On the formation and development of tropical cyclones

A method of diagnostic calculation of the maximal wind speed in the tropical cyclone, its radius, and central pressure is proposed taking into account large-scale air motions in a low-gradient baric field between subtropical anticyclones. The results of such calculations are considered. A conclusion is made about sufficient accuracy of calculations of the parameters within the tropical zone using only dynamic factors.     

The motion of binary tropical cyclones

Summary When two tropical cyclones are present simultaneously in the same region they show as a rule a counterclockwise rotation around each other. A theoretical explanation of this motion is given. The theory permits the computation of the rate of rotation. A discussion of nine examples with sufficiently reliable and complete observational data gives a satisfactory agreement between theoretical and observed rates of rotation.

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Zusammenfassung Es ist häufig beobachtet worden, daß zwei tropische Zyklonen sich entgegen dem Uhrzeigersinne umeinander bewegen. Eine theoretische Erklärung dieser Bewegung kann gegeben werden auf Grund der Annahme, daß sich jedes Zyklonenzentrum unter dem Einfluß des Windfeldes der anderen Zyklone bewegt; auf Grund dieser Theorie läßt sich die Rotationsgeschwindigkeit des Zyklonenpaares berechnen. An Hand von neun Fällen mit genügend zuverlässigem und vollständigem Beobachtungsmaterial wird gezeigt, daß gute Übereinstimmung zwischen Theorie und Beobachtung besteht.

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Résumé On a souvent observé que deux cyclones tropicaux se meuvent l'un par rapport à l'autre dans le sens inverse des aiguilles d'une montre. On peut expliquer le fait en admettant que chaque centre cyclonique se déplace sous l'influence du champ de vent de l'autre. Grâce à cette hypothèse on peut calculer la vitesse de rotation de la paire de cyclones. Neuf exemples richement documentés montrent un bon accord entre la théorie et l'observation.

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With 3 Figures.     

南海热带气旋引起的海表面温度变化特征分析

本文利用热带降雨测量卫星微波成像的微波遥感资料反演的高分辨率海表面温度(SST)资料,分别分析了南海4种典型热带气旋所引起的SST变化特征.结果表明,由于路径、移速和海面热力状况等方面的差异,这4种热带气旋在南海造成的海面降温具有不同的特征.热带气旋Imbudo(0308)属快速移动的西行路径型,在其路径的右侧造成了较大的降温区,降温中心离热带气旋中心约120km;热带气旋Chanchu(0601)为西行北翘型,在其路径两侧分别形成两个降温中心;打转型热带气旋很容易在其打转处形成降温中心,热带气旋Kai-Tak(0004)在海面造成了9.75°C的降温,在其打转处存在一个持续时间很长的冷涡;热带气旋Vongfong(0214)由于其左侧是南海西部夏季冷涡,混合层深度较浅,其作用使得冷涡加强,并在其路径的左侧造成大面积降温区.     

Study on climatic characteristics of China-influencing tropical cyclones

Analysis of the climatic characteristics of the tropical cyclones that affect China yields several interesting features. The frequency of these tropical cyclones tended to decrease from 1951 to 2005, with the lowest frequency in the past ten years. The decrease in the frequency of super typhoons is particularly significant. The main season of tropical cyclone activities is from May to November, with an active period from July to September. There are three obvious sources of these tropical cyclones and they vary with seasons and decades. Their movement has also changed with seasons. On average, these tropical cyclones affect China for 5.6 months annually and the period of influence decreases in the past decades. An analysis of daily data indicates that the days of typhoon influence are shorter in winter and spring and longer in summer. The frequency of tropical cyclones is the largest over southeastern China, decreasing northwestward. Taiwan is the region that is affected by tropical cyclones most frequently. The average annual precipitation associated with tropical cyclones has also decreased gradually northwestward from southeastern China.     

Estimating the maximum potential intensity of tropical cyclones

Estimates of the maximum potential intensity (MPI) of tropical cyclones (TC) using different model on the base of in situ measurements are analyzed. Estimates published by other researchers and the ones obtained by the author are used. The inadequacy of model estimates of MPI and the real intensity of TC is registered in a number of cases, that is, first of all, related to the neglect of a number of peculiarities of TC structure and their environment in models, which are available nowadays.     

