Deep Eye Clouds Observed in Tropical Cyclone Trami (2018) during T-PARCII Dropsonde Observations

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Convective Heating ◽  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Warm Core ◽  
Thermodynamic Conditions ◽  
Favorable Conditions ◽  
Eye Region

Abstract The sporadic formation of short-lived convective clouds in the eye of Tropical Cyclone (TC) Trami (2018) is investigated using dropsonde data and simulation results from a coupled atmosphere–ocean model. According to the satellite data, top height of the convective clouds exceeds 9 km above mean sea level, considerably taller than that of typical hub clouds (2–3 km). These clouds are located 10–30 km away from the TC center. Hence, these convective clouds are called deep eye clouds (DECs) in this study. The dropsonde data reveal increase in relative humidity in the eye region during the formation of DECs. Short-lived convective clouds are simulated up to the middle troposphere in the eye region in the coupled model. Investigation of thermodynamic conditions shows a weakened low-level warm core and associated favorable conditions for convection in the eye region during the formation of DECs. DECs are formed after the weakening and outward displacement of convective heating within the eyewall. To elucidate the influence of the changes in convective heating within the eyewall on the formation of DECs, we calculate secondary circulation and associated adiabatic warming induced by convective heating within the eyewall using the Sawyer–Eliassen equation. In the eye region, weakenings of subsidence and associated vertical potential temperature advection are observed as DECs are formed. This suggests that the weakening and outward displacement of convective heating within the eyewall create favorable conditions for the sporadic formation of DECs.

scholarly journals Evolution of the Warm-Core Structure during the Eyewall Replacement Cycle in a Numerically Simulated Tropical Cyclone

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (8) ◽  
pp. 2559-2573
Author(s):  
Hui Wang ◽  
Yuqing Wang ◽  
Jing Xu ◽  
Yihong Duan
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Outer Edge ◽  
Core Structure ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Secondary Eyewall Formation ◽  
Warm Core ◽  
Eyewall Replacement Cycle ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Replacement Cycle

Abstract This study examines the evolution of the warm-core structure during the secondary eyewall formation (SEF) and the subsequent eyewall replacement cycle (ERC) in a numerically simulated tropical cyclone (TC) under idealized conditions. Results show that prior to the SEF, the TC exhibited a double warm-core structure centered in the middle and upper troposphere in the eye region, and as the storm intensified with a rapid outward expansion of tangential winds, the warm core strengthened and a secondary off-center warm ring developed between 8- and 16-km heights near the outer edge of the eye. During the SEF, both the upper-level warm core and the secondary off-center warm ring rapidly strengthened. As the secondary eyewall intensified and contracted and the primary eyewall weakened and dissipated, the off-center warm ring extended inward and merged with the inner warm core to form a warm core typical of a single-eyewall TC. Results from the azimuthal-mean potential temperature budget indicate that the warming in the eye is due to subsidence and the warming above 14-km height outside the eye is largely contributed by radial warm advection in the outflow. The development of the off-center warm ring is largely due to the subsidence warming near the inner edge of the primary eyewall and in the moat area and the warming by diabatic heating in the upper part of the inner eyewall below 14-km height. Further analysis indicates that the eddy advection also played some role in the warming above 12-km height in the upper troposphere.

scholarly journals Tropical Cyclones and Transient Upper-Ocean Warming

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Pasquero ◽  
Kerry Emanuel
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Heat Content ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Ocean Heat Content ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Cyclone Activity ◽  
Upper Ocean Heat Content ◽  
Vertical Temperature Profile ◽  
Thermodynamic Conditions

Abstract Strong winds affect mixing and heat distribution in the upper ocean. In turn, upper-ocean heat content affects the evolution of tropical cyclones. Here the authors explore the global effects of the interplay between tropical cyclones and upper-ocean heat content. The modeling study suggests that, for given atmospheric thermodynamic conditions, regimes characterized by intense (with deep mixing and large upper-ocean heat content) and by weak (with shallow mixing and small heat content) tropical cyclone activity can be sustained. A global general circulation ocean model is used to study the transient evolution of a heat anomaly that develops following the strong mixing induced by the passage of a tropical cyclone. The results suggest that at least one-third of the anomaly remains in the tropical region for more than one year. A simple atmosphere–ocean model is then used to study the sensitivity of maximum wind speed in a cyclone to the oceanic vertical temperature profile. The feedback between cyclone activity and upper-ocean heat content amplifies the sensitivity of modeled cyclone power dissipation to atmospheric thermodynamic conditions.

