Simulation of the extreme waves generated by typhoon Bolaven (1215) in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea

Record-breaking high waves occurred during the passage of the typhoon Bolaven(1215)(TYB) in the East China Sea(ECS) and Yellow Sea(YS) although its intensity did not reach the level of a super typhoon.Winds and directional wave measurements were made using a range of in-situ instruments mounted on an ocean tower and buoys.In order to understand how such high waves with long duration occurred,analyses have been made through measurement and numerical simulations.TYB winds were generated using the TC96 typhoon wind model with the best track data calibrated with the measurements.And then the wind fields were blended with the reanalyzed synoptic-scale wind fields for a wave model.Wave fields were simulated using WAM4.5 with adjustment of C_d for gust of winds and bottom friction for the study area.Thus the accuracy of simulations is considerably enhanced,and the computed results are also in better agreement with measured data than before.It is found that the extremely high waves evolved as a result of the superposition of distant large swells and high wind seas generated by strong winds from the front/right quadrant of the typhoon track.As the typhoon moved at a speed a little slower than the dominant wave group velocity in a consistent direction for two days,the wave growth was significantly enhanced by strong wind input in an extended fetch and non-linear interaction.

Development of a skill assessment tool for the Korea operational oceanographic system

A standard skill assessment(SA) tool was developed and implemented to evaluate the performance of operational forecast models in the Korea operational oceanographic system.The SA tool provided a robust way to assess model skill in the system by comparing predictions and observations,and involved the computation of multiple skill metrics including correlation and error skills.User-and system-based acceptance criteria of skill metrics were applied to determine whether predictions were acceptable for the system.To achieve this,the tool produced a time series comparison plot,a skill score table,and an advanced summarized diagram to effectively demonstrate the multiple skill scores.Moreover,the SA was conducted to evaluate both atmospheric and hydrodynamic forecast variables.For the atmospheric variables,acceptable error criteria were preferable to acceptable correlation criteria over short timescales,since the mean square error overwhelmed the observation variance.Conversely,for the hydrodynamic variables,acceptable root mean square percentage error(e.g.,p erms) criteria were preferable to acceptable error(e.g.,erms) criteria owing to the spatially variable tidal intensity around the Korean Peninsula.Furthermore,the SA indicated that predetermined acceptance error criteria were appropriate to satisfy a target central frequency(fc) for which errors fell within the specified limits(i.e.,the fc equals 70%).

Global parameter estimation of the Cochlodinium polykrikoides model using bioassay data

Cochlodinium polykrikoides is a notoriously harmful algal species that inflicts severe damage on the aquacultures of the coastal seas of Korea and Japan. Information on their expected movement tracks and boundaries of influence is very useful and important for the effective establishment of a reduction plan. In general, the information is supported by a red-tide(a.k.a algal bloom) model. The performance of the model is highly dependent on the accuracy of parameters, which are the coefficients of functions approximating the biological growth and loss patterns of the C. polykrikoides. These parameters have been estimated using the bioassay data composed of growth-limiting factor and net growth rate value pairs. In the case of the C. polykrikoides, the parameters are different from each other in accordance with the used data because the bioassay data are sufficient compared to the other algal species. The parameters estimated by one specific dataset can be viewed as locally-optimized because they are adjusted only by that dataset. In cases where the other one data set is used, the estimation error might be considerable. In this study, the parameters are estimated by all available data sets without the use of only one specific data set and thus can be considered globally optimized. The cost function for the optimization is defined as the integrated mean squared estimation error, i.e., the difference between the values of the experimental and estimated rates. Based on quantitative error analysis, the root-mean squared errors of the global parameters show smaller values, approximately 25%–50%, than the values of the local parameters. In addition, bias is removed completely in the case of the globally estimated parameters. The parameter sets can be used as the reference default values of a red-tide model because they are optimal and representative. However, additional tuning of the parameters using the in-situ monitoring data is highly required.As opposed to the bioassay data, it is necessary because the bioassay data have limitations in terms of the in-situ coastal conditions.

Mapping bathymetry based on waterlines observed from low altitude Helikite remote sensing platform

Mapping shoreline changes along coastal regions is critically important in monitoring continuously rising sea surface heights due to climate change and frequent severe storms. Thus, it is especially important if the region has very high tidal ranges over very gentle tidal flats, which is a very vulnerable region. Although the various remote sensing platforms can be used to map shoreline changes, the spatial and temporal resolutions are not enough to obtain it for a short time. Accordingly, in this study we introduce the newly developed low altitude Helikite remote sensing platform to achieve much better resolutions of shorelines and a bathymetry. The Helikite stands for Helium balloon and Kite, which is a kind of aerial platform that uses the advantages of both a Helium balloon and a kite. Field experiments were conducted in the Jaebu Island, off the coast of the west Korean Peninsula in January29, 2011. In order to extract shorelines from the consecutive images taken by the low altitude Helikite remote sensing platform, active contours without edges(ACWE) is used. Edges or boundaries exist primarily on places between one type of objective and the other. Since the hydrodynamic pressure has an effect everywhere, the locations of the waterlines can be the isobath lines. We could map several waterlines, which would enable us to complete a local bathymetry map ranges from 35 to 60 cm depth. The error resulting from applying ACWE algorithm to the imagery to determine the waterline is approximately less than 1 m. Therefore, it is very unique way to obtain such high resolutions of bathymetry with high accuracy for the regions of extremely high tidal ranges for a short time.

Horizontal distribution of Changjiang Diluted Water in summer inferred from total suspended sediment in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

During the summer in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, the resuspension of the bottom sediment is obstructed by strong stratification and, as a result, the concentration of total suspended sediment(TSS) can be used as an excellent tracer for Changjiang Diluted Water(CDW). To analyze the spatial and temporal variations of the CDW distribution, the monthly mean TSS from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) ocean color data are constructed and are converted to salinity using the relationship between salinity observed from AQUARIUS and TSS. The process produces the detailed horizontal distribution of salinity with very high resolution(1 km). From monthly mean salinity map from 2002 to 2012 in July and August, the expansion patterns of CDW are analyzed. The southerly wind in July and southeasterly wind in August transport the CDW eastward and northeastward, respectively. It is found that the yearly variation of the expansion of CDW toward the southern sea area of Korea is mostly due to the variation of southerly wind and the fluctuations of fresh water discharge into the Changjiang estuary show relatively little impact on the eastward extend of CDW. When 11-year mean(from2002 to 2012) salinity map in August is compared with World Ocean Atlas 2013, it is revealed that wind in August strengthened six times from 1994 and it causes the expansion of CDW extended 150 km further eastward.