Ocean feedback to tropical cyclones: climatology and processes

This study presents the first multidecadal and coupled regional simulation of cyclonic activity in the South Pacific. The long-term integration of state-of the art models provides reliable statistics, missing in usual event studies, of air–sea coupling processes controlling tropical cyclone (TC) intensity. The coupling effect is analyzed through comparison of the coupled model with a companion forced experiment. Cyclogenesis patterns in the coupled model are closer to observations with reduced cyclogenesis in the Coral Sea. This provides novel evidence of air–sea coupling impacting not only intensity but also spatial cyclogenesis distribution. Storm-induced cooling and consequent negative feedback is stronger for regions of shallow mixed layers and thin or absent barrier layers as in the Coral Sea. The statistical effect of oceanic mesoscale eddies on TC intensity (crossing over them 20 % of the time) is also evidenced. Anticyclonic eddies provide an insulating effect against storm-induced upwelling and mixing and appear to reduce sea surface temperature (SST) cooling. Cyclonic eddies on the contrary tend to promote strong cooling, particularly through storm-induced upwelling. Air–sea coupling is shown to have a significant role on the intensification process but the sensitivity of TCs to SST cooling is nonlinear and generally lower than predicted by thermodynamic theories: about 15 rather than over 30 hPa °C^?1 and only for strong cooling. The reason is that the cooling effect is not instantaneous but accumulated over time within the TC inner-core. These results thus contradict the classical evaporation-wind feedback process as being essential to intensification and rather emphasize the role of macro-scale dynamics.     

Mesoscale structure of tropical cyclones in the surface wind field

The mesoscale structure of tropical cyclones in the northwest Pacific in 2002–2007 at different stages of evolution (from the genesis to the maximum intensity) is studied using the QuikSCAT satellite data and JRA-25 reanalysis data. It is demonstrated that the genesis of the tropical cyclone was preceded by the formation of the stable disturbance that was observed in the vorticity field on the average 47 hours before the first report. The variability is noted of the mesoscale structure of the cyclone during the process of its formation and evolution: the increase in the intensity of mesovortices, the decrease in their number as a result of the merging, the narrowing of the area occupied by them, and localization of this area near the center at the stage of maximum development. It is shown that the relationship between the mean intensity of mesovortices at the initial disturbance and the tropical cyclone intensity is close to linear and has high correlation coefficients.     

Numerical simulation of tropical cyclones by an axisymmetric nonhydrostatic model

Summary As an approach to study the mesoscale processes within a typhoon, an axisymmetric nonhydrostatic numerical model is developed without the use of convective parameterization. Many simulated characteristics are consistent with radar and aircraft observations, such as the maximum of vertical and tangential wind, the inflow concentrated near the surface, the outward slope of the eyewall updraft, etc. The model duplicates not only the outward propagation of mesoscale convective systems, but also the inward movement of convective rings, the rate of which coincides with the observation. Besides, the model gives good simulations of the life cycle of convective rings, and indicates that the convective rings far from the eyewall play important roles in the fluctuation of typhoon intensity. Numerical results also exhibit the existence of coupling between outer and inner core structure.Analyses of the simulations show that convective momentum transport generates local maximum absolute angular momentum in the middle and upper troposphere. The momentum anomaly results in symmetric instability, which provides the environment to form convective rings. While the momentum anomaly moves outward with the outflow in the middle and upper troposphere, it initiates a series of convective rings with aid of other direct factors, which explains the outward propagation of convective systems.The simulations exhibit the life cycle of a typical convective ring in terms of three stages, or the developing, mature and dissipating stage. Analysis shows that the symmetric instability and the convective instability promote each other, and their cooperation makes the life of convective rings longer.With 8 Figures     

Feedback between convective heating and dynamics and movements of tropical cyclones

Summary It is shown that there exists a mechanism that can cause north-northwest movement of tropical cyclones in addition to already recognised mechanisms such as steering current and beta drift. This mechanism depends on the interaction between organised convection and dynamics. In the initial stages of formation of a cyclone, it is assumed that the hydrodynamic instabilities result in an incipient disturbance that organises some convection giving rise to a heat source. The atmospheric response to a localized heat source located off the equator in the northern hemisphere produces a low level vorticity field with a maximum in the northwest sector of the original heat source. If the Ekman-CISK which depends on the low level vorticity, was the dominating mechanism for moisture convergence, the location of the heat source would move to the new location of vorticity maximum. A repetition of this process would result in a northwest movement of the heat source and hence that of the cyclone. The movement of a tropical vortex under the influence of this mechanism which depends on asymmetries created by linear dispersion of Rossby waves is first illustrated using a linear model. It is then demonstrated that this process also enhances the motion of a tropical vortex in a nonlinear model. Importance of this feedback and the resulting movements of a tropical vortex in determining the actual track of a cyclone and in bogusing an initial vortex for prediction models are illustrated.With 6 Figures     

