposed protection procedure can avoid the damage of the floating platform and the mooring line, due to Typhoon wave impact.

Numerical modeling and validating waves generated by typhoons in the East Vietnam Sea using satellite data

Calculating waves generated by typhoons is one of the most important tasks for wave forecasting at a stormy region like the East Vietnam Sea. It is, however, difficult to access the accuracy of calculated wave heights due to the lack of observed data. An approach of combining numerical models and satellite data has been widely used. In this study, we used the WAVEWATCH III model to stimulate wave fields caused by three strong typhoons: Damrey (2005), Ketsana (2009) and Haiyan (2013), then compared significant wave heights with the merged satellite observations. The results show that the BIAS values are small and negative, indicating that the wave heights from the model are lower than those from satellites in all cases. In contrast, the RMSE values of the three cases are considerably different but are still below 1 m. Finally, the average correlation coefficient is highest in typhoon Damrey (r = 0.94) whereas in typhoon Ketsana and Haiyan, r = 0.84 and r = 0.87, respectively. In conclusion, the study suggests that the WAVEWATCH III model has good performance for typhoon wave calculations and can be useful for wave forecasting in the East Vietnam Sea.

On the Sensitivity of Typhoon Wave Simulations to Tidal Elevation and Current

The sensitivity of storm wave simulations to storm tides and tidal currents was investigated using a high-resolution, unstructured-grid, coupled circulation-wave model (Semi-implicit Cross-scale Hydroscience Integrated System Model Wind Wave Model version III (SCHISM-WWM-III)) driven by two typhoon events (Typhoons Soudelor and Megi) impacting the northeastern coast of Taiwan. Hourly wind fields were acquired from a fifth-generation global atmospheric reanalysis (ERA5) and were used as meteorological conditions for the circulation-wave model after direct modification (MERA5). The large typhoon-induced waves derived from SCHISM-WWM-III were significantly improved with the MERA5 winds, and the peak wave height was increased by 1.0–2.0 m. A series of numerical experiments were conducted with SCHISM-WWM-II and MERA5 to explore the responses of typhoon wave simulations to tidal elevation and current. The results demonstrate that the simulated significant wave height, mean wave period and wave direction for a wave buoy in the outer region of the typhoon are more sensitive to the tidal current but less sensitive to the tidal elevation than those for a wave buoy moored in the inner region of the typhoon. This study suggests that the inclusion of the tidal current and elevation could be more important for typhoon wave modeling in sea areas with larger tidal ranges and higher tidal currents. Additionally, the suitable modification of the typhoon winds from a global atmospheric reanalysis is necessary for the accurate simulation of storm waves over the entire region of a typhoon.