DIAGNOSIS OF THE DEVELOPMENTAL MECHANISM OF THE EXTRATROPICAL TRANSITION OF A TROPICAL CYCLONE USING POTENTIAL VORTICITY INVERSION OF FRONTOGENESIS

This paper diagnoses and analyses the developmental mechanism of a process of extratropical transition of a tropical cyclone which occurred over West Pacific Ocean based on a diagnosis method of potential vorticity inversion of frontogenesis. The study diagnoses quantitatively the role and effect of dynamic influence of westerly cold troughs, middle-latitude baroclinic frontal zones, cyclone cycles and unbalanced wind fields during the different stages of the extratropical transition of a tropical cyclone, and also discusses the interaction between them and the developmental mechanism. The results show that there are different developmental mechanisms during each stage of the extratropical transition and the processes are also unbalanced.