Effects of Island Topography on Storm Surge in Taiwan Strait during Typhoon Maria
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 2
Abstract
In July 2018, Super Typhoon Maria moved in the northwestward direction, passed by the northern tip of Taiwan Island, and severely impacted the coasts along Fujian and Zhejiang Provinces, China. In this paper, the storm surge and wind waves induced by Typhoon Maria are numerically simulated using a weather research and forecasting (WRF) model and the wind–surge–wave modeling suite [semi-implicit cross-scale hydroscience integrated system model (SCHISM)—wind wave model III (WWMIII)]. Numerical results are compared against available field measurements, including winds, atmospheric pressures, storm tides, and wave parameters. Using the model results, the significance of waves on modulating storm surges during Typhoon Maria is examined. Wind waves contribute significantly to surge heights in the Taiwan Strait and in nearshore waters. The models are then employed to conduct numerical experiments by reducing the topographic heights of Taiwan to 25% of their original values so as to investigate their effects on wind fields, surges, and currents. From these results, we observe that reduced topography weakens the wind intensity on the eastern side of the island while intensifying the wind on the other side of the island by up to 10 m/s, which is due to the terrain-induced blocking and channeling effects. The scenario with reduced topography also shows elevated surge heights on the right-hand side of typhoon landfalling coasts but slightly attenuated surge in the Taiwan Strait. Storm surge tends to increase the southwestwardly flux via the Taiwan Strait with maximum current velocities increased by approximately 0.5 m/s, compared with the case induced by astronomical tides only. The reduced island topography slightly weakens the southwestwardly current, decreasing maximum flux by approximately 16%, relative to the hindcast simulation using the original island topography. The results in this study indicate that the presence of island influences the propagation of surge wave with elevated surge height and storm-induced flux in the Taiwan Strait, this blocking effect weakens with reduced island topographic heights; meanwhile, the terrain-induced channeling effect, which alters the typhoon circulation and further impacts the surge pattern, is prone to forming in the case of high island topography.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
We would like to dedicate this paper to Professor Theodore Yaotsu Wu of Caltech for his leadership in water wave research and its applications to coastal hazards. This research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFC0407506) and the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation (Hong Kong) under the joint research project “The impact of climate changes on coastal flooding hazard in South and East China Seas” between National University of Singapore and Tsinghua University. This work was also supported by the Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Coastal Disaster and Protection in Hohai University, Guangdong Province Introduced Innovative R&D Team of Geological Processes and Natural Disasters around the South China Sea (2016ZT06N331), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (41774049, 41976197 and 51761135015). The WRF model can be downloaded from https://www2.mmm.ucar.edu/wrf/users/downloads.html after registration. The SCHISM modeling suite is available at http://ccrm.vims.edu/schismweb. The meteorological data for comparing WRF results was obtained from https://gis.ncdc.noaa.gov/maps/ncei, and the astronomical tide data was retrieved from https://uhslc.soest.hawaii.edu/. The GEBCO data used in this study was downloaded from http://www.gebco.net in October 2014. The navigational charts in the Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces were purchased from Beijing Situo Ocean Information Technology Co. Ltd. The coastline data used for establishing numerical model and generating plots was retrieved from the GSHHG (Global Self-consistent, Hierarchical, High-resolution Geography Database) shoreline database (Wessel and Smith 1996; https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/shorelines/gshhs.html). The hindcast products of WAVEWATCHIII were downloaded from ftp://ftp.ifremer.fr/ifremer/ww3/HINDCAST.
References
Bertin, X., K. Li, A. Roland, and J.-R. Bidlot. 2015. “The contribution of short-waves in storm surges: Two case studies in the Bay of Biscay.” Cont. Shelf Res. 96: 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2015.01.005.
Booij, N., R. C. Ris, and L. H. Holthuijsen. 1999. “A third-generation wave model for coastal regions: 1. Model description and validation.” J. Geophys. Res. 104 (C4): 7649–7666. https://doi.org/10.1029/98JC02622.
Chambers, C., and T. Li. 2011. “The effect of Hawai’i’s Big Island on track and structure of tropical cyclones passing to the south and west.” Mon. Weather Rev. 139 (11): 3609–3627. https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-11-00031.1.
Chen, C., et al. 2013. “Extratropical storm inundation testbed: Intermodel comparisons in Scituate, Massachusetts.” J. Geophys. Res.: Oceans 118 (10): 5054–5073. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrc.20397.
