Simulation and Visual Representation of Tropical
Cyclone-Ocean Interactions
Authors
Event Type
Scientific Visualization & Data Analytics Showcase
Visualization
TimeTuesday, November 14th5:15pm -
7pm
LocationMile High Prefunction
DescriptionThe winds of a tropical cyclone (TC) can induce
vigorous ocean vertical mixing bringing cold water to
the ocean surface and injecting warm water down into the
ocean interior. The result of such interactions can
alter the ocean heat budget and transport having
implications for large-scale circulations within the
Earth system. To better understand and analyze these
implications, we computationally simulated the effect of
TC winds on the ocean. We present results from ocean
model simulations forced with tropical cyclone winds
that are extracted from a fully coupled Earth system
model simulation. Results are compared with a control
simulation without TC winds. Differences between the
TC-forcing run and the control run can reveal the effect
of TC wind mixing on the ocean. The unique spatial and
temporal relationships between the simulation results
present unique challenges to effective visual
representation. Using a variety of different
visualization techniques, a custom software system is
used to design and develop several visualization
sequences to help better understand and analyze the
simulation results.
