Download or read book Observations of Mesoscale Convective Systems During Tropical Cyclone Genesis written by Christopher A. Finta and published by . This book was released on 1997-03-01 with total page 91 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A better understanding of the role mesoscale convective systems (MCS) play in the formation stages of tropical cyclones will increase the ability to predict their occurrence and motion. This thesis employs high resolution satellite imagery to observe the Interaction between MCSs and their environment. Specifically, thirteen cases of tropical disturbances that eventually developed Into tropical cyclones are analyzed to determine the role of MCSs in increasing the system organization. Following two conceptual models developed during the Tropical Cyclone Motion (TCM-93) mini-field experiment, each tropical cyclone is classified according to the relative importance of MCS activity to its development. Both conceptual models are verified through analysis and a third model is created to account for tropical cyclone developments that share features of the previous two models. An alternate approach is proposed for determining tropical system organization using only visible and infrared satellite imagery.
Download or read book Observations of Mesoscale Convective Systems During Tropical Cyclone Genesis written by Christopher A. Finta and published by . This book was released on 1997-03-01 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A better understanding of the role mesoscale convective systems (MCS) play in the formation stages of tropical cyclones will increase the ability to predict their occurrence and motion. This thesis employs high resolution satellite imagery to observe the Interaction between MCSs and their environment. Specifically, thirteen cases of tropical disturbances that eventually developed Into tropical cyclones are analyzed to determine the role of MCSs in increasing the system organization. Following two conceptual models developed during the Tropical Cyclone Motion (TCM-93) mini-field experiment, each tropical cyclone is classified according to the relative importance of MCS activity to its development. Both conceptual models are verified through analysis and a third model is created to account for tropical cyclone developments that share features of the previous two models. An alternate approach is proposed for determining tropical system organization using only visible and infrared satellite imagery.
Download or read book Observation of Mesoscale Convective Systems During Tropical Cyclone Genesis written by Christopher A. Finta and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A better understanding of the role mesoscale convective systems (MCS) play in the formation stages of tropical cyclones will increase the ability to predict their occurrence and motion. This thesis employs high-resolution satellite imagery to observe the interaction between MCSs and their environment. Specifically, thirteen cases of tropical disturbances that eventually developed into tropical cyclones are analyzed to determine the role of MCSs in increasing the system organization. Following two conceptual models developed during the Tropical Cyclone Motion (TCM-93) mini-field experiment, each tropical cyclone is classified according to the relative importance of MCS activity to its development. Both conceptual models are verified through analysis and a third model is created to account for tropical cyclone developments that share features of the previous two models. An alternate approach is proposed for determining tropical system organization using only visible and infrared satellite imagery.
Download or read book Microwave Observations of Mesoscale Convective Systems During Tropical Cyclone Genesis in the Western North Pacific written by David Milot and published by . This book was released on 1998-03-01 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A better understanding of the role mesoscale convective systems (MCS) play in the genesis stages of tropical cyclones will increase the ability to predict their formation. This thesis employs polar-orbiter microwave and geostationary infrared satellite imagery to document MCS structure and evolution during tropical cyclone genesis. Microwave imagery at frequencies of 19.35 GHz and 85.5 GHz are used to define convective and stratiform cloud areal amounts, percent coverage, and time-integrated rain rates. Collocations with geostationary infrared images are used to calibrate that imagery so that the hourly values may be calculated until another microwave image is available. Specifically, seven MCSs in two disturbances that eventually developed into tropical cyclones were analyzed. Two MCSs in non-developing storms are also described for contrast.