Forecasting a Large Number of Tropical Cyclone Intensities around Japan Using a High-Resolution Atmosphere–Ocean Coupled Model

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 793-808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosuke Ito ◽  
Tohru Kuroda ◽  
Kazuo Saito ◽  
Akiyoshi Wada
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Japan Meteorological Agency ◽  
Track Forecast ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
Forecast Time ◽  
Better Than

Abstract This work quantifies the benefits of using a high-resolution atmosphere–ocean coupled model in tropical cyclone (TC) intensity forecasts in the vicinity of Japan. To do so, a large number of high-resolution calculations were performed by running the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) nonhydrostatic atmospheric mesoscale model (AMSM) and atmosphere–ocean coupled mesoscale model (CMSM). A total of 281 3-day forecasts were compiled for 34 TCs from April 2009 to September 2012 for each model. The performance of these models is compared with the JMA global atmospheric spectral model (GSM) that is used for the operational TC intensity guidance. The TC intensities are better predicted by CMSM than the other models. The improvement rates in CMSM relative to GSM and AMSM generally increase with increasing forecast time (FT). CMSM is better than GSM and AMSM by 27.4% and 21.3% at FT = 48 h in terms of minimum sea level pressure, respectively. Regarding the maximum wind speed, CMSM is better than GSM and AMSM by 12.8% and 19.5% at FT = 48 h, respectively. This is due to smaller initial intensity errors and sea surface cooling consistent with in situ observations that suppress erroneous TC intensification. Thus, a high-resolution coupled model is promising for TC intensity prediction in the area surrounding Japan, where most of the TCs are in a decay stage. In contrast, coupling to the upper-ocean model yields only a negligible difference in the TC track forecast skill on average.

scholarly journals The genesis of Typhoon Nuri as observed during the Tropical Cyclone Structure 2008 (TCS08) field experiment – Part 2: Observations of the convective environment

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 31115-31136 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. Montgomery ◽  
R. K. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Vertical Profiles ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Virtual Potential Temperature ◽  
Noticeable Reduction ◽  
Virtual Temperature ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract. Analyses of thermodynamic data gathered from airborne dropwindsondes during the Tropical Cyclone Structure (2008) experiment are presented for the disturbance that became Typhoon Nuri. Although previous work has suggested that Nuri formed within the protective recirculating "pouch" region of a westward-propagating wave-like disturbance and implicated rotating deep convective clouds in driving the inflow to spin up the tangential circulation of the system-scale flow, the nature of the thermodynamic environment that supported the genesis remains a topic of debate. During the genesis phase, vertical profiles of virtual potential temperature show little variability between soundings on a particular day and the system-average soundings likewise show a negligible change. There is a tendency also for the lower and middle troposphere to moisten. However, the data show that on the scale of the recirculating region of the disturbance, there was no noticeable reduction of virtual temperature in the lower troposphere, but a small warming (less than 1 K) in the upper troposphere. Vertical profiles of pseudo-equivalent potential temperature, θe, during the genesis show a modestly decreasing deficit of θe in the vertical between the surface and a height of minimum θe (between 3 and 4 km), from 17.5 K to 15.2 K. The findings reported here are consistent with that found for developing disturbances observed in the Pre-Depression Investigation of Cloud Systems in the Tropics (PREDICT) experiment in 2010. Some implications of the findings are discussed.

Thermodynamic Aspects of Tropical Cyclone Formation

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 2433-2451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuo Wang
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Air Entrainment ◽  
Spatial Average ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Equivalent Potential ◽  
Thermodynamic Conditions ◽  
Short Incubation Time ◽  
Convective Organization

Abstract The thermodynamic aspects of tropical cyclone (TC) formation near the center of the wave pouch, a region of approximately closed Lagrangian circulation within the wave critical layer, are examined through diagnoses of a high-resolution numerical simulation and dropsonde data from a recent field campaign. It is found that the meso-β area near the pouch center is characterized by high saturation fraction, small difference in equivalent potential temperature θe between the surface and the middle troposphere, and a short incubation time scale. Updrafts tend to be more vigorous in this region, presumably because of reduced dry air entrainment, while downdrafts are not suppressed. The thermodynamic conditions near the pouch center are thus critically important for TC formation. The balanced responses to convective and stratiform heating at the pregenesis stage are examined using the Sawyer–Eliassen equation. Deep convection is concentrated near the pouch center. The strong radial and vertical gradients of latent heat release effectively force the transverse circulation and spin up a surface protovortex near the pouch center. Stratiform heating induces modest midlevel inflow and very weak low-level outflow, which contributes to the midlevel spinup without substantially spinning down the low-level circulation. The analysis of dropsonde data shows that the midlevel θe increases significantly near the pouch center one to two days prior to genesis but changes little away from the pouch center. This may indicate convective organization and the impending TC genesis. It also suggests that the critical information of TC genesis near the pouch center may be masked out if a spatial average is taken over the pouch scale.

