Print Email Facebook Twitter Meteotsunamis Accompanying Tropical Cyclone Rainbands During Hurricane Harvey Title Meteotsunamis Accompanying Tropical Cyclone Rainbands During Hurricane Harvey Author Anarde, Katherine (Rice University; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) Cheng, Wei (Texas A and M University) Tissier, M.F.S. (TU Delft Environmental Fluid Mechanics) Figlus, Jens (Texas A and M University) Horrillo, Juan (Texas A&M University at Galveston) Date 2021 Abstract Meteotsunami waves can be triggered by atmospheric disturbances accompanying tropical cyclone rainbands (TCRs) before, during, and long after a tropical cyclone (TC) makes landfall. Due to a paucity of high-resolution field data along open coasts during TCs, relatively little is known about the atmospheric forcing that generate and resonantly amplify these ocean waves, nor their coastal impact. This study links high-resolution field measurements of sea level and air pressure from Hurricane Harvey (2017) with a numerical model to assess the potential for meteotsunami generation by sudden changes in air pressure accompanying TCRs. Previous studies, through the use of idealized models, have suggested that wind is the dominant forcing mechanism for TCR-induced meteotsunami with negligible contributions from air pressure. Our model simulations show that large air pressure perturbations (∼1–3 mbar) can generate meteotsunamis that are similar in period (∼20 min) and amplitude (∼0.2 m) to surf zone observations. The measured air pressure disturbances were often short in wavelength, which necessitates a numerical model with high temporal and spatial resolution to simulate meteotsunami triggered by this mechanism. Sensitivity analysis indicates that air pressure forcing can produce meteotsunami with amplitudes O(0.5 m) and large spatial extents, but model results are sensitive to atmospheric factors, including model uncertainties (length, forward translation speed, and trajectory of the air pressure disturbance), as well as oceanographic factors (storm surge). The present study provides observational and numerical evidence that suggest that air pressure perturbations likely play a larger role in meteotsunami generation by TCRs than previously identified. Subject meteotsunamiProudman resonancetropical cyclone rainbands To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:6b0e364e-7e77-4928-8e33-0a8ace2f518e DOI https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016347 Embargo date 2021-07-15 ISSN 2169-9275 Source Journal Of Geophysical Research-Oceans, 126 (1), 1-15 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2021 Katherine Anarde, Wei Cheng, M.F.S. Tissier, Jens Figlus, Juan Horrillo Files PDF 2020JC016347_1_.pdf 8.01 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:6b0e364e-7e77-4928-8e33-0a8ace2f518e/datastream/OBJ/view