NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Bathymetric Effects on a Tropical Cyclone Wave Field at LandfallOn 26 August 1998, the NASA Scanning Radar Altimeter (SRA) flew aboard one of the WP-3D hurricane research aircraft to document the sea surface directional wave spectrum in the region between Charleston, SC and Cape Hatteras, NC, as Bonnie, a large Category 3 hurricane, was making landfall near Wilmington, NC. Two days earlier, the SRA had documented the wave field spatial variation in open water when Hurricane Bonnie was 400 km east of Abaco Island, Bahamas. Bonnie was similar in size during the two flights, but the maximum speed in the NOAA Hurricane Research Division surface wind analysis was 15% lower prior to landfall (39 m/s) than it had been in the open ocean (46 m/s). This was compensated for by its faster movement prior to landfall (9.5 m/s) than when it was encountered in the open ocean (5 m/s). The slower movement matched the group velocity of waves of 65 m length, so waves at the peak of the spectrum outdistanced the storm as soon as they were generated. The higher translation speed prior to landfall matched the group velocity of waves of 230 m length, significantly increasing the effective fetch and duration of waves near the peak of the spectrum which propagated in the direction of the storm track. The open ocean wave height variation indicated that Hurricane Bonnie would have produced waves of 11 m significant wave height on the shore northeast of Wilmington had it not been for the continental shelf. The bathymetry distributed the steepening and breaking process across the shelf so that the wavelength and wave height were reduced gradually as the shore was approached. The wave height 5 km from shore was about 4 m.
Document ID
20010121551
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Wright, C. W.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Walsh, E. J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Vandemark, D.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Krabill, W. B.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Garcia, A. W.
(Army Engineer Research and Development Center Vicksburg, MS United States)
Houston, S. H.
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Miami, FL United States)
Powell, M. D.
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Miami, FL United States)
Black, P. G.
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Miami, FL United States)
Marks, F. D.
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Miami, FL United States)
Gerlach, John C.
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2001
Subject Category
Oceanography
Meeting Information
Meeting: IGARSS 2001
Location: Sydney
Country: Australia
Start Date: July 9, 2001
End Date: July 13, 2001
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available