Swell impact on wind stress and atmospheric mixing in a regional coupled atmosphere‐wave model

Wu, Lichuan; Rutgersson, Anna; Larsén, Xiaoli Guo

doi:10.1002/2015jc011576

Cited by 38 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…These characteristics make swells an indicator of various atmospheric phenomena such as tropical cyclones, distant storms, or even large-scale sea breezes such as those related to monsoons. Swells also have significant impacts on the transport and dispersion of oil plumes within the ocean mixed layer, ocean surface roughness, wind stress, and other things Hwang, 2008;Wu et al, 2016). Because of their substantial energy and good stability, energy production from swell waves has received increasing attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Propagation Route and Speed of Swell in the Indian Ocean

Zheng

Pan

2018

JGR Oceans

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The characteristics of swell propagation play an important role in the forecasting of ocean waves as well as on research on global climate change, wave energy development, and disaster prevention and reduction. To reveal the propagation routes, terminal targets and speeds of swells that originate from the southern Indian Ocean westerly (SIOW), an intraseasonal swell index (SI) was defined based on the 45 year (September 1957 to August 2002) ERA‐40 wave reanalysis data product from the European Center for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The results show that the main body of the SIOW‐related swells typically spread to the waters off Sri Lanka and Christmas Island, while the branches spread to the Arabian Sea and other waters. The propagation speeds of swells originated in the SIOW were fastest in May and August, followed by November, and were slowest in February. Swells usually required 4–6 days to propagate from the western part of the SIOW to the waters off Sri Lanka and Christmas Island, whereas swells usually required 2–4 days to propagate from the eastern part of the SIOW to the waters off Christmas Island.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Propagation Route and Speed of Swell in the Indian Ocean

Zheng

Pan

2018

JGR Oceans

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“…[] investigated how swell‐roughness impacts U 10 with a wave‐atmospheric regional climate model focusing on the European area. Even at such high latitudes, the influences of swell are evident [ Wu et al ., ]. The impact of swell on the climate system needs to be explored and analyzed more deeply.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐term impacts of ocean wave‐dependent roughness on global climate systems

et al. 2017

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Ocean surface waves can play an active role in climate systems, but they are often ignored in Global Climate Models (GCMs). Wave‐dependent surface roughness was implemented within the Atmospheric GCM (MRI‐AGCM) using the spectral wave model WAVEWATCH III. Two types of wave‐dependent roughness, due to wave steepness and to wave age, were considered. Climate simulations with wave‐dependent roughness were compared to simulations with just wind speed‐dependent roughness. In climate simulation with wave steepness‐dependent roughness, the spatial distribution of roughness is correlated to that of swell dominance. In simulation with wave age‐dependent roughness, the spatial distribution of roughness is correlated to that of wind direction stationarity. Both simulations show reduced roughness in the tropics, which leads to an enhancement of surface wind speeds by up to 15%; these enhanced wind speeds are closer to observations compared with the baseline simulation with just wind speed‐dependent roughness. We find that the reduced roughness and the enhanced wind speeds in the tropics lead to significant changes in atmospheric circulation, as in Hadley circulation and precipitation. The characteristic responses of the Hadley circulation and precipitation to changing sea surface roughness are presented.

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“…Observations have shown that surface waves can also drive the wind (Grachev & Fairall, 2001) when remotely generated swells propagate substantially faster than the calm local wind. Inclusion of swell effects on the wind stress and atmosphere mixing has been shown to improve simulated wind speeds (Wu et al, 2016). This makes waves an important factor in mediating the air‐sea momentum transfer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface Gravity Waves and Their Role in Ocean‐Atmosphere Coupling in the Gulf of Mexico

et al. 2020

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This study provides an overview of the surface gravity wave dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) using numerical simulations. The focus is on the effects of ocean currents on waves, and the geographic distribution of wave statistics and parameters related to the role of waves on both sides of the ocean‐atmosphere interface. Simulations are performed using the Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) model with and without coupling with the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) model within the Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Wave Sediment Transport (COAWST) framework. In the GoM, currents alter the climatological significant wave heights by up to 0.18 m (±15%), reducing wave heights in the southwestern GoM and generally increasing wave heights in other regions. In two instantaneous snapshots representing the Loop Current variability in terms of its northward extension into the GoM, significant wave heights are modulated by as much as 0.30 m (±35%) by the currents. Probability density of wave height modulation covers a wider range of values and is skewed toward positive values over the eastern flank of the Loop Current. In winter, spring, and fall, swell fraction of wave energy increases from east to west in the GoM and reaches as high as 0.8 in the southwestern GoM, off the coast of Mexico. The dominance of swell in this region combined with weak wind results in a higher prevalence of the wave‐driven wind regime throughout the year. The interannual variability of significant wave height and swell fraction shows signals of major storms in the GoM.

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Swell impact on wind stress and atmospheric mixing in a regional coupled atmosphere‐wave model

Cited by 38 publications

References 37 publications

Propagation Route and Speed of Swell in the Indian Ocean

Propagation Route and Speed of Swell in the Indian Ocean

Long‐term impacts of ocean wave‐dependent roughness on global climate systems

Surface Gravity Waves and Their Role in Ocean‐Atmosphere Coupling in the Gulf of Mexico

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