scholarly journals Sensitivity of Tropical Cyclone Intensification to Axisymmetric Heat Sources: The Role of Inertial Stability

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (7) ◽  
pp. 2325-2340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgina Paull ◽  
Konstantinos Menelaou ◽  
M. K. Yau

Abstract This study examines the influences of an axisymmetric heat source on the tangential wind structure of a tropical cyclone (TC). Specifically, the response of a TC due to the effect of convection located in varying inertial stability profiles was calculated. Using an idealized heat source, the thermodynamic efficiency hypothesis and the dynamic hypothesis for lower-level tangential wind acceleration are studied with the use of a balanced 2D model. These two frameworks for calculating the lower-level tangential wind acceleration are then compared to an idealized but thermally forced version of a nonlinear 3D model (WRF). It is found that using either of the 2D balanced model approaches to calculate the tangential wind acceleration results in an underestimation when compared to the full nonlinear simulation. In addition, the thermodynamic efficiency approach also shows a radial shift in the location of the maximum lower-level tangential wind acceleration. Sensitivity experiments in the context of the WRF Model in varying background inertial instabilities were investigated. It is shown that as the eyewall-like heating is shifted to larger values of inertial stability, there is a decrease in the induced secondary circulation in tandem with a spinup of the lower-level tangential winds. This intensification appears to be modulated by the low-level radial advection of absolute vorticity.

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 4229-4246
Author(s):  
Georgina Paull ◽  
Konstantinos Menelaou ◽  
M. K. Yau

Abstract Latent heat release from condensational heating has been recognized as one of the dominating energy sources of a tropical cyclone. Here we argue that other microphysical processes may also play an important role. From an analysis of a real-case simulation of Hurricane Katrina (2005), it was found that cooling from evaporation and melting of some frozen hydrometeors radially outside the eyewall region can have similar magnitudes as condensational heating. Based on this finding, idealized thermally forced experiments were performed. The specified heating and cooling functions mimic those found in the Hurricane Katrina run. The results indicated that the addition of cooling enhances the lower-level inward radial winds, which in turn increases the acceleration of the lower-level tangential winds through an enhanced transport of absolute vorticity. Sensitivity experiments on varying the structure of the cooling functions and the background state of the vortex demonstrate that the lower-level tangential wind acceleration is more sensitive to changes in the vertical structure and location of the cooling than the radial characteristics. In addition, the lower-level acceleration is sensitive to variations in the inertial and static stabilities rather than the vertical tangential wind shear of the initial vortex and its environment.


2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (12) ◽  
pp. 3806-3822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Chieh Wu ◽  
Guo-Yuan Lien ◽  
Jan-Huey Chen ◽  
Fuqing Zhang

Abstract A new tropical cyclone vortex initialization method based on the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is proposed in this study. Three observed parameters that are related to the tropical cyclone (TC) track and structure—center position, velocity of storm motion, and surface axisymmetric wind structure—are assimilated into the high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model during a 24-h initialization period to develop a dynamically balanced TC vortex without employing any extra bogus schemes. The first two parameters are available from the TC track data of operational centers, which are mainly based on satellite analysis. The radial wind profile is constructed by fitting the combined information from both the best-track and the dropwindsonde data available from aircraft surveillance observations, such as the Dropwindsonde Observations for Typhoon Surveillance near the Taiwan Region (DOTSTAR). The initialized vortex structure is consistent with the observations of a typical vertical TC structure, even though only the surface wind profile is assimilated. In addition, the subsequent numerical integration shows minor adjustments during early periods, indicating that the analysis fields obtained from this method are dynamically balanced. Such a feature is important for TC numerical integrations. The results here suggest that this new method promises an improved TC initialization and could possibly contribute to some high-resolution numerical experiments to better understand the dynamics of TC structure and to improve operational TC model forecasts. Further applications of this method with sophisticated data from The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX) Pacific Asian Regional Campaign (T-PARC) will be shown in a follow-up paper.