孟加拉湾热带风暴的初步分析

本文利用14年孟咖拉湾热带风暴资料,给出了其概况,分析了引起孟加拉湾热带风暴的活动双峰型特征的原因及多热带风暴月和无热带风暴月的环境流场。     

Buoyancy in tropical cyclones and other rapidly rotating atmospheric vortices

Motivated primarily by its application to understanding tropical-cyclone intensification and maintenance, we re-examine the concept of buoyancy in rapidly rotating vortices, distinguishing between the buoyancy of the symmetric balanced vortex or system buoyancy, and the local buoyancy associated with cloud dynamics. The conventional definition of buoyancy is contrasted with a generalized form applicable to a vortex, which has a radial as well as a vertical component. If, for the special case of axisymmetric motions, the balanced density and pressure distribution of a rapidly rotating vortex are used as the reference state, the buoyancy field then characterizes the unbalanced density perturbations, i.e. the local buoyancy. We show how to determine such a reference state without approximation.The generation of the toroidal circulation of a vortex, which is necessary for vortex amplification, is characterized in the vorticity equation by the baroclinicity vector. This vector depends, inter-alia, on the horizontal (or radial) gradient of buoyancy evaluated along isobaric surfaces. We show that for a tropical-cyclone-scale vortex, the buoyancy so calculated is significantly different from that calculated at constant height or on surfaces of constant σ (σ = (p − p^*)/(p_s − p^*), where p is the actual pressure, p^* some reference pressure and p_s is the surface pressure). Since many tropical-cyclone models are formulated using σ-coordinates, we examine the calculation of buoyancy on σ-surfaces and derive an expression for the baroclinicity vector in σ-coordinates. The baroclinic forcing term in the azimuthal vorticity equation for an axisymmetric vortex is shown to be approximately equal to the azimuthal component of the curl of the generalized buoyancy. A scale analysis indicates that the vertical gradient of the radial component of generalized buoyancy makes a comparatively small contribution to the generation of toroidal vorticity in a tropical cyclone, but may be important in tornadoes and possibly also in dust devils.We derive also a form of the Sawyer–Eliassen equation from which the toroidal (or secondary) circulation of a balanced vortex may be determined. The equation is shown to be the time derivative of the toroidal vorticity equation in which the time rate-of-change of the material derivative of potential toroidal vorticity is set to zero. In analogy with the general case, the diabatic forcing term in the Sawyer–Eliassen equation is shown to be approximately equal to the time rate-of-change of the azimuthal component of the curl of generalized buoyancy.Finally, we discuss the generation of buoyancy in tropical cyclones and contrast the definitions of buoyancy that have been used in recent studies of tropical cyclones. We emphasize the non-uniqueness of the buoyancy force, which depends on the choice of a reference density and pressure, and note that different, but equivalent interpretations of the flow dynamics may be expected to arise if different reference quantities are chosen.     

On the bogusing of tropical cyclones in numerical models: The influence of vertical structure

Summary In this study, idealised conditions are used to study the influence of vertical structure of the bogus vortex on its motion in numerical models by comparing the resultant forecast tracks. Two vortices were used: one has a cyclonic circulation throughout the troposphere and the other has an upper tropospheric anticyclone. Both vortices have the same structure in the middle and lower troposphere. The two vortices were inserted into four different environmental flows on a beta-plane: (a) a resting atmosphere; (b) a uniform flow; (c) a horozontal shear flow and (d) a vertical shear flow. The results show that the forecast tracks are very sensitive to the vertical structure of the bogus vortex, especially when the environmental flow is very weak, or is westerly and has a cyclonic horizontal shear. However, this sensitivity is reduced in moderate vertical shear. This motion sensitivity is found to arise from the vertical coupling mechanism by which the upper-and lower-level circulations interact with each other when a horizontal displacement occurs between them.The vertical structure of the bogus vortex can also affect the intensity of the model cyclone, depending on the configuration of the environmental flow. In general, the bogus vortex without an upper-level anticyclone will intensify quicker and will develop more intense than the one with an upper-level anticyclone. The vertical coupling mechanism can result in different asymmetric rainfall pattern in cyclone core region depending on the vertical structure of the bogus vortex. The asymmetric divergent flow associated with these convective asymmetries may in turn further influence the vortex motion. It is suggested that care needs to be taken in determining the vertical structure of the bogus vortex in numerical models.With 14 Figures     

The Intra-Seasonal Oscillation and its control of tropical cyclones simulated by high-resolution global atmospheric models

