The Impact of Typhoon Intensity on Wave Height and Storm Surge in the Northern East China Sea: A Comparative Case Study of Typhoon Muifa and Typhoon Lekima

Abstract

A comparative study was conducted on typhoon intensity factors affecting the marine environment using two representative cases: Typhoon Lekima, which made landfall at Shandong Peninsula, the Northern East China Sea, and Typhoon Muifa, which did not. Using the ADCIRC and SWAN models, we developed a coupled numerical model and applied it to simulate the storm surge and destructive waves caused by typhoons. Three typhoon parameters—maximum wind speed, radius of maximum wind speed, and translation speed—were investigated through sensitivity experiments. The storm surge during the typhoon that made landfall showed a positive correlation with the distance of the typhoon’s center. The maximum significant wave height and storm surge had near-linear growth with a maximum wind speed but decreased with the growth rate of the radius of maximum wind. A rapid typhoon translation speed from 47 km/h to 60 km/h could cause a storm surge resonance phenomenon at the northern coast of the East China Sea.

Keywords

• ADCIRC-SWAN coupled model
• typhoon intensity
• storm surge
• significant wave height
• the Northern East China Sea