Author(s):  
Danyang Wang ◽  
Yanluan Lin

AbstractTropical cyclone (TC) wind structure is important for its intensity change and induced damage, but its modulating factors remain to be explored. A heat-engine-based surface wind structure parameter α, reflecting TC’s relative compactness, is introduced and derived based on an entropy budget framework. We found that α is modulated by three key parameters: the thermodynamic efficiency ϵPI in potential intensity theory, the Carnot efficiency ϵC of the system, and the degree of irreversibility αirr of the system. A higher αirr contributes to a larger α and a lower heat engine efficiency. An expression linking TC intensity and compactness also emerges under this framework. Idealized simulations of a typical moist TC (CTL), a dry (DRY) and a moist reversible TC (REV, in which hydrometeors do not fall out) evinced that the significantly higher αirr in CTL, due to irreversible entropy productions from precipitation dissipation, water vapor diffusion and irreversible phase changes, contributes to its much larger compactness compared to DRY and REV. The study illustrates the importance of irreversible entropy production processes in modulating TC surface wind field. Simple estimate suggests that α will increase due to a hypothesized increased αirr with warming because of increased water content. This indicates that TCs will become more compact in a warmer climate.


2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-282
Author(s):  
OLEG IVANOV

The general characteristics of planetary systems are described. Well-known heat sources of evolution are considered. A new type of heat source, variations of kinematic parameters in a dynamical system, is proposed. The inconsistency of the perovskite-post-perovskite heat model is proved. Calculations of inertia moments relative to the D boundary on the Earth are given. The 9 times difference allows us to claim that the sliding of the upper layers at the Earth's rotation speed variations emit heat by viscous friction.This heat is the basis of mantle convection and lithospheric plate tectonics.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Neuberger ◽  
Radomír Adamovský

The efficiency of a heat pump energy system is significantly influenced by its low-temperature heat source. This paper presents the results of operational monitoring, analysis and comparison of heat transfer fluid temperatures, outputs and extracted energies at the most widely used low temperature heat sources within 218 days of a heating period. The monitoring involved horizontal ground heat exchangers (HGHEs) of linear and Slinky type, vertical ground heat exchangers (VGHEs) with single and double U-tube exchanger as well as the ambient air. The results of the verification indicated that it was not possible to specify clearly the most advantageous low-temperature heat source that meets the requirements of the efficiency of the heat pump operation. The highest average heat transfer fluid temperatures were achieved at linear HGHE (8.13 ± 4.50 °C) and double U-tube VGHE (8.13 ± 3.12 °C). The highest average specific heat output 59.97 ± 41.80 W/m2 and specific energy extracted from the ground mass 2723.40 ± 1785.58 kJ/m2·day were recorded at single U-tube VGHE. The lowest thermal resistance value of 0.07 K·m2/W, specifying the efficiency of the heat transfer process between the ground mass and the heat transfer fluid, was monitored at linear HGHE. The use of ambient air as a low-temperature heat pump source was considered to be the least advantageous in terms of its temperature parameters.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
pp. 2169-2193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey D. Kepert

Abstract The GPS dropsonde allows observations at unprecedentedly high horizontal and vertical resolution, and of very high accuracy, within the tropical cyclone boundary layer. These data are used to document the boundary layer wind field of the core of Hurricane Georges (1998) when it was close to its maximum intensity. The spatial variability of the boundary layer wind structure is found to agree very well with the theoretical predictions in the works of Kepert and Wang. In particular, the ratio of the near-surface wind speed to that above the boundary layer is found to increase inward toward the radius of maximum winds and to be larger to the left of the track than to the right, while the low-level wind maximum is both more marked and at lower altitude on the left of the storm track than on the right. However, the expected supergradient flow in the upper boundary layer is not found, with the winds being diagnosed as close to gradient balance. The tropical cyclone boundary layer model of Kepert and Wang is used to simulate the boundary layer flow in Hurricane Georges. The simulated wind profiles are in good agreement with the observations, and the asymmetries are well captured. In addition, it is found that the modeled flow in the upper boundary layer at the eyewall is barely supergradient, in contrast to previously studied cases. It is argued that this lack of supergradient flow is a consequence of the particular radial structure in Georges, which had a comparatively slow decrease of wind speed with radius outside the eyewall. This radial profile leads to a relatively weak gradient of inertial stability near the eyewall and a strong gradient at larger radii, and hence the tropical cyclone boundary layer dynamics described by Kepert and Wang can produce only marginally supergradient flow near the radius of maximum winds. The lack of supergradient flow, diagnosed from the observational analysis, is thus attributed to the large-scale structure of this particular storm. A companion paper presents a similar analysis for Hurricane Mitch (1998), with contrasting results.


