Simulation of Wave‐Current Interactions Under Hurricane Conditions Using an Unstructured‐Grid Model: Impacts on Ocean Waves

Abstract

The effect of wave‐current interactions on ocean waves under hurricane conditions is investigated through application of the unstructured‐grid finite‐volume community ocean model (FVCOM) coupled to the unstructured‐grid surface wave model (SWAVE) in the North Atlantic Ocean. We study wave‐current interactions during the life cycles of extratropical hurricanes Juan (2003) and Bill (2009) as they propagate from subtropical waters to midlatitudes in the Northwest Atlantic. Simulations of wave parameters in each hurricane are shown to compare well with buoy and satellite altimeter observations, in terms of winds, significant wave heights, wave energy spectra, and wave directions. This is partially achieved by restricting the drag coefficient. It is well known that the maximum intensity of tropical cyclones depends on the ratio of the enthalpy coefficient to the drag coefficient. The latter increases with wind speed, levels off with category one hurricanes and may drop for even higher winds. In our study, we find that setting a limiting value on the drag coefficient improves the simulations of waves at peak storm intensities. Simulation of wave‐current interactions is also shown to improve the simulation of the wave heights and wave energy spectra. This is notable at the peak of the storms, in comparisons with observations from buoys in areas of both deep water and relatively shallow water. The effect of currents on significant wave heights is shown to reach 0.4 m for hurricane Juan and 1.0 m for hurricane Bill, or as much as about ±10% for wave heights distributed along the storm track.

Wave‐Current Interactions During Hurricanes Earl and Igor in the Northwest Atlantic

“…The reduction of 𝐴𝐴 𝐴𝐴 max 𝑠𝑠 can be more than ∼10% close to the storm track on the RHS (Figures 7c and 7f). This finding is consistent with previous studies for other storms (e.g., Sun et al, 2018;Wang & Oey, 2008;Wang & Sheng, 2016). The new finding of our study is that the reduction of 𝐴𝐴 𝐴𝐴 max…”

“…WCIs are therefore of significant importance and should be carefully studied in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of physical environments and associated variability in the NWA. Some effects of WCIs on coastal circulations, surface cooling, storm surges, and wave propagations have been studied previously using coupled wave-circulation models (e.g., Mulligan et al, 2008;Olabarrieta et al, 2011;Perrie et al, 2003;Sun et al, 2013Sun et al, , 2018Wang & Sheng, 2016;Xie et al, 2001;. Xie et al (2001) showed that waves can significantly affect coastal ocean currents in the South Atlantic Bight through Although previous studies certainly improved our understanding of WCIs, most of them focused on WCIs over coastal regions.…”

Assessing the Impact of Wave–Current Interactions on Storm Surges and Waves during Cold Air Outbreaks in the Northern East China Sea

“…Studies on wave-current interaction have focused mainly on tropical cyclones, while less attention has been paid to other weather systems [30]. Strong winds in coastal areas can cause dramatic changes in water level and currents, which influence wave height and direction, thereby increasing hazardous conditions [31]. Wave parameters in the outer region of the typhoon are more sensitive to the current but less sensitive to the water elevation than those in the inner region of the typhoon [32].…”

Toward Operational Wave‐Current Interactions Over the Agulhas Current System

“…They reported variations in significant wave height (H s ) versus uncoupled simulations. Similar studies have also shown the importance of coupled ocean wave systems under hurricane conditions (e.g., Hegermiller et al, 2019;Sun et al, 2018). In the Southern Hemisphere, Wandres et al (2017) investigated the effect currents had on waves in the Leeuwin Current utilizing the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS).…”