Digital mapping of coastal boulders – high-resolution data acquisition to infer past and recent transport dynamics

Coastal boulder fields provide clues to long-term frequency-magnitude patterns of coastal flooding events and have the potential to play an important role in coastal hazard assessment. Mapping boulders in the field is time and labour-intensive, and work on intertidal reef platforms, as in the present study, is physically challenging. By addressing coastal scientists who are not specialists in remote sensing, this contribution reports on the possibilities and limitations of digital applications in boulder mapping in Eastern Samar, Philippines, where recent supertyphoons Haiyan and Hagupit induced high waves, coastal flooding and boulder transport. It is demonstrated how satellite imagery of sub-metre resolution (from Pléiades and WorldView-3 imagery) enables efficient analysis of transport vectors and distances of larger boulders, reflecting variation in latitudes of both typhoon tracks and approaching angles of typhoon-generated waves. During the investigated events, boulders with a-axes of up to 8 m were clearly identified to have been shifted for up to 32 m, mostly along the seaward margin of the boulder field. It is, however, hard to keep track of smaller boulders, and the length of a-axes and b-axes including their orientation is often impossible to map with sufficient accuracy. Orthophotographs and digital surface models created through the application of an unmanned aerial vehicle and the ‘Structure from Motion’ technique provide ultra-high-resolution data, and have the potential to not only improve the results of satellite image analysis, but also those from field mapping and may significantly reduce overall time in the field. Orthophotographs permit unequivocal mapping of a-axes and b-axes including their orientation, while precise values for c-axes can be derived from the respective digital surface models. Volume of boulders is best inferred from boulder-specific Structure from Motion-based three-dimensional models. Battery power, flight speed and altitude determine the limits of the area covered, while patches shielded by the boulders are difficult to resolve. For some tasks, field mapping remains mandatory and cannot be replaced by currently available remote sensing tools: for example, sampling for rock type, density and age dating, recording of lithological separation of boulders from the underlying geological unit and of geomorphic features on a millimetre to decimetre-scale, or documentation of fine-grained sediment transport in between the boulders in supratidal settings. In terms of future events, the digital products presented here will provide a valuable reference to track boulder transport on a centimetre to decimetre-scale and to better understand the hydrodynamics of extreme-wave events on a fringing reef coastline.     

Tropical cyclones and multiscale climate variability: The active western North Pacific Typhoon season of 2018

The 2018 typhoon season in the western North Pacific(WNP) was highly active, with 26 named tropical cyclones(TCs) from June to November, which exceeded the climatological mean(22) and was the second busiest season over the past twenty years. More TCs formed in the eastern region of the WNP and the northern region of the South China Sea(SCS). More TCs took the northeast quadrant in the WNP, recurving from northwestward to northward and causing heavy damages in China's Mainland(69.73 billion yuan) in 2018. Multiscale climate variability is conducive to an active season via an enhanced monsoon trough and a weakened subtropical high in the WNP. The large-scale backgrounds in 2018 showed a favorable environment for TCs established by a developing central Pacific(CP) El Ni?o and positive Pacific meridional mode(PMM)episode on interannual timescales. The tropical central Pacific(TCP) SST forcing exhibits primary control on TCs in the WNP and large-scale circulations, which are insensitive to the PMM. During CP El Ni?o years, anomalous convection associated with the TCP warming leads to significantly increased anomalous cyclonic circulation in the WNP because of a Gill-type Rossby wave response. As a result, the weakened subtropical high and enhanced monsoon trough shift eastward and northward, which favor TC genesis and development. Although such increased TC activity in 2018 might be slightly suppressed by interdecadal climate variability, it was mostly attributed to the favorable interannual background. In addition, high-frequency climate signals,such as intraseasonal oscillations(ISOs) and synoptic-scale disturbances(SSDs), interacted with the enhanced monsoon trough and strongly modulated regional TC genesis and development in 2018.     

多尺度系统中台风自组织的研究

在一个4种尺度(副热带高压、台风、β中尺度涡群和γ中涡尺度)共存的系统中,用正压原始方程模式数值地研究台风自组织及其强度变化问题。结果指出:(1)由于多尺度的相互作用,在初始台风衰减的过程中,在该台风的西南方经自组织形成了一个新的台风,其尺度、强度与初始台风相同。在初始台风衰减消失后,新的台风维持一定的强度继续向偏西北方向移动。(2)初始γ中涡的个数和位置对自组织起来的台风的强度有显著影响。其影响机制是非线性相互作用的结果在不同尺度层次的传递。γ中尺度层次或γ中—β中层次的相互作用直接影响到β中层次涡作用的结果,或者使双β中涡合并,或者使双β中涡分离。β中涡层次的相互作用直接影响到台风层次———新台风自组织的过程。这种影响最后反映到自组织起来的台风的强度和路径变化的宏观行为。     