1987 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 912-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Parsons ◽  
M. L. Arey

Experiments have been performed which describe the transient development of natural convective flow from both a single and two vertically aligned horizontal cylindrical heat sources. The temperature of the wire heat sources was monitored with a resistance bridge arrangement while the development of the flow field was observed optically with a Mach–Zehnder interferometer. Results for the single wire show that after an initial regime where the wire temperature follows pure conductive response to a motionless fluid, two types of fluid motion will begin. The first is characterized as a local buoyancy, wherein the heated fluid adjacent to the wire begins to rise. The second is the onset of global convective motion, this being governed by the thermal stability of the fluid layer immediately above the cylinder. The interaction of these two motions is dependent on the heating rate and relative heat capacities of the cylinder and fluid, and governs whether the temperature response will exceed the steady value during the transient (overshoot). The two heat source experiments show that the merging of the two developing temperature fields is hydrodynamically stabilizing and thermally insulating. For small spacing-to-diameter ratios, the development of convective motion is delayed and the heat transfer coefficients degraded by the proximity of another heat source. For larger spacings, the transient behavior approaches that of a single isolated cylinder.


2010 ◽  
Vol 138 (4) ◽  
pp. 1368-1382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Gall ◽  
William M. Frank ◽  
Matthew C. Wheeler

Abstract This two-part series of papers examines the role of equatorial Rossby (ER) waves in tropical cyclone (TC) genesis. To do this, a unique initialization procedure is utilized to insert n = 1 ER waves into a numerical model that is able to faithfully produce TCs. In this first paper, experiments are carried out under the idealized condition of an initially quiescent background environment. Experiments are performed with varying initial wave amplitudes and with and without diabatic effects. This is done to both investigate how the properties of the simulated ER waves compare to the properties of observed ER waves and explore the role of the initial perturbation strength of the ER wave on genesis. In the dry, frictionless ER wave simulation the phase speed is slightly slower than the phase speed predicted from linear theory. Large-scale ascent develops in the region of low-level poleward flow, which is in good agreement with the theoretical structure of an n = 1 ER wave. The structures and phase speeds of the simulated full-physics ER waves are in good agreement with recent observational studies of ER waves that utilize wavenumber–frequency filtering techniques. Convection occurs primarily in the eastern half of the cyclonic gyre, as do the most favorable conditions for TC genesis. This region features sufficient midlevel moisture, anomalously strong low-level cyclonic vorticity, enhanced convection, and minimal vertical shear. Tropical cyclogenesis occurs only in the largest initial-amplitude ER wave simulation. The formation of the initial tropical disturbance that ultimately develops into a tropical cyclone is shown to be sensitive to the nonlinear horizontal momentum advection terms. When the largest initial-amplitude simulation is rerun with the nonlinear horizontal momentum advection terms turned off, tropical cyclogenesis does not occur, but the convectively coupled ER wave retains the properties of the ER wave observed in the smaller initial-amplitude simulations. It is shown that this isolated wave-only genesis process only occurs for strong ER waves in which the nonlinear advection is large. Part II will look at the more realistic case of ER wave–related genesis in which a sufficiently intense ER wave interacts with favorable large-scale flow features.


Author(s):  
Yuqing Wang ◽  
Yuanlong Li ◽  
Jing Xu

AbstractIn this study, the boundary-layer tangential wind budget equation following the radius of maximum wind, together with an assumed thermodynamical quasi-equilibrium boundary layer is used to derive a new equation for tropical cyclone (TC) intensification rate (IR). A TC is assumed to be axisymmetric in thermal wind balance with eyewall convection becoming in moist slantwise neutrality in the free atmosphere above the boundary layer as the storm intensifies as found recently based on idealized numerical simulations. An ad-hoc parameter is introduced to measure the degree of congruence of the absolute angular momentum and the entropy surfaces. The new IR equation is evaluated using results from idealized ensemble full-physics axisymmetric numerical simulations. Results show that the new IR equation can reproduce the time evolution of the simulated TC intensity. The new IR equation indicates a strong dependence of IR on both TC intensity and the corresponding maximum potential intensity (MPI). A new finding is the dependence of TC IR on the square of the MPI in terms of the near-surface wind speed for any given relative intensity. Results from some numerical integrations of the new IR equation also suggest the finite-amplitude nature of TC genesis. In addition, the new IR theory is also supported by some preliminary results based on best-track TC data over the North Atlantic and eastern and western North Pacific. Compared with the available time-dependent theories of TC intensification, the new IR equation can provide a realistic intensity-dependent IR during weak intensity stage as in observations.


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