Study on the Interaction of Non-axisymmetric Binary Vortices

In the context of advection dynamics,19 experiments(Exps.)are performed using a quasi-geostrophic barotropic vorticity equation model to explore the condition for the mergence of binary vortices and the self-organization of the larger scale vortex.Results show that the initial distance between the centers of binary vortices and the non-axisymmetric distributions of their initial vorticity are two factors affecting the mergence of binary vortices.There is a critical distance for the mergence of initial symmetric binary vortices, however,the mergence of initial non-axisymmetric binary vortices is also affected by the asymmetric structure of initial vortices.The self-organization processes in 19 experiments can be classified into two types:one is the merging of identical,axisymmetric binary vortices in which the interaction of the two vortices undergoes slowly change,rapid change,and the formation,stretching,and development of the filaments of vorticity, and the two vortices merge into a symmetric vortex,with its vorticity piled up in the inner region coming from the two initial vortices,and the vorticity of the spiral band in the outer region from the stretching of the filaments of the two initial vortices.And the other type is the merging of the two non-axisymmetric initial vortices of an elliptic vortex and an eccentric vortex in which the elliptic vortex,on the one hand, mutually rotates,and on the other hand moves towards the center of the computational domain,at the same time expands its vorticity area,and at last forms the inner core of resultant state vortex;and the eccentric vortex mutually rotates,meanwhile continuously stretches,and finally forms the spiral band of resultant state vortex.The interaction process is characteristic of the vorticity piled up in the inner core region of resultant state vortex originating from the elliptic vortex and the vorticity in spiral band mainly from the successive stretch and rupture of the eccentric vortex.     

热带气旋强度与结构研究新进展

主要回顾热带气旋(TC)强度与结构变化的研究发展近况。以往热带气旋的理论研究认为在给定的大气和海洋热状况下,存在着一个TC所能达到的最大可能强度(MPI)。但实际上,海洋生成的热带气旋达到的最大强度普遍要比由MPI理论计算得到最大强度要低。近几年的研究表明,存在着内部和外部的不利因子通过对TC结构的改变来阻碍其加强,从而限制TC的强度。以往认为在诸多因子中,垂直风切变产生的内核区非对称结构与眼墙区下方海水上涌造成的海面冷却是制约TC达到MPI的主要因子。最新的研究进一步指出,产生TC非对称性的中尺度过程对其强度与结构的变化至关重要。中尺度过程包含有对流耦合的涡旋Rossby波、内外圈螺旋雨带、嵌于TC环流内的中尺度涡旋。外部的环境气流也是通过这些眼墙的中尺度过程影响到TC的强度与结构变化。     

Interesting cases of the interaction between a pair of tropical cyclones and the polar front

Studied is the evolution of the family of tropical cyclones in the Pacific Ocean in 2009. Analyzed is an unusual behavior of real simultaneously existing tropical cyclones (TCs). Investigated is a mechanism of the interaction between a pair of tropical cyclones of various intensities. Considered are the cases of triple interaction between a pair of TCs and the polar front, as well as the transformation and regeneration of TCs due to their entry to the cold front area. The dynamics of groups of real tropical cyclones is compared with the behavior of ideal cyclonic vortices in the experiments with the numerical model. Proposed are the variants of explaining the disappearance and formation of vortices, as well as of loops, zigzags, and sharp turns during their movement.     