一个"移径北翘台风"的环流及结构特征

0307号台风“伊布都”进入南海后一度西北偏西方向移动,但登陆前12h,移向突然折向西北,特别是登陆前3h移径明显北翘,直向偏北方向移动。通过分析大气环流形势、卫星云图以及雷达探测资料,发现副高轴“东落西抬”、副高减弱以及台风“9”字型螺旋结构改变均对台风的北翘有很好的指示作用。另外,副高控制下的“晴空区”有零星对流云发生,也对副高的减弱有很好的预示作用。     

近年影响桂林的台风暴雨动力热力特征及日本数值预报产品检验

对近年造成桂林台风暴雨的大中尺度环流背景形势作了分析,着重对比分析了尤特和黄蜂台风暴雨的热力、动力特征,对比结果表明:高空槽云系与台风倒槽云系叠加造成的暴雨远比单纯的台风环流造成的暴雨严重,说明中低纬天气系统的相互作用能造成暴雨的增幅。同时检验了日本数值预报产品对台风暴雨预报能力,结果表明:日本数值预报产品对台风环流本身造成暴雨有较好预报能力。     

台风“利奇马”对东中国海表层悬浮物浓度变化的影响

台风过程可使海洋悬浮物浓度的分布在短时间内发生极大变化,并影响海洋生态环境以及海洋资源的分布。受台风期间海洋观测数据的限制,台风过程对海洋悬浮物浓度的影响尚不明确。本文利用GOCI （Geostationary Ocean Color Imager,GOCI）卫星遥感数据,以2019年8月台风“利奇马”为例,对其过境前后东中国海表层悬浮物浓度的时空变化进行了定量研究。结果表明,台风“利奇马”对闽浙沿岸的影响程度最大,使悬浮物质量浓度中高值（≥5 mg/L）覆盖面积和浓度平均值分别增大92%和62%,影响持续时间为4 d;对长江口附近海域的影响程度次之,使悬浮物浓度中高值覆盖面积和浓度平均值分别增大19%和17%,影响持续时间为3 d;对苏北浅滩的影响程度最小,悬浮物质量浓度中高值覆盖面积变化不大,但浓度平均值增大了30%,影响持续时间为4 d。研究结果表明卫星遥感数据可以量化台风过程对东中国海表层悬浮物浓度的影响,弥补极端天气条件下无法进行现场观测的不足。     

影响广西热带气旋暴雨的环境流场和一些物理量特征分析

通过综合利用ECMWF提供的热带风场、气压场、高度场等资料,对24例影响广西的热带气旋环境流场和一些物理量特征进行了较为深入的分析。结果表明:大多数热带气旋的发生、发展都与赤道西风急流向东扩展或热带气旋东侧南风急流向北扩展有关;造成广西大范围台风暴雨的因素不仅取决于台风登陆地点和登陆后的路径以及中心是否直接进入广西内陆有关,而且还与副热带高压脊线的位置和面积指数、强度指数的变化关系密切。登陆台风在影响广西的过程中,其台风东侧的偏南风急流中心涌进广西和正涡度中心进入广西对产生大范围的暴雨起着重要的作用。     

2008年“威马逊”台风期间海上大气波导时空特征

结合 MM5数值模拟结果、天气图和卫星云图,系统分析了2008年“威马逊”台风引起的大气波导特征.本次台风过程中发生的大都为悬空大气波导,位于台风涡旋之外的西北部,台风越近波导高度、强度、厚度越大;同时数值模拟表明陆地地形对海上本次大气波导形成具有一定影响.利用大气波导这一特殊大气层结可以很好的评估和预测电磁波传播和海上探测通信系统     

基于多卫星遥感产品的极端降水监测研究

以中国气象局提供的地面观测站点逐小时降水数据为基准数据,综合评估了目前国际上主流的高分辨率多卫星遥感降水在2015年强台风灿鸿所带来的极端降水事件中的表现。结果表明:1所有的卫星遥感降水产品在此次极端降水事件中对实际降水都存在着低估,其中IMERG系列下经过校正的Final产品IMERG-Final-Calibrated表现得最好;2IMERG-Late-Calibrated在实时产品中表现最好,一定程度上可以满足极端降水事件监测对实时性的要求;3总的来说,在此次极端降水事件中,不管是滞时类产品还是实时类产品,IMERG系列卫星降水的表现均要好于TMPA系列下卫星降水的表现。     

可拓方法在台风灾害危险性评估中的应用

台风灾害是全球面临的严重自然灾害之一,对处于台风多发区进行危险性评价具有重要意义。由于可拓方法具有从定性和定量两个角度解决矛盾问题的能力,因此在台风灾害危险性评估中运用可拓方法的基本理论,建立台风灾害危险性评价的物元模型。在海南岛历史台风灾害数据库的基础上,构建台风灾害危险性评价的经典物元和节域物元,应用建立的物元模型,选取台风灾害中的综合灾度、风速和降水的危险性作为评价因子,利用可拓模型计算不同单元格内的灾害等级,得到海南岛台风灾害的危险性评估结果。