Interpretation of SIR-B ocean wave observations in hurricane Josephine

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Interpretation of SIR-B ocean wave observations in hurricane Josephine

Gonzales, F.I.

On 12 October, 1984, at 1630 GMT, the SIR-B system acquired a strip of imagery in the northwest Atlantic near the center of hurricane Josephine. The image swath was oriented at an angle of 45 degs to the storm track, and sampled the northeast and southeast quadrants of the storm. Data in the northeast quadrant was nearest the hurricane center, with a minimum distance of 100 km at the point of closest approach. A preliminary study has found that several dominant wave systems were detected by SIR-B. Each system is characterized by smooth spatial variations in wavelength and direction over extensive portions of the imagery, producing wave patterns which are striking in their regularity. Such large scale, synoptic observations of hurricane-generated wave phenomena are rare, and only a few such data sets have been described in the literature. The unique nature of these observations may increase our understanding of certain aspects of hurricane-generated waves which are poorly understood at present, particularly with regards to their directional characteristics. An interpretation of the dominant wavefield patterns observed in Josephine will be discussed in terms of a simple kinematic model.