边缘区域扰动演变对台风结构的影响

在台风环流边缘区域给出不稳定模态的扰动四波分布作为初始场，用准地转正压模式实施四组数值积分，研究了边缘区域扰动演变及其对台风非对称结构及外区流型的影响。结果表明:线性平流对于外缘区域扰动的发展起主要作用。β项导致一个气旋—反气旋涡旋对和非对称结构的形成。非线性平流则使外缘区域较小尺度的涡旋破碎，形成更小尺度的涡旋。在线性平流、β项和非线性平流的共同作用下，台风结构与外区形成象螺旋云系的分布。外缘区域扰动引起的结构变化，进而能影响到台风的移动路径。     

Tropical cyclone structure in the South China Sea based on high-resolution reanalysis data and comparison with that of ‘bogus’ vortices

Based on high-resolution reanalysis data of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, several samples of tropical cyclones (TCs), including tropical storms, severe tropical storms, and typhoons, in the South China Sea (SCS), were selected for composite analysis. The structures of these three types of vortices and their differences with ‘bogus’ vortices were investigated. Results showed that TCs in the SCS have characteristics that are distinctly different from vortices formed by the bogussing scheme used at Guangzhou Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology, such as no anticyclone in higher layers, strong convergence concentrated at the bottom of the troposphere, and strong divergence happening in higher layers instead of at 400 hPa. These differences provide clues for constructing a more realistic structure for TCs in the SCS. It was also found that the three types of vortices have some structural features in common. The area with high wind speed is fan-shaped in the north around the TC center, the maximum vorticity appears at 925 hPa, the strongest convergence appears at 1000 hPa, and strong divergence is located from 150 to 100 hPa. On the contrary, significant differences between them were revealed. The warm cores in tropical storms, severe tropical storms, and typhoons are located at 600–400 hPa, 400−300 hPa, and 400−250 hPa, respectively. Among the three types of TCs, the bogus vortex of tropical storms has the largest errors in structure and suffers the largest errors in track forecasts. However, typhoons have the largest errors in the forecast of intensity. This may be related to the great impacts of ocean on TC intensity.     

The Dynamical Characteristics and Wave Structure of Typhoon Rananim （2004）

Typhoon Rananim (2004) was one of the severest typhoons landfalling the Chinese mainland from 1996 to 2004. It brought serious damage and induced prodigious economical loss. Using a new generation of mesoscale model, named the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) modeling system, with 1.667 km grid horizontal spacing on the finest nested mesh, Rananim was successfully simulated in terms of track, intensity, eye, eyewall, and spiral rainbands. We compared the structures of Rananim to those of hurricanes in previous studies and observations to assess the validity of simulation. The three-dimensional (3D) dynamic and thermal structures of eye and eyewall were studied based on the simulated results. The focus was investigation of the characteristics of the vortex Rossby waves in the inner-core region. We found that the Rossby vortex waves propagate azimuthally upwind against the azimuthal mean tangential flow around the eyewall, and their period was longer than that of an air parcel moving within the azimuthal mean tangential flow. They also propagated outward against the boundary layer inflow of the azimuthal mean vortex. Futhermore, we studied the connection between the spiral potential vorticity (PV) bands and spiral rainbands, and found that the vortex Rossby waves played an important role in the formation process of spiral rainbands.     

A numerical study of multiple vortex self-organization as forced by mesoscale topography

Summary There exists a common observational phenomenon over the offshore areas of the northwest Pacific, that is, when several mesoscale vortices evolve suddenly into a larger scale typhoon-like vortex within one day, often with serious consequences. In this paper a series of numerical experiments has been designed and performed to emulate this evolution. The model is based on the Charney-Hasegawa-Mima equation, where there are around 40 initial meso-β vortices with parabolic profiles whose central positions, dimensions and intensities are all set stochastically. The self-organization process of these stochastically-distributed multiple meso-β vortices can be divided into two phases. During the first phase, a larger scale vortex similar to a typhoon-like vortex forms near the computational center through the gradual stretching and merging of adjacent meso-β vortices while there are more than 10 isolated vortices surrounding this typhoon-vortex. During the second phase, the isolated vortices are stretched and drawn into the typhoon-vortex circulation and become its spiral arms which are gradually incorporated into the inner area of the typhoon. This is then repeated as new isolated vortices are stretched and become new spiral arms until all the isolated vortices are drawn into the typhoon-vortex. The center of the self-organized typhoon-vortex rotates counterclockwise around the computational center when no topography is involved and is thus a transient vortex. When topography is present the vortex remain in the NE quadrant of the model domain, locked by the topography, and this quasi-steady vortex is thus capable of causing local disasters. Correspondence: Chongjian Liu, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences (CAMS), State Key Labaratory of Severe Weather, 46 Zhongguancum South Avenue, 100081 Beijing, P.R. China     

