A COUPLED ATMOSPHERE-OCEAN MODEL APPLIED TO THE SIMULATION OF MEDITERRANEAN LOWS AND HURRICANES

This study analyzes the importance of the dynamic of the air-sea interface during intense events   characterized by an strong air-sea interaction, i.e. large exchanges of  heat, momentum and moisture. The numerical simulation of two different types of events is carried out and intercompared: a "Mediterranean Low" and a typhoon. The "Mediterranean Lows" are small scale system whose deepening crucially depends on strong diabatic processes associated with the flow of northern cold continental air above the warm Mediterranean Sea, mostly during autumn and early winter. Because of this strong diabatic component  and the development of deep convection in a well defined inner core, the dynamics of the Mediterranean Lows resemble the hurricanes, though with comparatively weak intensity. The analyzed quantities includes both atmospheric variables (sea level pressure, winds, precipitation, air temperature, etc. ) and oceanographic variables (sea level, sea temperature, currents, surface wave spectra, etc.). The numerical simulation is carried out with a tri-modular model (atmosphere+wave+ocean) of the coupled atmosphere-sea system (called MIAO, Model of Interacting Atmosphere and Ocean).
 
 

The areas where the model BOLAM, WAM and POM have been implemented for the simulation of the typhoon "Flo". The areas of POM and WAM overlaps almost exactly. The dots show the grid points of BOLAM.

Track of the pressure minimum of the Typhoon `Flo'. The dots show the position of the pressure minimum with a 6 hours interval, beginning on the 12th Sept., at 12.00UT.