skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: A simple method for simulating wind profiles in the boundary layer of tropical cyclones

Journal Article · · Boundary-Layer Meteorology
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
  2. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
  3. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  4. Univ. of Miami, Miami, FL (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

A method to simulate characteristics of wind speed in the boundary layer of tropical cyclones in an idealized manner is developed and evaluated. The method can be used in a single-column modelling set-up with a planetary boundary-layer parametrization, or within large-eddy simulations (LES). The key step is to include terms in the horizontal velocity equations representing advection and centrifugal acceleration in tropical cyclones that occurs on scales larger than the domain size. Compared to other recently developed methods, which require two input parameters (a reference wind speed, and radius from the centre of a tropical cyclone) this new method also requires a third input parameter: the radial gradient of reference wind speed. With the new method, simulated wind profiles are similar to composite profiles from dropsonde observations; in contrast, a classic Ekman-type method tends to overpredict inflow-layer depth and magnitude, and two recently developed methods for tropical cyclone environments tend to overpredict near-surface wind speed. When used in LES, the new technique produces vertical profiles of total turbulent stress and estimated eddy viscosity that are similar to values determined from low-level aircraft flights in tropical cyclones. Lastly, temporal spectra from LES produce an inertial subrange for frequencies ≳0.1 Hz, but only when the horizontal grid spacing ≲20 m.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1344169
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5000-67445
Journal Information:
Boundary-Layer Meteorology, Vol. 162, Issue 3; ISSN 0006-8314
Publisher:
SpringerCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 40 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (52)