Effect of Baroclinicity on Vortex Axisymmetrization.Part Ⅱ：Baroclinic Basic Vortex

The effect of baroclinicity on vortex axisymmetrization is examined within a two-layer dynamical model.Three basic state vortices are constructed with varying degrees of baroclinicity：（i） barotropic,（ii） weak baroclinic,and （iii） strong baroclinic.The linear and nonlinear evolution of wavenumber-2 baroclinic disturbances are examined in each of the three basic state vortices.The results show that the radial propagating speed of the vortex Rossby wave at the lower level is larger with the stronger baroclinicity,resulting in a faster linear axisymmetrization process in the stronger baroclinic vortex.It is found that the nonlinear axisymmetrization process takes the longest time in the strongest baroclinic vortex among the three different basic vortices due to the weaker kinetic energy transfer from asymmetric to symmetric circulations at the lower level.A major finding in this study is that the same initial asymmetric perturbation can have different effects on symmetric vortices depending on the initial vortex baroclinicity.In numerical weather prediction models,this implies that there exists a sensitivity of the subsequent structural and intensity change solely due to the specification of the initial vertical shear of the tropical cyclone vortex.     

Typhoon Vortex Self-Organization in a Baroclinic Environment

Self-organization of typhoon vortex in a baroclinic environment is studied based on eight numerical experiments with the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research （PSU/NCAR） Mesoscale Model （MM5）. The results show that, when there are only two 400-km-away mesoscale axisymmetric vortices with a radius of 500 km in the initial field, the two vortices move away from each other during co-rotating till the distance between them greater than a critical distance named co-rotating critical distance. Then, they stop co-rotating. The situation is changed when a small vortex with a radius of 80 kin is introduced in between the two vortices in the initial field, with the two initially separated vortices approaching each other during their co-rotation, and finally self-organizing into a typhoon-like vortex consisting of an inner core and spiral bands. This result supports both Zhou Xiuji＇s view in 1994 and the studies in the barotropic framework concerning the interactions between the same and different scales of vortices. Six other experiments are carried out to study the effects of the initial vortex parameters, including the initial position of the small-scale vortex, the distance and intensity of the initially axisymmetric binary mesoscale vortices. It is found that the distance between the initial axisymmetrie mesoscale vortices is the most important parameter that influences the self-organizing process of the final typhoon-like vortex. This conclusion is similar to that obtained from barotropical model experiments.     

非轴对称双涡相互作用的研究

在平流动力学的框架内,用准地转正压涡度方程模式实施了19组试验,研究双涡合并的条件及较大尺度涡旋自组织的问题。结果指出:(1)存在着两个影响双涡合并的因素,即初始双涡中心之间的距离和初始涡旋的非轴对称分布。初始两个对称涡旋合并具有明显的临界距离效应,但初始两个非轴对称涡旋能否合并还受到初始涡旋的非对称结构的复杂影响。(2)存在着两类不同的较大尺度涡旋的自组织过程,形成较大尺度涡旋。第一类,初始两个涡旋相同,均呈轴对称分布。双涡作用经历了缓变、快变,以及涡量羽翼的生成、拉伸和发展的过程,合并后呈对称性流型;终态涡内区涡量的堆积来源于两个初始涡,终态涡外区的螺旋带来源于两个初始涡外缘线涡量羽翼的拉伸。第二类,初始两个涡旋不同,一个为椭圆型,一个为偏心型,均呈非轴对称分布。双涡作用中,椭圆涡一边互旋,一边向计算区域中心靠近,同时涡量范围加大,形成了终态涡的内核区;偏心涡一边互旋,一边被不断拉伸,形成了终态涡的螺旋带区;表现出终态涡内区的涡量堆集来源于椭圆涡,终态涡外区螺旋带主要来源于偏心涡的反复拉伸及断裂的特性。     