Chen, Y., L. Chen, H. Zhang, and W. Gong. 2019. “Effects of wave–current interaction on the Pearl River estuary during Typhoon Hato.” Estuarine Coastal Shelf Sci. 228: 106364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2019.106364.
Chen, C., H. Liu, and R. C. Beardsley. 2003. “An unstructured grid, finite-volume, three-dimensional, primitive equations ocean model: Application to coastal ocean and estuaries.” J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol. 20: 159–186. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0426(2003)020%3C0159:AUGFVT%26gt;2.0.CO;2.
CMA. 2008. “Weather China.” Weather Service Center of CMA. Accessed July 11, 2018. http://typhoon.weather.com.cn/.
Egbert, G. D., and S. Y. Erofeeva. 2002. “Efficient inverse modeling of barotropic ocean tides.” J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol. 19 (2): 183–204. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0426(2002)019%3C0183:EIMOBO%26gt;2.0.CO;2.
Emanuel, K., and R. Rotunno. 2011. “Self-stratification of tropical cyclone outflow. Part I: Implications for storm structure.” J. Atmos. Sci. 68 (10): 2236–2249. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-10-05024.1.
Fang, X., Y. Kuo, and A. Wang. 2011. “The impacts of Taiwan topography on the predictability of Typhoon Morakot’s record-breaking rainfall: A high-resolution ensemble simulation.” Weather Forecasting 26 (5): 613–633. https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-10-05020.1.
Fortunato, A. B., P. Freire, X. Bertin, M. Rodrigues, J. Ferreira, and M. L. R. Liberato. 2017. “A numerical study of the February 15, 1941 storm in the Tagus estuary.” Cont. Shelf Res. 144: 50–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2017.06.023.
Grell, G. A., J. Dudhia, and D. R. Stauffer. 1994. A description of the fifth-generation Penn State/NCAR mesoscale model (MM5). NCAR Tech. Note NCAR/TN-3921STR. Boulder, CO: National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Holland, G. J. 1980. “An analytic model of the wind and pressure profiles in hurricanes.” Mon. Weather Rev. 108 (8): 1212–1218. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1980)108%3C1212:AAMOTW%26gt;2.0.CO;2.
Hong, S.-Y., J. Dudhia, and S.-H. Chen. 2004. “A revised approach to ice microphysical processes for the bulk parameterization of clouds and precipitation.” Mon. Weather Rev. 132 (1): 103–120. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(2004)132%3C0103:ARATIM%26gt;2.0.CO;2.
Hong, S.-Y., Y. Noh, and J. Dudhia. 2006. “A new vertical diffusion package with an explicit treatment of entrainment processes.” Mon. Weather Rev. 134 (9): 2318–2341. https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR3199.1.
Hsu, T.-W., S.-H. Ou, and J.-M. Liau. 2005. “Hindcasting nearshore wind waves using a FEM code for SWAN.” Coastal Eng. 52 (2): 177–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2004.11.005.
Huang, Y.-H., C.-C. Wu, and Y. Wang. 2011. “The influence of island topography on typhoon track deflection.” Mon. Weather Rev. 139 (6): 1708–1727. https://doi.org/10.1175/2011MWR3560.1.
Iacono, M. J., J. S. Delamere, E. J. Mlawer, M. W. Shephard, S. A. Clough, and W. D. Collins. 2008. “Radiative forcing by long-lived greenhouse gases: Calculations with the AER radiative transfer models.” J. Geophys. Res. 113 (D13): D13103. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD009944.
Jian, G., and C. Wu. 2008. “A numerical study of the track deflection of Supertyphoon Haitang (2005) prior to its landfall in Taiwan.” Mon. Weather Rev. 136 (2): 598–615. https://doi.org/10.1175/2007MWR2134.1.
Jiménez, P. A., J. Dudhia, J. F. González-Rouco, J. Navarro, J. P. Montávez, and E. García-Bustamante. 2012. “A revised scheme for the WRF surface layer formulation.” Mon. Weather Rev. 140 (3): 898–918. https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-11-00056.1.
Kain, J. S. 2004. “The Kain–Fritsch convective parameterization: An update.” J. Appl. Meteorol. 43 (1): 170–181. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(2004)043%3C0170:TKCPAU%26gt;2.0.CO;2.
Kain, J. S., and J. M. Fritsch. 1990. “A one-dimensional entraining/detraining plume model and its application in convective parameterization.” J. Atmos. Sci. 47 (23): 2784–2802. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1990)047%3C2784:AODEPM%26gt;2.0.CO;2.
