Impact of the Reduced Drag Coefficient on Ocean Wave Modeling under Hurricane Conditions

Authors

Il-Ju Moon
Isaac Ginis, University of Rhode IslandFollow
Tetsu Hara, University of Rhode IslandFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of Original Version

2008

Department

Oceanography

Abstract

Effects of new drag coefficient (C_d) parameterizations on WAVEWATCH III (WW3) model surface wave simulations are investigated. The new parameterizations are based on a coupled wind–wave model (CWW) and a wave tank experiment, and yields reduced C_d at high wind speeds. Numerical experiments for uniform winds and Hurricane Katrina (2005) indicate that the original C_d parameterization used in WW3 overestimates drag at high wind speeds compared to recent observational, theoretical, and numerical modeling results. Comparisons with buoy measurements during Hurricane Katrina demonstrate that WW3 simulations with the new C_d parameterizations yield more accurate significant wave heights compared to simulations with the original C_d parameterization, provided that accurate high-resolution wind forcing fields are used.

Citation/Publisher Attribution

Moon, I., Ginis, I., & Hara, T. (2008). Impact of the Reduced Drag Coefficient on Ocean Wave Modeling under Hurricane Conditions. Monthly Weather Review, 136, 1217-1223. doi: 10.1175/2007MWR2131.1

Available at: https://doi.org/10.1175/2007MWR2131.1