Download or read book Uncertainties and Limitations in Simulating Tropical Cyclones written by Asuka Suzuki-Parker and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-01-05 with total page 89 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The thesis work was in two major parts: development and testing of a new approach to detecting and tracking tropical cyclones in climate models; and application of an extreme value statistical approach to enable assessment of changes in weather extremes from climate models. The tracking algorithm applied a creative phase-space approach to differentiate between modeled tropical cyclones and their mid-latitude cousins. A feature here was the careful attention to sensitivity to choice of selection parameters, which is considerable. The major finding was that the changes over time were relatively insensitive to these details. This new approach will improve and add confidence to future assessments of climate impacts on hurricanes. The extremes approach utilized the Generalized Pareto Distribution (one of the standard approaches to statistics of extremes) applied to present and future hurricane distributions as modeled by a regional climate model, then applied the changes to current observations to extract the changes in the extremes. Since climate models cannot resolve these extremes directly, this provides an excellent method of determining weather extremes in general. This is of considerable societal importance as we are most vulnerable to such extremes and knowledge of their changes enables improved planning and adaptation strategies.
Download or read book Global Perspectives On Tropical Cyclones From Science To Mitigation written by Johnny C L Chan and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2010-04-30 with total page 445 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a completely rewritten, updated and expanded new edition of the original Global Perspectives on Tropical Cyclones published in 1995. It presents a comprehensive review of the state of science and forecasting of tropical cyclones together with the application of this science to disaster mitigation, hence the tag: From Science to Mitigation.Since the previous volume, enormous progress in understanding tropical cyclones has been achieved. These advances range from the theoretical through to ever more sophisticated computer modeling, all underpinned by a vast and growing range of observations from airborne, space and ocean observation platforms. The growth in observational capability is reflected by the inclusion of three new chapters on this topic. The chapter on the effects of climate change on tropical cyclone activity is also new, and appropriate given the recent intense debate on this issue. The advances in the understanding of tropical cyclones which have led to significant improvements in forecasting track, intensity, rainfall and storm surge, are reviewed in detail over three chapters. For the first time, a chapter on seasonal prediction is included. The book concludes with an important chapter on disaster mitigation, which is timely given the enormous loss of life in recent tropical cyclone disasters.World Scientific Series on Asia-Pacific Weather and Climate is indexed in SCOPUS.
Download or read book Mesoscale Meteorology in Midlatitudes written by Paul Markowski and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-09-20 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mesoscale Meteorology in Mid-Latitudes presents the dynamics of mesoscale meteorological phenomena in a highly accessible, student-friendly manner. The book's clear mathematical treatments are complemented by high-quality photographs and illustrations. Comprehensive coverage of subjects including boundary layer mesoscale phenomena, orographic phenomena and deep convection is brought together with the latest developments in the field to provide an invaluable resource for mesoscale meteorology students. Mesoscale Meteorology in Mid-Latitudes functions as a comprehensive, easy-to-use undergraduate textbook while also providing a useful reference for graduate students, research scientists and weather industry professionals. Illustrated in full colour throughout Covers the latest developments and research in the field Comprehensive coverage of deep convection and its initiation Uses real life examples of phenomena taken from broad geographical areas to demonstrate the practical aspects of the science
Download or read book An Analysis of Mesoscale Convective Systems Observed During the 1992 Tropical Cyclone Motion Field Experiment written by Eric J. McKinley and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Evolution of Dropsonde Derived Kinematic and Thermodynamic Structures in Developing and Non Developing Atlantic Tropical Convective Systems written by Charles Nelson Helms and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ABSTRACT: The process by which tropical cyclones evolve from loosely organized convective clusters into well organized systems is still poorly understood. Due to the data sparse regions in which tropical cyclones form, observational studies of tropical cyclogenesis are often more difficult than similar studies of land-based phenomena. As a result, many studies of tropical cyclogenesis are limited to either a few case studies or are forced to rely on simulations to examine the genesis process. The recent PREDICT and GRIP field experiments have provided a new opportunity to gain insight into these processes using unusually dense observations in both time and space. The present study aims at using this new data to perform a detailed analysis of the three-dimensional evolution of both kinematic (e.g. vorticity and divergence) and thermodynamic (i.e. temperature and moisture) in both developing and non-developing tropical convective systems in the western Atlantic. By examining these structures relative to one another, the nature of the system evolution can be better understood. In order to better capture the true state of the atmosphere in these systems, a new method of calculating vorticity, divergence, and deformation from non-gridded observations using Green's theorem is also presented. Previous approaches using Green's theorem on a non-uniform data distribution have either used triangular regions, which are easily implemented in computer code, or hand-selected polygonal regions, which are more robust. The method presented here combines both convenience and robustness and is shown to be significantly more accurate than triangle-based methods on a random distribution of observations as well as on flight-path-based distributions. Using this new data and analysis method, five tropical convective systems are analyzed- three non-developing and two developing. Although the analysis includes only a limited number of cases, the results suggest that there is little kinematic difference between the developing and non-developing systems. In most cases, the only significant difference between developing and non-developing systems is in the distribution of humidity. In the developing cases the vorticity maxima are encased in high relative humidity values at all levels. In the non-developing cases the vorticity maximum either extends into regions of dry air or mid-level vorticity generation non-existent, likely due to an excessively dry middle troposphere. Additionally, many of the cases, both developing and non-developing, exhibit evidence of vorticity generation associated, at mid-levels, with a mesoscale convective system and, at low-levels, with deep convective activity.
