Investigation of the Sea Surface Fluxes for TC Intensification

Part of the energy for TC intensification is associated with the air-sea interaction like latent heat flux and sensible heat flux. Both fluxes are associated with the surface wind and the temperature/moisture gradient between atmospheric boundary layer and sea surface. Sea surface wind data from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) are used to address this issue through the data assimilation technique. Typhoon Nuri (2008) is chosen to investigate those fluxes and roles as described. The improved forecast skill is from the inclusion of ASCAT data set, by examination of the TC’s intensity and track forecasts. This is due to the ASCAT data can improve the structure of surface wind in the initial time. We also investigate the TC intensity change respect to the fluxes evolution. Although the sensible heat flux is one order less than latent heat flux, the former has higher correlation with TC’s intensification when TC is weak.