热带气旋"黄蜂"动热力特征演变的模拟分析

以"中国登陆台风试验"项目的目标热带气旋"黄蜂"为对象,用高分辨数值模式成功模拟了其近海加强和登陆减弱的过程,从定量和时间演化角度细致分析了热带气旋(TC)各阶段的动、热力特征,包括对流加热特性、温湿结构、稳定度、涡散度、垂直运动、垂直环流、水平环流等基本动、热力因子的时空结构特征,揭示了该热带气旋的大量结构特点,如对流加热的强盛和非对称性、强热带风暴的无眼结构、低层的东暖西冷结构、涡度的准圆形对称结构、东/西侧环流正/斜压性的差异、低层辐合和上升运动的准周期振荡等等.这些结构特征的揭示对深入细致地研究和认识南海热带气旋的特点和演变机理具有重要学术意义.     

RESEARCH PROGRESS ON THE STRUCTURE AND INTENSITY CHANGE FOR THE LANDFALLING TROPICAL CYCLONES

Landfalling tropical cyclones(LTCs)include those TCs approaching the land and moving across the coast.Structure and intensity change for LTCs include change of the eye wall,spiral rain band,mesoscale vortices,low-layer shear lines and tornadoes in the envelope region of TC,pre-TC squall lines,remote rain bands,core region intensity and extratropical transition(ET)processes,etc.Structure and intensity change of TC are mainly affected by three aspects,namely,environmental effects,inner core dynamics and underlying surface forcing.Structure and intensity change of coastal TCs will be especially affected by seaboard topography,oceanic stratification above the continental shelf and cold dry continental airflow,etc.Rapid changes of TC intensity,including rapid intensification and sudden weakening and dissipation,are the small probability events which are in lack of effective forecasting techniques up to now.Diagnostic analysis and mechanism study will help improve the understanding and prediction of the rapid change phenomena in TCs.     

Low-Order Point Vortex Models of Atmospheric Blocking

Summary Conceptual models of blocking structures are constructed by reducing the two-dimensional atmospheric vorticity field to a few point vortices. The flow is assumed to be barotropic and divergence-free, and a blocking event is represented by a point vortex dipole. The focus is here on the motion of the blocking dipole under the influence of the zonal mean flow. This is modelled in three different ways: A dipole embedded in a latitude-dependent zonal mean flow exhibits neutrally stable oscillations; their period is estimated analytically. A cyclonic point vortex approaching from upstream can either pass the dipole or break it up, so that an Ω-shaped pattern of three vortices emerges. The stationarity of a blocking between two troughs is modelled by four point vortices. These low-order point vortex models are compared with the dynamics of real blockings in case studies. Despite their high degree of simplification, those models reproduce the kinematics of blocking events properly. This results from the discretization of the flow to its actual physical states, the vortices, in contrast to the common, purely mathematical discretization to grid points. Thus, point vortex dynamics are proposed to be a powerful completion of continuous fluid dynamics in explaining blocking events. Received August 30, 1999 Revised December 22, 1999     

