Wind Profile and Spectra in Typhoon-Prone Regions in South China

The paper highlights analysis of full scale wind measurements conducted during typhoons in South China Sea. First, data from Doppler radar wind profiler were employed to examine characteristics of typhoon vertical wind profile over two types of underlying surface categories. The wind field characteristics in the regions of interest for engineering applications were obtained. These wind profiles were characterized by a three-layer flow field and the data were fitted to empirical expressions. Characteristics of typhoon wind spectra were examined and compared in detail to well established descriptions of extratropical storms. It was noted that the wind spectra in typhoon wind field showed a leveling off trend at relatively higher frequency range, which is contrary to the traditional energy cascade mechanism noted in turbulent flows. The mechanism responsible for this feature was examined and a plausible interpretation was proposed. © ASCE and ATC 2013.