Enhanced Oceanic Environmental Responses and Feedbacks to Super Typhoon
Nida (2009) during Sudden-turning Stage
Abstract
The ocean surface and subsurface biophysical responses and their
feedbacks to super typhoon Nida (2009) are investigated. Nida
experienced two Category 5 stages: a rapid intensification stage that
was fast moving along a straight-line track, and a rapid weakening stage
that was slow moving along a sharp-left sudden-turning track. In the
first Category 5 stage, Nida caused an average sea surface temperature
(SST) cooling of −1.44 ℃, a sea surface height anomalies (SSHAs)
decrease of −5.00 cm and a chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration increase
of 0.03 mg m−3. During the second Category 5 stage, Nida induced a
strong cold cyclonic eddy (SSHA < −60 cm) by strong upwelling
due to the slow speed of the sudden-turning track, which caused the
maximum SST cooling of 6.68 ℃, a sea surface salinity increase of 0.6
psu, a long-lasting chl-a bloom that exceeded 0.6 mg m−3 and the
Kuroshio Current strengthening of 0.25 Sv, resulting in substantial
impacts on the ocean ecological environment. Furthermore, the enhanced
ocean cold wake and the longer air-sea interaction in turn decreased the
average inner-core SST of −4 {degree sign}C and the corresponding
enthalpy flux of −780 W m−2, which induced a notable negative feedback
to the typhoon intensity by weakening it from Category 5 to Category 2.
Our findings provide positive evidence that enhanced oceanic
environmental responses and feedbacks can occur under sudden-turning
and/or lingering tracks, providing insight to ocean-typhoon
interactions.