ITOP 2010 Field Experiment

Abstract

The long-term goal of this project is to increase understanding of the interaction between the ocean and tropical cyclones over the tropical western North Pacific. Tropical cyclones produce a three-dimensional response of the underlying ocean that includes surface currents, upwelling of the thermocline, and formation of a cold wake. These responses then impact the structure and intensity of the tropical cyclone. Specific objectives are to provide leadership to the ITOP field campaign in support of direct measurements of the ocean and tropical cyclone characteristics. The overall objective of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Department Research Initiative (DRI) titled Impact of Typhoons on the Ocean in the Pacific (ITOP) is to increase understanding of the ocean response to tropical cyclones over the western North Pacific Ocean. Several specific objectives exist within the overall framework of the DRI. Specific goals include the increase in understanding of the three-dimensional response of the ocean to a tropical cyclone. The sensitivity of the ocean response to varying tropical cyclone characteristics is a critical aspect of this goal. Furthermore, the response of the ocean to the tropical cyclone feeds back onto the tropical cyclone by altering he exchange of heat and momentum between the ocean and the atmosphere. The specific objectives of this project define the role and support of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) faculty and staff during the ITOP field program. During August-September, 2008, the operations center for the Tropical Cyclone Structure-2008 (TCS-08) and THORPEX Pacific-Asian Regional Campaign (T-PARC) field programs was operated from the Meteorology Department of NPS. These programs represented one of the first successful operations of an aircraft-based field program from remotely-located "virtual" operations center.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 30, 2010
Accession Number
ADA541874

Entities

People

  • Patrick A. Harr
  • Russell L. Elsberry

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Atmospheres
  • Communication Systems
  • Cyclones
  • Data Sets
  • Deployment
  • Environment
  • Flight
  • Flight Paths
  • Measurement
  • Meteorology
  • North Pacific Ocean
  • Oceans
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Rapid Deployment
  • Three Dimensional
  • Tropical Cyclones

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers