scholarly journals ISO Modulation on the Submonthly Wave Pattern and Recurving Tropical Cyclones in the Tropical Western North Pacific

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 582-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken-Chung Ko ◽  
Huang-Hsiung Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Wave Pattern ◽  
Monsoon Trough ◽  
Atmospheric Flow ◽  
Wave Patterns ◽  
Intraseasonal Oscillations ◽  
Pattern Development ◽  
Tropical Western North Pacific

Abstract This study demonstrates the multiscale nature, from synoptic to intraseasonal time scales, of the atmospheric flow in the tropical western North Pacific. The multiscale features include intraseasonal oscillations (ISO), northwestward-propagating submonthly wave patterns, and recurving tropical cyclones (TCs). In the ISO westerly phase, the wave pattern was better organized and the TCs were clustered near the cyclonic circulation of the wave pattern during the genesis, development, and propagation. On the other hand, the wave pattern and TCs were weak and poorly organized in the ISO easterly phase. The distinct characteristics between the westerly and easterly phases could be attributed to the ISO modulation on the monsoon trough and the subtropical anticyclonic ridge. The ISO in the westerly phase provided a favorable background (e.g., enhanced monsoon trough and moisture confluent zone) for the wave–TC pattern development, while the ISO in the easterly phase provided a less favorable environment.

Propagation and Maintenance Mechanism of the TC/Submonthly Wave Pattern and TC Feedback in the Western North Pacific

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (24) ◽  
pp. 8591-8610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken-Chung Ko ◽  
Huang-Hsiung Hsu ◽  
Chia Chou
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Intraseasonal Oscillation ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Wave Pattern ◽  
Monsoon Trough ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Circulation Circuit

Abstract Propagation and maintenance mechanisms of the tropical cyclone/submonthly wave pattern in the western North Pacific are explored. The wave pattern exhibited an equivalent barotropic structure with maximum vorticity and kinetic energy in the lower troposphere and propagated northwestward in the Philippine Sea in the intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) westerly phase and north-northeastward near the East Asian coast in the easterly phase. The mean flow advection played a dominant role in the propagation in both phases. Barotropic energy conversion is the dominant process in maintaining the kinetic energy of the pattern. The wave pattern tended to occur in the confluent zone between the monsoon trough and the anticyclonic ridge, where the kinetic energy could be efficiently extracted from the westerly mean flow associated with the monsoon trough. The individual circulation circuit embedded in the pattern was oriented northeast–southwest (east–west) to have optimal growth and propagation during the ISO westerly (easterly) phase. When tropical cyclones (TCs) developed in a development-favorable background flow provided by the submonthly wave pattern, they in turn enhanced the amplitudes of the vorticity and kinetic energy of the submonthly wave pattern by more than 50% and helped extract significantly more energy from the background ISO circulation. This TC feedback was much more significant in the ISO westerly phase because of the stronger clustering effect on TCs by the enhanced monsoon trough.

scholarly journals Rapid Weakening of Tropical Cyclones in Monsoon Gyres over the Tropical Western North Pacific

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 1015-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia Liang ◽  
Liguang Wu ◽  
Guojun Gu
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Tropical Cyclone Intensity ◽  
Cyclone Intensity ◽  
Operational Forecasts ◽  
Tropical Western North Pacific

Abstract As one major source of forecasting errors in tropical cyclone intensity, rapid weakening of tropical cyclones [an intensity reduction of 20 kt (1 kt = 0.51 m s−1) or more over a 24-h period] over the tropical open ocean can result from the interaction between tropical cyclones and monsoon gyres. This study aims to examine rapid weakening events occurring in monsoon gyres in the tropical western North Pacific (WNP) basin during May–October 2000–14. Although less than one-third of rapid weakening events happened in the tropical WNP basin south of 25°N, more than 40% of them were associated with monsoon gyres. About 85% of rapid weakening events in monsoon gyres occurred in September and October. The rapid weakening events associated with monsoon gyres are usually observed near the center of monsoon gyres when tropical cyclone tracks make a sudden northward turn. The gyres can enlarge the outer size of tropical cyclones and tend to induce prolonged rapid weakening events with an average duration of 33.2 h. Large-scale environmental factors, including sea surface temperature changes, vertical wind shear, and midlevel environmental humidity, are not primary contributors to them, suggesting the possible effect of monsoon gyres on these rapid weakening events by modulating the tropical cyclone structure. This conclusion is conducive to improving operational forecasts of tropical cyclone intensity.

scholarly journals Seasonal Modulation of Tropical Intraseasonal Oscillations on Tropical Cyclone Geneses in the Western North Pacific

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (24) ◽  
pp. 6339-6352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Huang ◽  
Chia Chou ◽  
Ronghui Huang
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Asian Summer Monsoon ◽  
North Pacific Ocean ◽  
Intraseasonal Oscillation ◽  
Monsoon Trough ◽  
Intraseasonal Oscillations ◽  
Asian Summer ◽  
Primary Contribution

Abstract The seasonal modulation of tropical intraseasonal oscillation (TISO) on tropical cyclone (TC) geneses over the western North Pacific Ocean (WNP) is investigated in three periods of the WNP TC season: May–June (MJ), July–September (JAS), and October–December (OND). The modulation of the TISO–TC geneses over the WNP is strong in MJ, while it appears weaker in JAS and OND. In MJ, TISO propagates northward via two routes, the west route through the South China Sea and the east route through the WNP monsoon trough region, which are two clustering locations of TC geneses. TISO can synchronously influence most TC geneses over these two regions. In JAS, however, the modulation is out of phase between the monsoon trough region and the East Asian summer monsoon region, as well as the WNP subtropical high region, as a result of further northward propagation of TISO and scattered TC geneses. The TISO–TC genesis modulation in each individual region is comparable to that in MJ, although the modulation over the entire WNP in JAS appears weaker. In OND, TISO has a stronger influence on TC geneses west than east of 150°E because TISO decays and its convection center located at the equator is out of the TC genesis region when propagating eastward into east of 150°E. Midlevel relative humidity is the primary contribution to the modulations of TISO on the genesis environment, while vorticity could contribute to the modulation over the subtropics in JAS.

Are Tropical Cyclones Less Effectively Formed by Easterly Waves in the Western North Pacific than in the North Atlantic?

2008 ◽  
Vol 136 (11) ◽  
pp. 4527-4540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsing-Chang Chen ◽  
Shih-Yu Wang ◽  
Ming-Cheng Yen ◽  
Adam J. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Monsoon Trough ◽  
Easterly Waves ◽  
The North ◽  
Easterly Wave ◽  
Monsoon Gyre ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract It has been observed that the percentage of tropical cyclones originating from easterly waves is much higher in the North Atlantic (∼60%) than in the western North Pacific (10%–20%). This disparity between the two ocean basins exists because the majority (71%) of tropical cyclogeneses in the western North Pacific occur in the favorable synoptic environments evolved from monsoon gyres. Because the North Atlantic does not have a monsoon trough similar to the western North Pacific that stimulates monsoon gyre formation, a much larger portion of tropical cyclogeneses than in the western North Pacific are caused directly by easterly waves. This study also analyzed the percentage of easterly waves that form tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific. By carefully separating easterly waves from the lower-tropospheric disturbances generated by upper-level vortices that originate from the tropical upper-tropospheric trough (TUTT), it is observed that 25% of easterly waves form tropical cyclones in this region. Because TUTT-induced lower-tropospheric disturbances often become embedded in the trade easterlies and resemble easterly waves, they have likely been mistakenly identified as easterly waves. Inclusion of these “false” easterly waves in the “true” easterly wave population would result in an underestimation of the percentage of easterly waves that form tropical cyclones, because the TUTT-induced disturbances rarely stimulate tropical cyclogenesis. However, an analysis of monsoon gyre formation mechanisms over the western North Pacific reveals that 82% of monsoon gyres develop through a monsoon trough–easterly wave interaction. Thus, it can be inferred that 58% (i.e., 82% × 71%) of tropical cyclones in this region are an indirect result of easterly waves. Including the percentage of tropical cyclones that form directly from easterly waves (∼25%), it is found that tropical cyclones formed directly and indirectly from easterly waves account for over 80% of tropical cyclogeneses in the western North Pacific. This is more than the percentage that has been documented by previous studies in the North Atlantic.

Role of Tropical Cyclones along the Monsoon Trough in the 2011 Thai Flood and Interannual Variability

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 1465-1476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi G. Takahashi ◽  
Hatsuki Fujinami ◽  
Tetsuzo Yasunari ◽  
Jun Matsumoto ◽  
Somchai Baimoung
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Circulation Pattern ◽  
Monsoon Trough ◽  
Total Precipitation ◽  
Asian Monsoon Region

Abstract The atmospheric circulation patterns that were responsible for the heavy flooding that occurred in Thailand in 2011 are examined. This paper also investigates the interannual variation in precipitation over Indochina over a 33-yr period from 1979–2011, focusing on the role of westward-propagating tropical cyclones (TCs) over the Asian monsoon region. Cyclonic anomalies and more westward-propagating TCs than expected from the climatology of the area were observed in 2011 along the monsoon trough from the northern Indian subcontinent, the Bay of Bengal, Indochina, and the western North Pacific, which contributed significantly to the 2011 Thai flood. The strength of monsoon westerlies was normal, which implies that the monsoon westerly was not responsible for the seasonal heavy rainfall in 2011. Similar results were also obtained from the 33-yr statistical analysis. The 5-month total precipitation over Indochina covaried interannually with that along the monsoon trough. In addition, above-normal precipitation over Indochina was observed when enhanced cyclonic circulation with more westward-propagating TCs along the monsoon trough was observed. Notably, the above-normal precipitation was not due to the enhanced monsoon westerly over Indochina. Therefore, the 2011 Thai flood was caused by the typical atmospheric circulation pattern for an above-normal precipitation year. It is noteworthy that the effect of sea surface temperature (SST) forcing over the western North Pacific and the Niño-3.4 region on total precipitation during the summer rainy season over Indochina was unclear over the 33-yr period.

Northwestward-Propagating Wave Patterns over the Tropical Western North Pacific during Summer

1996 ◽  
Vol 124 (10) ◽  
pp. 2245-2266 ◽  
Author(s):  
C-P. Chang ◽  
J. M. Chen ◽  
P. A. Harr ◽  
L. E. Carr
Keyword(s):  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Wave Patterns ◽  
Tropical Western North Pacific
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