Sun, R., A. Cobb, A. B. Villas Boas, S. Langodan, A. C. Subramanian,
M. R. Mazloff, B. D. Cornuelle, A. J. Miller, R. Pathak and I. Hoteit, 2023:
Waves in SKRIPS: WaveWatch III coupling implementation and a case study of cyclone Mekunu.
Geoscientific Model Development, 16, 3435-3458.
Abstract.
In this work, we integrated the WAVEWATCH
III model into the regional coupled model SKRIPS
(Scripps-KAUST Regional Integrated Prediction System).
The WAVEWATCH III model is implemented with flexibility,
meaning the coupled system can run with or without
the wave component. In our implementations, we considered
the effect of Stokes drift, Langmuir turbulence, sea surface
roughness, and wave-induced momentum fluxes. To demonstrate
the impact of coupling we performed a case study using
a series of coupled and uncoupled simulations of Tropical
Cyclone Mekunu, which occurred in the Arabian Sea
in May 2018. We examined the model skill in these simulations
and further investigated the impact of Langmuir turbulence
in the coupled system. Because of the chaotic nature
of the atmosphere, we ran an ensemble of 20 members
for each coupled and uncoupled experiment. We found that
the characteristics of the tropical cyclone are not significantly
different due to the effect of surface waves when using different
parameterizations, but the coupled models better capture
the minimum pressure and maximum wind speed compared
with the benchmark stand-aloneWeather Research and
Forecasting (WRF) model. Moreover, in the region of the
cold wake, when Langmuir turbulence is considered in the
coupled system, the sea surface temperature is about 0.5 C
colder, and the mixed layer is about 20m deeper. This indicates
the ocean model is sensitive to the parameterization of
Langmuir turbulence in the coupled simulations.
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