Kim, S. Y., T. Yasuda, and H. Mase. 2010. “Wave set-up in the storm surge along open coasts during Typhoon Anita.” Coastal Eng. 57 (7): 631–642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2010.02.004.
Krien, Y., et al. 2017. “Towards improved storm surge models in the northern Bay of Bengal.” Cont. Shelf Res. 135: 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2017.01.014.
Li, L., et al. 2018. “Field survey of Typhoon Hato (2017) and a comparison with storm surge modeling in Macau.” Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. 18: 3167–3178. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-3167-2018.
Liu, W.-C., and W.-C. Huang. 2020. “Investigating typhoon-induced storm surge and waves in the coast of Taiwan using an integrally-coupled tide-surge-wave model.” Ocean Eng. 212: 107571. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2020.107571.
Liu, Z., H. Wang, Y. J. Zhang, L. Magnusson, J. D. Loftis, and D. Forrest. 2020. “Cross-scale modeling of storm surge, tide, and inundation in Mid-Atlantic Bight and New York City during Hurricane Sandy, 2012.” Estuarine Coastal Shelf Sci. 233: 106544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2019.106544.
Luettich, R. A., J. J. Westerink, and N. W. Scheffner. 1992. ADCIRC: An advanced threedimensional circulation model for shelves, coasts and estuaries. Report 1: Theory and methodology of ADCIRC-2DDI and ADCIRC-3DL, Dredging Research Program Technical Report DRP-92-6. Vicksburg, MS: US Army Engineers Waterways Experiment Station.
Ma, L.-M., and Z.-M. Tan. 2009. “Improving the behavior of the cumulus parameterization for tropical cyclone prediction: Convection trigger.” Atmos. Res. 92 (2): 190–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2008.09.022.
National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service. 2018. “Jason-3: Gathering environmental intelligence from the world's oceans.” Accessed July 28, 2018. https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/jason-3/.
Pond, S., and G. L. Pickard. 1983. Introductory dynamical oceanography. 2nd ed. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Roland, A., A. Cucco, C. Ferrarin, T.-W. Hsu, J.-M. Liau, S.-H. Ou, G. Umgiesser, and U. Zanke. 2009. “On the development and verification of a 2-D coupled wave-current model on unstructured meshes.” J. Mar. Syst. 78: S244–S254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2009.01.026.
Sheng, Y. P., Y. Zhang, and V. A. Paramygin. 2010. “Simulation of storm surge, wave, and coastal inundation in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico region during Hurricane Ivan in 2004.” Ocean Modell. 35 (4): 314–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2010.09.004.
Skamarock, W. C., J. B. Klemp, J. Dudhia, D. O. Gill, D. Barker, M. G. Duda, X.-y. Huang, W. Wang, and J. G. Powers. 2008. A description of the advanced research WRF version 3. NCAR Technical Note. Boulder, CO: National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Tang, C. K., and J. C. L. Chan. 2014. “Idealized simulations of the effect of Taiwan and Philippines topographies on tropical cyclone tracks.” Q. J. R. Meteorolog. Soc. 140 (682): 1578–1589. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2240.
Tang, C. K., and J. C. L. Chan. 2015. “Idealized simulations of the effect of local and remote topographies on tropical cyclone tracks.” Q. J. R. Meteorolog. Soc. 141 (691): 2045–2056. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2498.
Tang, C. K., and J. C. L. Chan. 2016a. “Idealized simulations of the effect of Taiwan topography on the tracks of tropical cyclones with different sizes.” Q. J. R. Meteorolog. Soc. 142 (695): 793–804. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2681.
Tang, C. K., and J. C. L. Chan. 2016b. “Idealized simulations of the effect of Taiwan topography on the tracks of tropical cyclones with different steering flow strengths.” Q. J. R. Meteorolog. Soc. 142 (701): 3211–3221. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2902.
Tewari, M., F. Chen, W. Wang, J. Dudhia, M. A. LeMone, K. Mitchell, M. Ek, G. Gayno, J. Wegiel, and R. H. Cuenca. 2004. “Implementation and verification of the unified Noah land surface model in the WRF model.” In Proc., 20th Conf. on Weather Analysis and Forecasting/16th Conf. on Numerical Weather Prediction. Seattle, WA: American Meteorological Society.
Tolman, H. L., J.-H. G. Alves, and Y. Y. Chao. 2005. “Operational forecasting of wind-generated waves by hurricane Isabel at NCEP.” Weather Forecasting 20 (4): 544–557. https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF852.1.
