SOEE3701 / SOEE5685M Assessed Coursework


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SOEE3701 / SOEE5685M Assessed Coursework

Hurricane Katrina Case Study
The coursework involves running the WRF model to simulate the progress of Hurricane Katrina as it made landfall on the Gulf coast of the USA in August 2005. With the model output, you are then expected to produce a case study report incorporating answers to the questions below. The report should be approximately 1500 words in length.

Running both WRF and Python programs should take place on the AIRE UNIX machine for which you have been given an account name and password.

Detailed instructions on running the WRF model and on how to process the data with Python are given in the document WRF instructions on MINERVA.

First, include short introduction and method sections at the start of your case study. Then, analyse the output as follows:

Questions:

1. Construct a simple plot of minimum surface pressure at the centre of the hurricane as a function of time (e.g. in Python, MatLab or Excel) and describe it. [5 marks]
2. Do the same for maximum surface wind speed in the vicinity of the hurricane. [5 marks]
3. Choose one time from the simulation when the hurricane is strong but still approximately symmetrical. Plot the following quantities on a vertical slice through the centre of the storm at this time and describe their distribution:
a. Vertical velocity,
b. Cloud-liquid amount,
c. Cloud-ice amount,
d. Total precipitation hydrometeor amount,
e. Radial velocity,
f. Potential temperature and
g. Humidity.Construct each plot so that it is possible to identify the eye and eye wall. [10 marks]
4. Using the cross-sections above, describe the processes that lead to ascent in the eye wall region, and show that precipitation is greatest there. [5 marks]
5. Produce plan views of where each of the following types of cloud occur in and around the hurricane:
(a) Stratiform (w < 1 m/s, liquid or mixed-phase cloud and precipitation hydrometeors),
(b) Cirriform (w < 1 m/s, ice-only cloud) and
(c) Convective (w > 1 m/s). [5 marks]
6. Compare the rotation of the outflow at upper levels with that of the lower-level inflow and why may it differ? [5 marks]
7. Plot the potential vorticity (PV) on selected isentropic levels and explain your results. [10 marks]
8. Using the concepts discussed in the lectures, describe the possible sources of error in an NWP model like WRF and how these errors are likely to apply in this case study. [10 marks]
9. What are the parameterisation schemes used for microphysics and convection in the Katrina simulation? Re-run the Katrina simulation on AIRE using the Kain-Fritsch convection (or cumulus) parameterisation scheme.
Describe how you did this in the method section. How has changing the parameterisation affected the simulated hurricane? [15 marks]

Finally, you should include a short summary/conclusions section to your case study.

Assessment criteria:

You will be assessed chiefly in terms of accuracy and comprehensiveness of explanations and results:

• 70 marks for answers to above questions,
• 10 marks for any extra results/analysis,
• 10 marks for clarity and overall structure and
• 10 marks in terms of scientific style.The choice of figures, plots and examples is important. Links should be made to topics covered in the SOEE3701 course where possible.

Use a scientific objective style, i.e. use scientific references. Use Harvard notation for the numbering of sections and sub-sections (e.g. Sec. 1, Sec. 2, Sec. 2.1, Sec. 2.2 etc.) and refer to figures with numbers (e.g. Fig. 1, Fig. 2 etc.). Crossreferencing to another section in the text is good (e.g. "as noted above (Sec. 2.1)"). Look at any scientific paper from Google scholar to familiarise yourself with Harvard notation. Use the passive tense of verbs and keep the style impersonal.

While it is expected that students will help each other each difficulty encountered in producing output from the model, the usual rules on plagiarism apply to the submitted report, which must be all the student’s own work. Standard rules about referencing sources of information apply, even to material from the Internet. A guide on referencing from Cardiff University is on MINERVA. The project report should not involve only the mere repetition of material from a paper or websites. Rather, the assessed work is expected to be an original interpretation of available scientific material from the literature.

Word limit: The 1500-word limit includes everything except bibliography/references.

2026-04-06