An Exploration of Wind Stress Calculation Techniques in Hurricane Storm Surge Modeling

Abstract

As hurricanes continue to threaten coastal communities, accurate storm surge forecasting remains a global priority. Achieving a reliable storm surge prediction necessitates accurate hurricane intensity and wind field information. The wind field must be converted to wind stress, which represents the air-sea momentum flux component required in storm surge and other oceanic models. This conversion requires a multiplicative drag coefficient for the air density and wind speed to represent the air-sea momentum exchange at a given location. Air density is a known parameter and wind speed is a forecasted variable, whereas the drag coefficient is calculated using an empirical correlation. The correlation’s accuracy has brewed a controversy of its own for more than half a century. This review paper examines the lineage of drag coefficient correlations and their acceptance among scientists.

Keywords

• drag coefficient
• wind stress
• storm surge
• estuarine and coastal modeling
• hydrodynamic modeling
• wave modeling
• air-sea interaction
• air-sea momentum flux
• hurricane intensity
• tropical cyclone