Tolman, H. L., B. Balasubramaniyan, L. D. Burroughs, D. V. Chalikov, Y. Y. Chao, H. S. Chen, and V. M. Gerald. 2002. “Development and implementation of wind-generated ocean surface wave models at NCEP.” Weather Forecasting 17 (2): 311–333. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0434(2002)017%3C0311:DAIOWG%26gt;2.0.CO;2.
Vickery, P. J., D. Wadhera, M. D. Powell, and Y. Chen. 2009. “A hurricane boundary layer and wind field model for use in engineering applications.” J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol. 48 (2): 381–405. https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JAMC1841.1.
Wang, C., Y. Chen, H. Kuo, and S. Huang. 2013. “Sensitivity of typhoon track to asymmetric latent heating/rainfall induced by Taiwan topography: A numerical study of Typhoon Fanapi (2010).” J. Geophys. Res. D: Atmos. 118 (8): 3292–3308. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50351.
Wessel, P., and W. H. F. Smith. 1996. “A global self-consistent, hierarchical, high-resolution shoreline database.” J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 101: 8741–8743. https://doi.org/10.1029/96JB00104.
Wu, C.-C. 2001. “Numerical simulation of Typhoon Gladys (1994) and its interaction with Taiwan terrain using the GFDL hurricane model.” Mon. Weather Rev. 129 (6): 1533. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(2001)129%3C1533:NSOTGA%26gt;2.0.CO;2.
Xie, B., and F. Zhang. 2012. “Impacts of typhoon track and Island topography on the heavy rainfalls in Taiwan associated with Morakot (2009).” Mon. Weather Rev. 140 (10): 3379–3394. https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-11-00240.1.
Xie, L., S. Bao, L. J. Pietrafesa, K. Foley, and M. Fuentes. 2006. “A real-time hurricane surface wind forecasting model: Formulation and verification.” Mon. Weather Rev. 134 (5): 1355–1370. https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR3126.1.
Xue, L., and Y. Li. 2016. “The effect of mesoscale systems induced by the topography of Taiwan on the rapid intensification of typhoon Meranti (1010).” [In Chinese.] Chin. J. Atmos. Sci. 40 (6): 1107–1116.
Yang, J., et al. 2019. “A comparative study of Typhoon Hato (2017) and Typhoon Mangkhut (2018)—Their impacts on coastal inundation in Macau.” J. Geophys. Res.: Oceans 124 (12): 9590–9619. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015249.
Yang, M., D. Zhang, X. Tang, and Y. Zhang. 2011. “A modeling study of Typhoon Nari (2001) at landfall: 2. Structural changes and terrain-induced asymmetries.” J. Geophys. Res.: Atmos. 116 (D9): D09112. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD015445.
Yang, M.-J., D.-L. Zhang, and H.-L. Huang. 2008. “A modeling study of Typhoon Nari (2001) at landfall. Part I: Topographic effects.” J. Atmos. Sci. 65 (10): 3095–3115. https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JAS2453.1.
Yeh, T.-C., and R. L. Elsberry. 1993. “Interaction of typhoons with the Taiwan orography. Part I: Upstream track deflections.” Mon. Weather Rev. 121 (12): 3193–3212. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1993)121%3C3193:IOTWTT%26gt;2.0.CO;2.
Yu, X., W. Pan, X. Zheng, S. Zhou, and X. Tao. 2017. “Effects of wave–current interaction on storm surge in the Taiwan Strait: Insights from Typhoon Morakot.” Cont. Shelf Res. 146: 47–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2017.08.009.
Zhang, W.-Z., H.-S. Hong, S.-P. Shang, X.-H. Yan, and F. Chai. 2009. “Strong southward transport events due to typhoons in the Taiwan Strait.” J. Geophys. Res. 114: C11013. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JC005372.
Zhang, W.-Z., F. Shi, H.-S. Hong, S.-P. Shang, and J. T. Kirby. 2010. “Tide–surge interaction intensified by the Taiwan Strait.” J. Geophys. Res. 115: C06012. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JC005762.
Zhang, Y., and A. M. Baptista. 2008. “SELFE: A semi-implicit Eulerian–Lagrangian finite-element model for cross-scale ocean circulation.” Ocean Modell. 21 (3–4): 71–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2007.11.005.
Zhang, Y. J., F. Ye, E. V. Stanev, and S. Grashorn. 2016. “Seamless cross-scale modeling with SCHISM.” Ocean Modell. 102: 64–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2016.05.002.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 2 • March 2021
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 12, 2020
Accepted: Sep 1, 2020
Published online: Nov 30, 2020
Published in print: Mar 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Apr 30, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.