Turbulent Air-Sea Exchange in Extreme Winds and Its Effects on Storm Structure

The goal is to investigate, theoretically and through analyzing existing data, sea surface physics and air-sea exchange in extreme winds. The underlying motivations are improving predictions of tropical cyclone intensity and structure and developing guidelines for planning an eventual field experiment to observe the air-sea drag and enthalpy exchange in high winds. Ultimately, these goals require developing physics-based parameterizations and theoretical constraints for turbulent air-sea fluxes in extreme winds. One focus will be on the role that sea spray plays in transferring heat, moisture, momentum, enthalpy, and salt across the air-sea interface in high winds.