The Impact of Air–Sea Flux Parameterization Methods on Simulating Storm Surges and Ocean Surface Currents

As the primary driver of energy transfer between atmospheric and oceanic systems, the air–sea momentum flux fundamentally governs coupled model dynamics through its regulation of wind stress partitioning. Given the complexity of the physical processes involved, simplified representations of these in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Li Cai, Bin Wang, Wenqian Wang, Xingru Feng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/3/541
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850203876688396288
author Li Cai
Bin Wang
Wenqian Wang
Xingru Feng
author_facet Li Cai
Bin Wang
Wenqian Wang
Xingru Feng
author_sort Li Cai
collection DOAJ
description As the primary driver of energy transfer between atmospheric and oceanic systems, the air–sea momentum flux fundamentally governs coupled model dynamics through its regulation of wind stress partitioning. Given the complexity of the physical processes involved, simplified representations of these interactions are widely adopted to balance computational efficiency and physical fidelity. This systematic evaluation of five wind stress parameterizations reveals scheme-dependent variability in momentum partitioning efficiency, particularly under typhoon conditions. Our results quantify how the wind stress drag coefficient’s formulation alters atmosphere–ocean feedback, with wave-state aware schemes exhibiting superior surge prediction accuracy compared to wind-speed-dependent approaches. Specifically, a larger wind stress drag coefficient leads to increased atmospheric bottom stress and sea surface stress, resulting in weaker winds and larger sea surface currents and storm surges. These findings provide actionable guidelines into the performance and sensitivity of various air–sea coupled models and offer useful suggestions for improving operational marine forecasting systems.
format Article
id doaj-art-0c18655f9b05490da1e76fe2a0a41bb2
institution OA Journals
issn 2077-1312
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
spelling doaj-art-0c18655f9b05490da1e76fe2a0a41bb22025-08-20T02:11:24ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122025-03-0113354110.3390/jmse13030541The Impact of Air–Sea Flux Parameterization Methods on Simulating Storm Surges and Ocean Surface CurrentsLi Cai0Bin Wang1Wenqian Wang2Xingru Feng3POWERCHINA Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited, Hangzhou 310014, ChinaPOWERCHINA Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited, Hangzhou 310014, ChinaPOWERCHINA Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited, Hangzhou 310014, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ocean Observation and Forecasting, Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation and Waves, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, ChinaAs the primary driver of energy transfer between atmospheric and oceanic systems, the air–sea momentum flux fundamentally governs coupled model dynamics through its regulation of wind stress partitioning. Given the complexity of the physical processes involved, simplified representations of these interactions are widely adopted to balance computational efficiency and physical fidelity. This systematic evaluation of five wind stress parameterizations reveals scheme-dependent variability in momentum partitioning efficiency, particularly under typhoon conditions. Our results quantify how the wind stress drag coefficient’s formulation alters atmosphere–ocean feedback, with wave-state aware schemes exhibiting superior surge prediction accuracy compared to wind-speed-dependent approaches. Specifically, a larger wind stress drag coefficient leads to increased atmospheric bottom stress and sea surface stress, resulting in weaker winds and larger sea surface currents and storm surges. These findings provide actionable guidelines into the performance and sensitivity of various air–sea coupled models and offer useful suggestions for improving operational marine forecasting systems.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/3/541air–sea interactionparameterizationcoupled modelsstorm surgessurface currents
spellingShingle Li Cai
Bin Wang
Wenqian Wang
Xingru Feng
The Impact of Air–Sea Flux Parameterization Methods on Simulating Storm Surges and Ocean Surface Currents
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
air–sea interaction
parameterization
coupled models
storm surges
surface currents
title The Impact of Air–Sea Flux Parameterization Methods on Simulating Storm Surges and Ocean Surface Currents
title_full The Impact of Air–Sea Flux Parameterization Methods on Simulating Storm Surges and Ocean Surface Currents
title_fullStr The Impact of Air–Sea Flux Parameterization Methods on Simulating Storm Surges and Ocean Surface Currents
title_full_unstemmed The Impact of Air–Sea Flux Parameterization Methods on Simulating Storm Surges and Ocean Surface Currents
title_short The Impact of Air–Sea Flux Parameterization Methods on Simulating Storm Surges and Ocean Surface Currents
title_sort impact of air sea flux parameterization methods on simulating storm surges and ocean surface currents
topic air–sea interaction
parameterization
coupled models
storm surges
surface currents
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/3/541
work_keys_str_mv AT licai theimpactofairseafluxparameterizationmethodsonsimulatingstormsurgesandoceansurfacecurrents
AT binwang theimpactofairseafluxparameterizationmethodsonsimulatingstormsurgesandoceansurfacecurrents
AT wenqianwang theimpactofairseafluxparameterizationmethodsonsimulatingstormsurgesandoceansurfacecurrents
AT xingrufeng theimpactofairseafluxparameterizationmethodsonsimulatingstormsurgesandoceansurfacecurrents
AT licai impactofairseafluxparameterizationmethodsonsimulatingstormsurgesandoceansurfacecurrents
AT binwang impactofairseafluxparameterizationmethodsonsimulatingstormsurgesandoceansurfacecurrents
AT wenqianwang impactofairseafluxparameterizationmethodsonsimulatingstormsurgesandoceansurfacecurrents
AT xingrufeng impactofairseafluxparameterizationmethodsonsimulatingstormsurgesandoceansurfacecurrents