scholarly journals On the Rapid Weakening of Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Hellen (2014)

2019 ◽  
Vol 147 (8) ◽  
pp. 2717-2737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrien Colomb ◽  
Tarik Kriat ◽  
Marie-Dominique Leroux
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Wind Shear ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Warm Core ◽  
Operational Forecasting ◽  
Intensity Changes ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In late March 2014, very intense Tropical Cyclone Hellen threatened the Comoros Archipelago and the Madagascan northwest coastline as it became one of the strongest tropical cyclones (TCs) ever observed over the Mozambique Channel. Its steep intensity changes were not well anticipated by operational forecasting models or by La Reunion regional specialized meteorological center forecasters. In particular, the record-setting rapid weakening over the open ocean was not supported by usual large-scale predictors. AROME, a new nonhydrostatic finescale model, is able to closely reproduce these wide intensity changes. When benchmarked against available observations, the model is also consistent in terms of inner-core structure, environmental features, track, and intensity. In the simulation, a northwesterly 400-hPa environmental wind is associated with unsaturated air, while the classic 200–850-hPa wind shear remains weak, and does not suggest a specifically unfavorable environment. The 400-hPa constraint affects the simulated storm through two pathways. Air with low equivalent potential temperature (θe) is flushed downward into the inflow layer in the upshear semicircle, triggering the decay of the storm. Then, direct erosion of the upper half of the warm core efficiently increases the surface pressure and also plays an instrumental role in the rapid weakening. When the storm gets closer to the Madagascan coastline, low-θe air can be directly advected within the inflow layer. Results illustrate on a real TC case the recently proposed paradigm for TC intensity modification under vertical wind shear and highlight the need for innovative tools to assess the impact of wind shear at all vertical levels.

scholarly journals Medicanes in an ocean–atmosphere coupled regional climate model

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 2117-2149 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Akhtar ◽  
J. Brauch ◽  
A. Dobler ◽  
K. Béranger ◽  
B. Ahrens
Keyword(s):  
Climate Model ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Track Length ◽  
Limited Area ◽  
Mediterranean Cyclones ◽  
Warm Core ◽  
Negative Impacts

Abstract. So-called medicanes (Mediterranean hurricanes) are meso-scale, marine, and warm-core Mediterranean cyclones that exhibit some similarities to tropical cyclones. The strong cyclonic winds associated with medicanes threaten the highly populated coastal areas around the Mediterranean basin. To reduce the risk of casualties and overall negative impacts, it is important to improve the understanding of medicanes with the use of numerical models. In this study, we employ an atmospheric limited-area model (COSMO-CLM) coupled with a one-dimensional ocean model (1-D NEMO-MED12) to simulate medicanes. The aim of this study is to assess the robustness of the coupled model in simulating these extreme events. For this purpose, 11 historical medicane events are simulated using the atmosphere-only model, COSMO-CLM, and coupled model, with different setups (horizontal atmospheric grid-spacings of 0.44°, 0.22°, and 0.08°; with/without spectral nudging, and an ocean grid-spacing of 1/12°). The results show that at high-resolution, the coupled model is able to not only simulate most of medicane events but also improve the track length, core temperature, and wind speed of simulated medicanes compared to the atmosphere-only simulations. The results suggest that the coupled model is more proficient for systemic and detailed studies of historical medicane events, and that this model can be an effective tool for future projections.

scholarly journals The genesis of Typhoon Nuri as observed during the Tropical Cyclone Structure 2008 (TCS08) field experiment – Part 2: Observations of the convective environment

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 4001-4009 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. Montgomery ◽  
R. K. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Vertical Profiles ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Virtual Potential Temperature ◽  
Noticeable Reduction ◽  
Virtual Temperature ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract. Analyses of thermodynamic data gathered from airborne dropwindsondes during the Tropical Cyclone Structure (2008) experiment are presented for the disturbance that became Typhoon Nuri. Although previous work has suggested that Nuri formed within the protective recirculating "pouch" region of a westward propagating wave-like disturbance and implicated rotating deep convective clouds in driving the inflow to spin up the tangential circulation of the system-scale flow, the nature of the thermodynamic environment that supported the genesis remains a topic of debate. During the genesis phase, vertical profiles of virtual potential temperature show little variability between soundings on a particular day and the system-average soundings likewise show a negligible change. There is a tendency also for the lower and middle troposphere to moisten. However, the data show that, on the scale of the recirculating region of the disturbance, there was no noticeable reduction of virtual temperature in the lower troposphere, but a small warming (less than 1 K) in the upper troposphere. Vertical profiles of pseudo-equivalent potential temperature, θe, during the genesis show a modestly decreasing deficit of θe in the vertical between the surface and the height of minimum θe (between 3 and 4 km), from 17.5 K to 15.2 K. The findings reported here are consistent with those found for developing disturbances observed in the Pre-Depression Investigation of Cloud Systems in the Tropics (PREDICT) experiment in 2010. Some implications of the findings are discussed.

