Environ. Res. Lett. 10 (2015) 064011
I Takayabu et al
weekly ensemble prediction model (WEP), which is
the operational model used for weekly forecasts
(Sakai, 2009). WEP, which is a global spectral model
(GSM) with an equivalent grid point resolution of
60 km, was used to obtain the initial and boundary
conditions, but the initial perturbations were calculated with a lower resolution GSM (equivalent horizontal grid resolution is 200 km). The ensemble had
51 members, prepared using the singular vector
method (Buizza and Palmer 1995). Time integration
was from 12 UTC on 4 November 2013 until 12 UTC
on 11 November 2013.
To avoid the occurrence of a shock at the lateral
boundary, we used a cascade of nested models, downscaling finally to a WRF model with a 1 km grid resolution. The first downscaling step was to a regional
model with a 20 km grid resolution (NHRCM20)
(Sasaki et al 2011). To reproduce the TC track of the
parent model in the downscaled model, we adopted
spectral nudging above 15 000 m. The next downscaling step was to the regional model with a 5 km grid
resolution (NHRCM05), and then two-way nesting
from 3 km WRF to 1 km WRF models. In NHRCM05,
the Kain-Fritsch convective parameterization scheme
(Kain and Fritsch 1990, 1993) is used, and in the WRF
models, cloud microphysical processes are explicitly
handled.
Dynamical downscaling using 3 km/1 km WRF
models has been done, but not for all ensemble members of WEP calculations because of the limitation of
the computer resources. To cover the wide range of
ensemble members, the following three cases are
selected. They are, Case m02: where the track is nearest
to the observed track (best track) around Leyte and
Samar Island (124.8E). Case m11: where the minimum central pressure (MCP) of the typhoon calculated in NHRCM05 is lowest among all. Case p18:
where the MCP of NHRCM05 is the highest among
all. Because the timing of starting of the integration
also affects MCP, the following three times are selected
as the initial conditions. They are, #1000: 12UTC, 5,
November, #1001: 18UTC 5, November, and #1002:
00UTC 6, November. Thus we have 9 experiments following the above conditions. Furthermore, to estimate
the storm surge around Tacloban caused by Typhoon
Haiyan, we select all cases where the typhoon passed
around Leyte Island (125E), within the range of 50 km
to the best track data. Seven cases (05 m, 12 m, 15 m,
21 m, 25 m, 06 p, 09 p) are found other than Case
m02. For these seven cases, only #1001 (initial condition at 18UTC 5, November) has been calculated. As a
result, we calculate 16 cases by using 3 km/1 km WRF
models.
For the NAT ensemble simulations, we applied
Pseudo Global Warming Downscaling (PGWD), in
which the boundary conditions were assumed to be a
linear coupling of the WEP data and the difference
component of the climate change of air temperature
3
between the middle of the nineteenth century
and 2013.
To estimate the hypothetical natural SST, we
removed linear trends in the monthly data from the
HadISST (Hadley Centre Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperature) data set (Rayner et al 2003) for 1870–2012
from the original SST data used in the ALL runs
(Christidis and Stott 2014, Shiogama et al 2014). The
difference between ALL-SST and NAT-SST in the target area (100°–180°E, 5°S–25°N) was between 0.2 K
and 0.8 K (as shown in figure S2). To remove anthropogenic atmospheric warming, we subtracted the differences of atmospheric temperature between two
100-member ensemble simulations of the MIROC5
AGCM (Shiogama et al 2014, Watanabe et al 2010),
performed with and without human influence, from
the WEP data. The hypothetical anthropogenic SST
signals of the MIROC5 ensemble are the same as in our
regional climate model runs. We averaged the atmospheric temperature differences over the whole target
area during November of 2010–2012 across 100
ensemble members. The averaged tropospheric and
stratospheric temperature differences were +0.5 K and
–1.5 K, respectively. We call this effect ‘ATM’. For the
downscaling calculations, we used GHG (CO2, CH4
and N2O) levels in the 1850s reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC 2013).
The Surge-Wave-Tide coupled model (SuWAT)
(Kim et al 2008) was forced by the 1 km WRF model
calculation result. SuWAT is a fully coupled model of
storm surge and ocean waves based on the non-linear
shallow-water equation and spectral wave model, and
takes into account atmospheric pressure, wind stress,
and wave radiation stress (wave effects on current).
Input data are surface wind and sea level pressure. We
applied SuWAT to three domains with spatial resolutions ranging from 0.1° (D1) to 740 m (D3), with twoway nesting. The astronomical tide was excluded for
computation and survey for simplicity, although the
maximum astronomical tidal range is 0.7 m and was
close to mean water level at the landfall of Haiyan.
3. Results
3.1. Ensemble simulation of Typhoon Haiyan
The evolution and intensity of Haiyan were well
represented in all of the experiments. In WEP, the
simulated typhoon tracks around Leyte and Samar
Island (125°E), on which Tacloban is situated, were
distributed in a band about 500 km wide in the
north–south direction with its centre north of
Tacloban, and the tracks in the downscaled results
followed the WEP result (figure 2). The westwardpropagation speed of the typhoon was slower in the
model simulations, compared with the observed
track (best-track data), and as a result, the TC landfall
on Leyte and Samar Island was delayed about a half