Vortex Rossby waves on smooth circular vortices: Part I. Theory

A complete theory of the linear initial-value problem for Rossby waves on a class of smooth circular vortices in both f-plane and polar-region geometries is presented in the limit of small and large Rossby deformation radius. Although restricted to the interior region of barotropically stable circular vortices possessing a single extrema in tangential wind, the theory covers all azimuthal wavenumbers. The non-dimensional evolution equation for perturbation potential vorticity is shown to depend on only one parameter, G, involving the azimuthal wavenumber, the basic state radial potential vorticity gradient, the interior deformation radius, and the interior Rossby number.In Hankel transform space the problem admits a Schrödinger’s equation formulation which permits a qualitative and quantitative discussion of the interaction between vortex Rossby wave disturbances and the mean vortex. New conservation laws are developed which give exact time-evolving bounds for disturbance kinetic energy. Using results from the theory of Lie groups a nontrivial separation of variables can be achieved to obtain an exact solution for asymmetric balanced disturbances covering a wide range of geophysical vortex applications including tropical cyclone, polar vortex, and cyclone/anticyclone interiors in barotropic dynamics. The expansion for square summable potential vorticity comprises a discrete basis of radially propagating sheared vortex Rossby wave packets with nontrivial transient behavior. The solution representation is new, and for this class of swirling flows gives deeper physical insight into the dynamics of perturbed vortex interiors than the more traditional approach of Laplace transform or continuous-spectrum normal-mode representations. In general, initial disturbances are shown to excite two regions of wave activity. At the extrema of these barotropically stable vortices and for a certain range of wavenumbers, the Rossby wave dynamics are shown to become nonlinear for all initial conditions. Extensions of the theory are proposed.     

Finescale Spiral Rainbands Modeled in a High-Resolution Simulation of Typhoon Rananim （2004）

Finescale spiral rainbands associated with Typhoon Rananim(2004)with the band length ranging from 10 to nearly 100 km and band width varying from 5 to 15 km are simulated using the Fifth-Generation NCAR/Penn State Mesoscale Model(MM5).The finescale rainbands have two types:one intersecting the eyewall and causing damaging wind streaks,and the other distributed azimuthally along the inner edge of the eyewall with a relatively short lifetime.The formation of the high-velocity wind streaks results from the interaction of the azimuthal flow with the banded vertical vorticity structure triggered by tilting of the horizontal vorticity.The vertical advection of azimuthal momentum also leads to acceleration of tangential flow at a relatively high altitude.The evolution and structures of the bands are also examined in this study. Further investigation suggests that the boundary inflection points are related tightly to the development of the finescale rainbands,consistent with previous findings using simple symmetric models.In particular,the presence of the level of inflow reversal in the boundary layer is a crucial factor controlling the formation of these bands.The near-surface wavy peaks of vertical vorticity always follow the inflection points in radial flow.The mesoscale vortices and associated convective updrafts in the eyewall are considered to strengthen the activity of finescale bands,and the updrafts can trigger the formation of the bands as they reside in the environment with inflow reversal in the boundary layer.     

CONTOUR DYNAMICS FOR THE MOTION OF MULTIPLE RING VORTICES*

This paper generalizes the contour dynamics for single ring vortices to that for multiple ring vortices, wherein six sets of numerical computation are performed. The phenomenon of the counterclockwise loop of a moving vortex is clearly shown in the computational results and the asymmetric change with time of the vortex structure may serve as a precursor for the phenomenon. Besides, we also discuss the dependence of the motion direction of a vortex upon the degree of its contour denseness, and the dependence of the westward component of vortex motion upon its asymmetric structure. The results are fairly consistent with those of previous dynamical analyses and numerical experiments.     

西北太平洋台风同心眼墙影响因子的初步分析

利用美国威斯康星大学气象卫星研究合作院提供的集成微波图像资料和联合台风预警中心的最佳路径资料,普查2005—2014年西北太平洋地区具有同心眼墙结构的35个强台风个例。对比分析了有、无同心眼墙及同心眼墙生成快、慢的样本的环境场和自身初始结构差异。结果表明:环境场要素对同心眼墙形成与否具有重要调制作用,环境场相对湿度越大,海温越高,同心眼墙越易生成;而同心眼墙的形成速率与自身结构存在密切关系,初始涡旋尺度越大,同心眼墙生成越快,外眼墙位置距离台风中心越远,眼墙替换时间越长,眼墙替换前后强度变化越明显。     

