Data sets: Typhoon frequency and intensity across the western North Pacific Ocean, 1951–2014

Abstract

Disturbance has been a repeated theme in ecology in recent decades, yet incorporating its frequency and pattern at broad spatial scales into ecological analyses has been difficult—rather, most environmental data sets used in broad-extent analyses represent average conditions. We present a detailed data set summarizing the frequency (i.e., number of typhoons) and intensity of typhoons (average and maximum windspeeds) across the Western Pacific north of the Equator, based on data characterizing tracks for 1673 typhoons served by the Japan Meteorological Center. The data are aggregated and resampled to 0.2° (~22 km at the Equator) spatial resolution; temporal coverage extends 1951–2014. We also present data specifically for the periods prior to 1980 and after 1999, to respond to questions related to climate change, although no major changes were evident between the time periods.