Project Athena is an international collaboration testing the efficacy of high-resolution global climate models. We compare results from 7-km mesh experiments of the Nonhydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) and 10-km mesh experiments of the Integrated Forecast System (IFS), focusing on the Intra-Seasonal Oscillation (ISO) and its relationship with tropical cyclones (TC) among the boreal summer period (21 May–31 Aug) of 8?years (2001–2002, 2004–2009). In the first month of simulation, both models capture the intra-seasonal oscillatory behavior of the Indian monsoon similar to the observed boreal summer ISO in approximately half of the 8-year samples. The IFS simulates the NW–SE-oriented rainband and the westerly location better, while NICAM marginally reproduces mesoscale organized convective systems and better simulates the northward migration of the westerly peak and precipitation, particularly in 2006. The reproducibility of the evolution of MJO depends on the given year; IFS simulates the MJO signal well for 2002, while NICAM simulates it well for 2006. An empirical orthogonal function analysis shows that both models statistically reproduce MJO signals similar to observations, with slightly better phase speed reproduced by NICAM. Stronger TCs are simulated in NICAM than in IFS, and NICAM shows a wind-pressure relation for TCs closer to observations. TC cyclogenesis is active during MJO phases 3 and 4 in NICAM as in observations. The results show the potential of high-resolution global atmospheric models in reproducing some aspects of the relationship between MJO and TCs and the statistical behavior of TCs.     

登陆我国热带气旋频数和强度变化的气候特征

本文利用数理统计方法,对登陆我国的热带气旋频数进行分析。发现热带气旋登陆前24、12、6小时近中心最大风速V_1、V_2、V_3分别与登陆后24小时平均最大风速和它们的差值成线性关系。求得了登陆我国台湾、海南、广东、福建四省的V_1、V_2、V_3与/V_1、/V_2、/V_3的回归方程。另外,对登陆我国热带气旋的频数及强度变化进行了气候分析,指出了一些气候特征。     

Variation characteristics of tropical cyclones making landfall in China at different intensities

According to the national standard(2006)on tropical cyclone(TC)intensity,TCs are categorized into six intensity types,namely,tropical depression(TD),tropical storm(TS),severe tropical storm(STS), typhoon(TY),severe typhoon(STY),and super severe typhoon(SSTY).Fifty-eight years(1949–2006)of the datasets from the Yearbook of Typhoons and Yearbook of Tropical Cyclones were used to study the variation characteristics of TCs making landfalls in mainland China,Hainan and Taiwan islands.The main results are as foll...     

中国大陆上变性加强热带气旋的诊断分析

利用1979-2007年日本气象厅热带气旋年鉴资料,对在中国大陆上发生变性的热带气旋进行了统计分析,结果表明:29 a间中国大陆上发生变性的热带气旋共有16个,占登陆中国热带气旋总数的8.56％,其中8个变性后加强.利用日本JRA-25再分析资料诊断分析了这8个变性加强热带气旋的湿位涡垂直分布特征以及影响热带气旋变性发...     

A 28-Year Climatological Analysis of Size Parameters for Northwestern Pacific Tropical Cyclones

A 28-year best track dataset containing size parameters that include the radii of the 15.4 m s^-1 winds （R15） and the 25.7 m s^-1 winds （R26） of tropical cyclones （TCs） in the Northwestern Pacific, the NCEP/ NCAR reanalysis dataset and the Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature （ERSST） dataset are employed in this study. The climatology of size parameters for the tropical cyclones in the Northwestern Pacific from 1977 to 2004 is investigated in terms of the spatial and temporal distributions. The results show that the major activity of TCs in the Northwestern Pacific is from July to October. A majority of TCs lie over the ocean west of 150°E, and a few TCs can intensify to the Saffir-Simpson （S-S） categories 4, 5. Both R15 and R26 tend to increase as the tropical cyclones intensify. The values of R15 and R26 are larger for intense TCs in the Northwestern Pacific than in the North Atlantic generally. Both R15 and R26 peak in October, and before and after October, R15 and R26 decrease, which is different from the case in the North Atlantic. The smaller R15s and R26s occur in a large range over the Northwestern Pacific, while the larger R15s and R26s mainly lie in the eastern ocean from Taiwan Island to the Philippine Islands where many tropical cyclones develop in intense systems. The tropical cyclones with size parameters of R15 or R26 on average take a longer time to intensify than to weaken, and the weak tropical cyclones have faster weakening rates than intensification rates. From 1977 to 2004, the annual mean values of R15 increase basically with year; during the 28-year period, the value of R15 increases by 52.7 kin, but R26 does not change with year obviously.