Drag Coefficient and Its Sea State Dependence under Tropical Cyclones

The drag coefficient under tropical cyclones and its dependence on sea states are investigated by combining upper-ocean current observations [using electromagnetic autonomous profiling explorer (EM-APEX) floats deployed under five tropical cyclones] and a coupled ocean–wave (Modular Ocean Model 6–WAVEWATCH III) model. The estimated drag coefficient averaged over all storms is around 2–3 3 1023 forwindspeedsof25–55 m s21.Whilethedragcoefficient weakly depends on wind speed in this wind speed range, it shows stronger dependence on sea states. In particular, it is signif-icantly reduced when the misalignment angle between the dominant wave direction and the wind direction exceeds about 458, a feature that is underestimated by current models of sea state–dependent drag coefficient. Since the misaligned swell is more common in the far front and in the left-front quadrant of the storm (in the Northern Hemisphere), the drag coefficient also tends to be lower in these areas and shows a distinct spatial distribution. Our results therefore support ongoing efforts to develop and implement sea state–dependent parameterizations of the drag coefficient in tropical cyclone conditions