Abstract
Typhoon storm surge research has always been very important and worthy of attention. Less is studied about the impact of tropical cyclone size (TC size) on storm surge, especially in semi-enclosed areas such as the northern East China Sea (NECS). Observational data for Typhoon Winnie (TY9711) and Typhoon Damrey (TY1210) from satellite and tide stations, as well as simulation results from a finite-volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM), were developed to study the effect of TC size on storm surge. Using the maximum wind speed (MXW) to represent the intensity of the tropical cyclone and seven-level wind circle range (R7) to represent the size of the tropical cyclone, an ideal simulation test was conducted. The results indicate that the highest storm surge occurs when the MXW is 40–45 m/s, that storm surge does not undergo significant change with the RWM except for the area near the center of typhoon and that the peak surge values are approximately a linear function of R7. Therefore, the TC size should be considered when estimating storm surge, particularly when predicting marine-economic effects and assessing the risk.
Highlights
Three-dimensional finite-volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM) is used to simulate storm surge in the northern East China Sea (NECS) region
Through a hindcasting test of TY1210 storm surge, we found that the overall trend of the storm surge is consistent with actual measurements, and the maximum value of the storm surge was similar to the measured value
Analysis of the satellite cloud images and inverse typhoon profiles of TY9711 and TY1210 revealed that TY9711 had a larger tropical cyclone size (TC size) than TY1210
Summary
Storm surge is an abnormal increase in seawater level, which can be induced by typhoons and atmospheric pressure disturbances [1,2,3], and may be affected by factors such as interaction with the seiches of (semi) enclosed basins, coastal configuration, coastal bathymetry, and the extend of the continental shelf [4]. Brand [15] and Merrill [16], using the mean radius of the outermost closed isobar (ROCI) to measure TC size, and analyzing surface weather charts, reported that there were seasonal and regional variations in TC size, and Northwest Pacific (NWP) TCs had a mean size twice as large as that of the TCs in the Atlantic Ocean For this reason, more attention should be paid to the impact of different typhoon scales on storm surge in the Pacific. Knaff [18,19] measured TC size in terms of R5 (the radius of the mean tangential surface wind speed of 5 kt) and presented a relatively simple method for estimating the TC wind radii from two different sources: Infrared satellite imagery and global model analyses. According to Irish [13], storm surge varies by as much as 30% over a reasonable range of TC sizes for a given storm intensity, which means that TC size has a significant impact on storm surge and is worth studying
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call