Abstract
Hurricane Florence made landfall over the Carolinas 14 September 2018, bringing over 30 inches of rainfall. What remains understudied is the possible storm re-intensification by wet and warm antecedent soil moisture (ASM), known as the Brown Ocean Effect (BOE). This study investigates this effect with two approaches: (a) two satellite-Based soil moisture (SM) data and (b) model simulation. the averaged Cyclone Global Navigation System and Soil Moisture Active Passive SM enables examination of land-atmosphere interaction at a sub-daily scale. Both observations and simulation results manifest positive feedback between ASM and rainfall intensity, with 3 days prior to landfall being the typical antecedent time scale. Wet (dry) ASM lead to intense (light) and concentrated (widespread) rains. We also found that soil temperature can modulate the BOE. This study aims to advance our understanding of land-atmosphere feedback and calls to acquire accurate antecedent land states to enhance forecast skills.
Recommended Citation
Z. Li et al., "Studying Brown Ocean Re-Intensification of Hurricane Florence using CYGNSS and SMAP Soil Moisture Data and a Numerical Weather Model," Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 50, no. 19, article no. e2023GL105102, Wiley; American Geophysical Union, Oct 2023.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105102
Department(s)
Biological Sciences
Publication Status
Open Access
Keywords and Phrases
Brown ocean effect; CYGNSS; SMAP; storm re-intensification
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1944-8007; 0094-8276
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2025 Wiley; American Geophysical Union, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Publication Date
16 Oct 2023
Comments
National Science Foundation, Grant 2228004