Response of the Hurricane Boundary Layer to Changes of Sea Surface Temperature in a Numerical Model

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Abstract
An axisymmetric, multilayer hurricane model is used to investigate the hurricane's response to sudden changes of sea surface temperature (SST). The model contains a parameterization of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) which includes matched formulations for the surface layer and the mixed layer. The heat, moisture and momentum fluxes are mutually dependent through Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. The height of the model hurricane PEL is 400–500 m, below which the potential temperature and specific humidity are nearly invariant with height. The flow in the hurricane PBL is characterized by subgradient tangential velocities and nearly uniform cross-isobaric flow angles. The sensible heating from the ocean is insignificant, but the evaporation is large. The magnitudes of the equivalent drag coefficients are approximately one-third those of the exchange coefficients for heat and moisture. As the SST is suddenly decreased (increased), the steady-state model hurricane experiences two stages of modifi... Abstract An axisymmetric, multilayer hurricane model is used to investigate the hurricane's response to sudden changes of sea surface temperature (SST). The model contains a parameterization of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) which includes matched formulations for the surface layer and the mixed layer. The heat, moisture and momentum fluxes are mutually dependent through Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. The height of the model hurricane PEL is 400–500 m, below which the potential temperature and specific humidity are nearly invariant with height. The flow in the hurricane PBL is characterized by subgradient tangential velocities and nearly uniform cross-isobaric flow angles. The sensible heating from the ocean is insignificant, but the evaporation is large. The magnitudes of the equivalent drag coefficients are approximately one-third those of the exchange coefficients for heat and moisture. As the SST is suddenly decreased (increased), the steady-state model hurricane experiences two stages of modifi...

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