海洋上层暖水在热带气旋迅速增强中的作用:基于台风威马逊(1409)的个例研究

在登陆海南岛之前,台风威马逊在南海北部从热带风暴级别迅速增强成为超强台风。观测数据的分析结果显示,海洋上层的异常暖水在威马逊的迅速增强过程中扮演了重要的角色。威马逊期间,南海北部的海表面温度相比于气候态海表面温度暖很多。这部分异常暖水为威马逊提供了更多的能量,从而导致了威马逊的迅速增强。数值模拟结果进一步证明,南海北部的暖水在台风威马逊的迅速增强过程中起重要作用。如果没有这团异常暖水的影响,威马逊只增强25 hPa,仅为有暖水影响条件下增强程度的58.1%。     

Modelling tropical cyclone risks for present and future climate change scenarios using geospatial techniques

Tropical cyclones and their devastating impacts are of great concern to coastal communities globally. An appropriate approach integrating climate change scenarios at local scales is essential for producing detailed risk models to support cyclone mitigation measures. This study developed a simple cyclone risk-modelling approach under present and future climate change scenarios using geospatial techniques at local scales, and tested using a case study in Sarankhola Upazila from coastal Bangladesh. Linear storm-surge models were developed up to 100-year return periods. A local sea level rise scenario of 0.34?m for the year 2050 was integrated with surge models to assess the climate change impact. The resultant storm-surge models were used in the risk-modelling procedures. The developed risk models successfully identified the spatial extent and levels of risk that match with actual extent and levels within an acceptable limit of deviation. The result showed that cyclone risk areas increased with the increase of return period. The study also revealed that climate change scenario intensified the cyclone risk area by 5–10% in every return period. The findings indicate this approach has the potential to model cyclone risk in other similar coastal environments for developing mitigation plans and strategies.     

SIMULATION OF TROPICAL CYCLONES OVER THE WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC AND LANDFALLING IN CHINA BY REGCM4

This study evaluates the performance of the regional climate model RegCM4 in simulating tropical cyclone (TC) activities over the Western North Pacific (WNP) and their landfalling in China. The model is driven by ERA-Interim boundary conditions at a grid spacing of 25 km, with the simulation period as 1991–2010. Results show that RegCM4 performs well in capturing the main structural features of observed TCs, and in simulating the genesis number and annual cycle of the genesis. The model reproduces the general pattern of the observed TC tracks and occurrence frequency. However, significant underestimation of the occurrence frequency as well as the TC intensity is found. Number of the landfalling TCs over China is also much less than the observed. Bias of the model in reproducing the large-scale circulation pattern and steering flow may contribute to the underestimated landfalling TC numbers.     

CONDITIONAL NONLINEAR OPTIMAL PERTURBATIONS: APPLICATION IN TROPICAL CYCLONE FORECASTS

Considering the feature of tropical cyclones (TCs) that strong positive vorticity exists in the lower layers of troposphere, this study proposed to use vorticity at 850 hPa as cost function to find the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation (CNOP), which was largely different from those previous studies using total energy of perturbed forecast variables. The CNOP was obtained by an ensemble-based approach. All of the sensitive areas determined by CNOP with vorticity at 850 hPa as cost function for the three cases were located over the TC core region and its vicinity. The impact of the CNOP-based adaptive observations on TC forecasts was evaluated with three cases via observational system simulation experiments (OSSEs). Results showed obvious improvements in TC intensity or track forecasts due to the CNOP-based adaptive observations, which were related to the main error source of the verification area, i.e., intensity error or location error.     

Boundary-layer wind structure in a landfalling tropical cyclone

In this study, a slab boundary layer model with a constant depth is used to analyze the boundary-layer wind structure in a landfalling tropical cyclone. Asymmetry is found in both the tangential and radial components of horizontal wind in the tropical cyclone boundary layer at landfall. For a steady tropical cyclone on a straight coastline at landfall, the magnitude of the radial component is greater in the offshoreflow side and the tangential component is greater over the sea, slightly offshore, therefore the greater total wind speed occurs in the offshore-flow side over the sea. The budget analysis suggests that： （1） a greater surface friction over land produces a greater inflow and the nonlinear effect advects the maximum inflow downstream, and （2） a smaller surface friction over the sea makes the decrease of the tangential wind component less than that over land. Moreover, the boundary layer wind structures in a tropical cyclone are related to the locations of the tropical cyclone relative to the coastline due to the different surface frictions. During tropical cyclone landfall, the impact of rough terrain on the cyclone increases, so the magnitude of the radial component of wind speed increases in the offshore-flow side and the tangential component outside the radius of maximum wind speed decreases gradually.     

