Modeler, institute study China typhoons

BOSTON--Risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide Corp. is collaborating with the Shanghai Typhoon Institute on research examining the atmospheric and hydrologic characteristics of typhoons making landfall in China.

Boston-based AIR will use the findings of the research to enhance its new China typhoon model by incorporating up-to-date information about the evolution of typhoons.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Typhoon Institute indicated it expects the collaboration to advance the understanding of typhoon risks in China and provide information that will aid the country in preparing for natural disasters and working to mitigate their impact.

The Shanghai Typhoon Institute's mission is to improve the understanding of tropical storms, specifically in terms of the mechanisms that influence their formation, track, structural evolution and landfall location. Knowledge gained through that process will be applied to studies submitted by various governmental, administrative and operational organizations.

As part of the research, the institute will perform a detailed analysis of the major historical typhoons that have made landfall in China. The institute will examine the genesis, track, maximum observed wind speed and accumulated precipitation for each storm, and will perform an in-depth analysis of the environmental factors that influenced the evolution of the wind and precipitation fields.

The Shanghai Typhoon Institute of the China Meteorological Administration was founded with the approval of China's Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Finance and the Central Office of Personnel Management. Its goal is to become an internationally recognized tropical cyclone research institution within the next 10 years, as well as a base for training professionals specializing in tropical cyclone science.