The Roles of Barotropic Instability and the Beta Effect in the Eyewall Evolution of Tropical Cyclones

Diabatic heating by convection in the eyewall often produces an annular region of high potential vorticity (PV) around the relatively low PV eye in a strong tropical cyclone (TC). Such a PV ring is barotropically unstable and can encourage the exponential growth of PV waves. In this study, such instability and the subsequent nonlinear evolution of three TC-like vortices having PV rings with different degrees of hollowness on an f-plane are first examined using an unforced, inviscid shallow-water-equation model. Results show that the simulated eyewalls evolve similarly to those in the nondivergent barotropic model. It is also found that the polygonal eyewall structure can be decomposed into vortex Rossby waves (VRWs) of different wavenumbers with different amplitudes, allowing for wave-wave interactions to produce complicated behaviors of mesovortices in the TC eyewall. The same set of PV rings has been examined on a beta-plane. Although the beta effect has been rendered unimportant to the eyewall evolution due to the relatively small scale of the inner-core circulation, this study shows that the beta effect may erode the coherent structure of mesovortices in the eyewall of an initially hollow PV-ring vortex. Mesovortices modeled on the beta-plane with a greater beta parameter tend to experience an earlier breakdown and enhanced radial gradients of the basic-state (azimuthally mean) angular velocity, followed by wave-wave, wave-flow interactions, leading to earlier merger and axisymmetrization processes. This result implies that the beta effect could be one of the forcings that shorten the lifetime of quasi-steady mesovortices in the eyewall of real TCs.     

一种新的梅雨锋上中尺度涡旋识别方法

中尺度涡旋的发生、发展对梅雨锋暴雨常具有直接作用,客观准确地识别中尺度涡旋有助于提高暴雨预报的准确性。本研究提出一种从格点风场中自动识别中尺度涡旋中心的客观方法。利用美国国家环境预报中心(NCEP)提供的全球模式分析资料,选取2013—2014年梅雨期间两次暴雨个例,考察新方法识别中尺度涡旋的能力,并与现有的两种识别方法(分别基于相对涡度场与基于高度场)进行比较分析。结果表明,由于较小尺度的系统不遵守地转风规则,梅雨锋上许多涡旋的风场环流中心、涡度中心与低压中心位置不重合,影响通过涡度识别或气压识别方法的准确性。新方法从风场出发,可准确识别出大多数涡旋中心,误判率低,定位精度高于无人工辅助下的另外两种方法。接着利用新方法分析了两次暴雨个例中不同中尺度涡旋的垂直结构与时间演变。分析表明,新方法无需人工辅助,无特定层高和时间限制,可在短时间内识别出区域内所有中尺度涡旋的位置、三维结构与时间演变,可用于梅雨期间静止锋上中尺度涡旋的识别和路径的追踪,有助于预报员实时分析与预报暴雨。     

Three Types of Tropical Waves Related to Tropical Cyclogenesis over the Western North Pacific

The present study applies a space-time filter to identify three dominant types of tropical waves： Madden-Julian oscillations （MJOs）, equatorial Rossby （ER） waves, and tropical depression （TD）-type disturbances. The impacts of these waves on tropical cyclones （TCs） were investigated based on 131 observations during the period 2000-07. The results suggest that 72% of TC geneses were related to the joint impacts of more than one type of wave. The composites for cases in different categories reveal that TCs related to the concurrence of the three types of waves have strong and large initial vortices at the time of TC genesis. In the absence of the MJO, ER- and TD-related TC genesis, embedded in easterly flow, exhibits a relatively fast initiation process and gives rise to a relatively small scale vortex. In contrast, without the ER wave contribution, TCs associated with ER and TD waves did not require strong convection at the time of genesis because an initial vortex can rapidly develop in the MJO active phase through persistent energy transfer. The MJO-related TC geneses were scattered in geographic distribution, as opposed to the clustered and eastward shift observed for genesis cases without contributions from MJOs.