Gravity Currents in Confined Channels with Environmental Shear journal March 2014
Effects of Surface Exchange Coefficients and Turbulence Length Scales on the Intensity and Structure of Numerically Simulated Hurricanes journal April 2012
An Observational Case for the Prevalence of Roll Vortices in the Hurricane Boundary Layer* journal August 2005
A Large-Eddy Simulation Study of Moist Convection Initiation over Heterogeneous Surface Fluxes journal September 2011
Time-Splitting Methods for Elastic Models Using Forward Time Schemes journal August 2002
Turbulence in the Atmosphere book January 2010
An Air-Sea Interaction Theory for Tropical Cyclones. Part I: Steady-State Maintenance journal March 1986
Idealized Large-Eddy Simulations of a Tropical Cyclone–like Boundary Layer journal May 2015
Estimating Maximum Surface Winds from Hurricane Reconnaissance Measurements journal June 2009
Boundary Layer Induced by a Potential Vortex journal January 1971
Three-Dimensional Simulation of Turbulent Processes in an Undisturbed Trade Wind Boundary Layer journal February 1976
On the Limits of Estimating the Maximum Wind Speeds in Hurricanes journal August 2014
An Air–Sea Interaction Theory for Tropical Cyclones. Part II: Evolutionary Study Using a Nonhydrostatic Axisymmetric Numerical Model journal February 1987
A Benchmark Simulation for Moist Nonhydrostatic Numerical Models journal December 2002
A Comparison of Shear- and Buoyancy-Driven Planetary Boundary Layer Flows journal April 1994
Finescale Dual-Doppler Analysis of Hurricane Boundary Layer Structures in Hurricane Frances (2004) at Landfall journal May 2014
Analytically Modelling Mean Wind and Stress Profiles in Canopies journal January 2014
The Maximum Intensity of Tropical Cyclones in Axisymmetric Numerical Model Simulations journal June 2009
The Dynamics of Boundary Layer Jets within the Tropical Cyclone Core. Part I: Linear Theory journal September 2001
An Observational Study of Vertical Eddy Diffusivity in the Hurricane Boundary Layer journal November 2012
Efficiency and Accuracy of the Klemp-Wilhelmson Time-Splitting Technique journal November 1994
A Long-Term, High-Quality, High-Vertical-Resolution GPS Dropsonde Dataset for Hurricane and Other Studies journal June 2015
Effects of Mesoscale Surface Thermal Heterogeneity on Low-Level Horizontal Wind Speeds journal January 2012
Stratocumulus-capped mixed layers derived from a three-dimensional model journal June 1980
Properties of a Simulated Convective Boundary Layer in an Idealized Supercell Thunderstorm Environment journal November 2014
Choosing a Boundary Layer Parameterization for Tropical Cyclone Modeling journal May 2012
Why is the Tropical Cyclone Boundary Layer Not “Well Mixed”? journal March 2016
Time-dependent, coupled, Ekman boundary layer solutions incorporating Stokes drift journal May 2004
On the Characteristic Height Scales of the Hurricane Boundary Layer journal August 2011
Large-Eddy Simulation of Roll Vortices in a Hurricane Boundary Layer journal December 2012
Turbulence Structure of the Hurricane Boundary Layer between the Outer Rainbands journal August 2009
On the limiting aerodynamic roughness of the ocean in very strong winds journal January 2004
The NCAR GPS Dropwindsonde journal March 1999
Resolution Requirements for the Simulation of Deep Moist Convection journal October 2003
Intense Sub-Kilometer-Scale Boundary Layer Rolls Observed in Hurricane Fran journal April 1998
Turbulent Fluxes in the Hurricane Boundary Layer. Part II: Latent Heat Flux journal April 2007
Why Rolls are Prevalent in the Hurricane Boundary Layer journal August 2005
How Does the Boundary Layer Contribute to Eyewall Replacement Cycles in Axisymmetric Tropical Cyclones? journal September 2013
A Large-Eddy-Simulation Model for the Study of Planetary Boundary-Layer Turbulence journal July 1984
Turbulent Fluxes in the Hurricane Boundary Layer. Part I: Momentum Flux journal April 2007
LES of Laminar Flow in the PBL: A Potential Problem for Convective Storm Simulations journal May 2016
A parametric model of vertical eddy fluxes in the atmosphere journal September 1979
Boundary-Layer Similarity Under an Axisymmetric, Gradient Wind Vortex journal April 2009
Evaluation of Storm Structure from the Operational HWRF during 2012 Implementation journal November 2014
Large-Eddy Simulations of Radiatively Driven Convection: Sensitivities to the Representation of Small Scales journal December 1999
Effects of Roll Vortices on Turbulent Fluxes in the Hurricane Boundary Layer journal June 2008
Stochastic backscatter in large-eddy simulations of boundary layers journal September 1992
Turbulence in the Atmosphere journal January 2011
On the characteristic height scales of the hurricane boundary layer journal March 2011
Numerical Simulation of the Life Cycle of Tropical Cyclones journal January 1969
Effects of Parameterized Diffusion on Simulated Hurricanes journal July 2012
Hurricane Sea Surface Inflow Angle and an Observation-Based Parametric Model journal November 2012

Cited By (6)

Tangential winds of a vortex system in a planetary surface layer journal December 2019
Formation of eyes in large-scale cyclonic vortices journal January 2018
Impact of vertical wind shear on roll structure in idealized hurricane boundary layers journal January 2017
Hurricane eyewall winds and structural response of wind turbines journal January 2020
Formation of eyes in large-scale cyclonic vortices text January 2018
Formation of eyes in large-scale cyclonic vortices text January 2018

Similar Records

DCMIP2016: the tropical cyclone test case
Journal Article · Wed Apr 03 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Geoscientific Model Development (Online) · OSTI ID:1344169
+24 more
Assessing impacts of PBL and surface layer schemes in simulating the surface–atmosphere interactions and precipitation over the tropical ocean using observations from AMIE/DYNAMO
Journal Article · Fri Oct 28 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Journal of Climate · OSTI ID:1344169
+4 more
Wind Fields in Category 1–3 Tropical Cyclones Are Not Fully Represented in Wind Turbine Design Standards
Journal Article · Fri Aug 25 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres · OSTI ID:1344169
+3 more

Related Subjects

17 WIND ENERGY
boundary-layer dynamics
large-eddy simulation
single-column modelling
tropical cyclone