The Effect of Internally Generated Inner-Core Asymmetries on Tropical Cyclone Potential Intensity*

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 1165-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Yang ◽  
Yuqing Wang ◽  
Bin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Potential Vorticity ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Convective Heating ◽  
Internal Dynamic ◽  
Budget Analysis ◽  
Momentum Budget ◽  
Cooling Effects

Abstract In a quiescent environment on an f plane, the internal dynamic processes of a tropical cyclone (TC) can generate axially asymmetric circulations (asymmetries) in its inner-core region. The present study investigates how these inner-core asymmetries affect TC intensity. For this purpose, a three-dimensional (3D) TC model and its axisymmetric (2D) version were used. Both have identical model vertical structure and use the same set of parameters and the same initial conditions. The differences between the two model runs are considered to be due to mainly the effects of the TC asymmetries. The results show that the presence of asymmetries in the 3D run reduces the TC final intensity by about 15% compared with the 2D run, suggesting that the TC asymmetry is a limiting factor to the potential intensity (PI). In the 2D run without asymmetries, the convective heating in the eyewall generates an annular tower of high potential vorticity (PV) with relatively low PV in the eye. The eyewall tilts outward with height significantly. Underneath the tilted eyewall the downdrafts induced by evaporation of rain and melting of snow and graupel make the subcloud-layer inflow dry and cool, which lowers the boundary layer equivalent potential temperature (θe), thus increasing the entropy difference between the air and sea in the vicinity of the radius of maximum wind (RMW). The increased air–sea entropy deficit leads to more energy input into TC from the underlying ocean and thus a greater final intensity. On the other hand, in the 3D run, the model-resolved asymmetric eddies, which are characterized by the vortex Rossby waves in the mid-lower troposphere, play important roles in modifying the symmetric structure of the TC. Potential vorticity and θe budgets indicate that significant inward PV mixing from the eyewall into the eye results in a less-tilted eyewall, which in turn limits the drying and cooling effects of downdrafts in the subcloud layer and reduces the air–sea entropy deficit under the eyewall, thereby reducing the TC intensity. The angular momentum budget analysis shows that the asymmetric eddies tend to reduce the strength of the primary circulation in the vicinity of the RMW. This eddy contribution to the azimuthal mean angular momentum budget is larger than the parameterized horizontal diffusion contribution in the 3D run, suggesting an overall diffusive effect of the asymmetric eddies on the symmetric circulation.

scholarly journals Medicanes in an ocean–atmosphere coupled regional climate model

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2189-2201 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Akhtar ◽  
J. Brauch ◽  
A. Dobler ◽  
K. Béranger ◽  
B. Ahrens
Keyword(s):  
Climate Model ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Track Length ◽  
Limited Area ◽  
Mediterranean Cyclones ◽  
Warm Core ◽  
Negative Impacts

Abstract. So-called medicanes (Mediterranean hurricanes) are meso-scale, marine, and warm-core Mediterranean cyclones that exhibit some similarities to tropical cyclones. The strong cyclonic winds associated with medicanes threaten the highly populated coastal areas around the Mediterranean basin. To reduce the risk of casualties and overall negative impacts, it is important to improve the understanding of medicanes with the use of numerical models. In this study, we employ an atmospheric limited-area model (COSMO-CLM) coupled with a one-dimensional ocean model (1-D NEMO-MED12) to simulate medicanes. The aim of this study is to assess the robustness of the coupled model in simulating these extreme events. For this purpose, 11 historical medicane events are simulated using the atmosphere-only model, COSMO-CLM, and coupled model, with different setups (horizontal atmospheric grid spacings of 0.44, 0.22, and 0.08°; with/without spectral nudging, and an ocean grid spacing of 1/12°). The results show that at high resolution, the coupled model is able to not only simulate most of medicane events but also improve the track length, core temperature, and wind speed of simulated medicanes compared to the atmosphere-only simulations. The results suggest that the coupled model is more proficient for systemic and detailed studies of historical medicane events, and that this model can be an effective tool for future projections.

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