袭港热带气旋持续时间长期频率分析

香港经常受到西北太平洋热带气旋的影响,对该地区热带气旋持续时间的研究有助于经济社会的稳定发展。按照气象和天文台警告信号,热带气旋分为不同的强度等级。建立热带气旋持续时间的Poisson-Weibull复合分布模型,相应获得持续时间重现值的求解公式,分别用于不同热带气旋分类下持续时间多年一遇重现值的计算中。基于1987-2016年袭港热带气旋数据的分析结果表明,Poisson-Weibull分布适用于不同的持续时间分类样本;强的热带气旋经常会伴随较长的持续时间,这将会对该地区造成更为严重的破坏,这可为防灾减灾提供参考。     

孟加拉湾季风对热带气旋生成和发展的调制机制研究

孟加拉湾与其他热带海盆不同,在季风影响下,该地区热带气旋具有双气旋季的独特结构(4—5月的春季转换期和10—11月的秋季转换期)。虽然孟加拉湾气旋频数在10—11月较多,但是4—5月超强气旋(Saffir-Simpson 4,5级)的生成率却远高于10—11月。1981—2016年,春季转换期内孟加拉湾超强气旋都与第一支北传季节内振荡(First Northward-propagating Intra-Seasonal Oscillation,FNISO)相应而生,然而并不是所有伴随FNISO发生的气旋都能发展成为超强气旋。因此本研究以气旋生成指数为基础,利用气旋最佳轨道数据以及NCEP的海气参量数据,诊断指出孟加拉湾夏季风形成的强垂直风速剪切配合低层大气旋度和气旋潜在强度抵消夏季风期间水汽对气旋生成的促进作用,造成双峰分布,而中层大气相对湿度差异双峰不对称的主因。FNISO强度的不同与深对流中心与气旋中心的相对位置的差异,使得部分气旋受季节内振荡影响更大,强深对流的超越作用导致更显著的高低层大气温差,促使气旋具有且达到更大的潜在强度。在年际尺度上大气高低层温差的不同也是引起气旋潜在强度不同的主要原因。当季节内尺度和年际尺度共同作用,使得部分气旋发展成为超强气旋。     

3套资料中西北太平洋热带气旋活动特征的比较分析

本文使用中国气象局、美国联合台风预警中心和日本气象厅的3套热带气旋最佳路径资料(CMA资料、JTWC资料和RSMC资料)分析了1951—2016年西北太平洋热带气旋活动特征。3套资料反映的结果如下:热带气旋主要发生在10°N—25°N范围内,且1980年前其位置点在纬度上有南移的变化趋势,1980年后则相反;移速主要分布在2~6 m/s区间,在25°N左右移速明显加快,1980年前移速呈显著减小趋势;最大持续风速主要分布在10~15 m/s区间,1980年前最大持续风速有减小趋势;在风速较大的区域热带气旋最大风速半径较小,2001—2016年热带气旋和台风最大风速半径每年分别减小0.46 km和0.54 km。CMA和RSMC资料的结果高度一致,而JTWC资料结果与它们都存在一定的差异。热带气旋位置点频数和强度的变化受资料间差异的影响较大,而其位置及移速的变化则受影响较小。     

Seasonal variability of tropical cyclones generated over the South China Sea

The seasonal variability of tropical cyclones (CTCs) generated over the South China Sea (SCS) from 1948 to 2003 is analyzed. It peaks in occurrence in August and few generate in late winter (from January to March). The seasonal activity is attributed to the variability of atmosphere and ocean environments associated with the monsoon system. It is found that the monsoonal characteristics of the SCS basically determine the region of tropical cyclone (TC) genesis in each month.     

Nutrient flux into an intense deep chlorophyll layer in a mode-water eddy

An intense deep chlorophyll layer in the Sargasso Sea was reported near the center of an anticyclonic mode-water eddy by McGillicuddy et al. [2007. Eddy–wind interactions stimulate extraordinary mid-ocean plankton blooms, Science, accepted]. The high chlorophyll was associated with anomalously high concentrations of diatoms and with a maximum in the vertical profile of ¹⁴C primary productivity. Here we report tracer measurements of the vertical advection and turbulent diffusion of deep-water nutrients into this chlorophyll layer. Tracer released in the chlorophyll layer revealed upward motion relative to isopycnal surfaces of about 0.4 m/d, due to solar heating and mixing. The density surfaces themselves shoaled by about 0.1 m/d. The upward flux of dissolved inorganic nitrogen, averaged over 36 days, was approximately 0.6 mmol/m²/d due to both upwelling and mixing. This flux is about 40% of the basin wide, annually averaged, nitrogen flux required to drive the annual new production in the Sargasso Sea, estimated from the oxygen cycle in the euphotic zone, the oxygen demand below the euphotic zone, and from the ³He excess in the mixed layer. The observed upwelling of the fluid was consistent with theoretical models [Dewar, W.K., Flierl, G.R., 1987. Some effects of wind on rings. Journal of Physical Oceanography 17, 1653–1667; Martin, A.P., Richards, K.J., 2001. Mechanisms for vertical nutrient transport within a North Atlantic mesoscale eddy. Deep-Sea Research II 48, 757–773] in which eddy surface currents cause spatial variations in surface stress. The diapycnal diffusivity at the base of the euphotic zone was 3.5±0.5×10⁻⁵ m²/s. Diapycnal mixing was probably enhanced over more typical values by the series of storms passing over the eddy during the experiment and may have been enhanced further by the trapping of near-inertial waves generated within the eddy.