Download or read book Global Tropical Cyclogenesis written by E.A. Sharkov and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2001-04-18 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tropical cyclones are the most impressive and best phenomenon of the tropics, and this book fills a need for a thorough detailed book on the subject, concentrating on the remote sensing results on both initial and mature forms of tropical cyclones. It provides a comprehensive description of the physical, geophysical and meteorological foundations of global tropical cyclogenesis. The author emphasises the physical aspects necessary to judge the possibilities and limitations of monitoring mitigation methods, and includes numerous applications and illustrations from up-to-date airborne and satellite experiments.
Download or read book Hurricanes written by Henry F. Diaz and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hurricanes of the North Atlantic Ocean have left their imprint on the landscape and human cultures for thousands of years. In modern times, fewer lifes have been lost due, in part, to the development of modern communication systems, and to improved understanding of the mechanisms of storm formation and movement. However, the immense growth of human populations in coastal areas, which are at risk to hurricanes, has resulted in very large increases in the amount of property damage sustained in the last decade in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean regions. This book is of interest to climatologists and meteorologists and as source of information for policymakers and emergency management planners.
Download or read book Evaluating the Influence of Sea Surface Temperature on Tropical Cyclone Genesis written by Cecile Defforge and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Tropical cyclones are one of the most dangerous natural disasters and their genesis frequency is tightly linked to environmental conditions. Warm sea surface temperature (SST) is thought to be one of the factors favorable to tropical cyclone (TC) genesis. Recent studies have examined the role of anthropogenic changes in sea surface temperature and other environmental variables in determining changes in tropical cyclone genesis. Here, a basin-by-basin analysis of the SST distributions in the five most active ocean basins shows that the distributions of genesis SST are close to normal distributions that differ between basins, indicating that an apparent global threshold arises from the climatologically coldest basins. Furthermore, the resemblance between these distributions and those of SSTs observed during summer indicates that warm SSTs favor TC genesis only over the cold half of the SSTs encountered during summer, except for the East Pacific basin. In contrast to SST, the distribution of the difference between upper- and lower-level equivalent potential temperature, a measure of convective instability, differs substantially between TC genesis and summer seasons. There is a high level of correlation between time series of SST at TC genesis and SST observed over the main development regions and periods, and both feature significant warming trends over the past 30 years. These time series are also similar to those obtained considering all tropical deep convection events. While the long-term trend in SST observed during tropical deep convection events has previously been documented, the trend in SST at tropical cyclogenesis is a newly detected anthropogenic TC change. The warming trend observed for genesis SST is mostly due to the temporal warming of the oceans, which is slightly counterbalanced by the effect of poleward track migration, toward climatologically colder regions.Last, simulations of zonally asymmetric climate states with different CO2 concentrations show that TC frequency is mostly sensitive to the meridional shift of the inter-tropical convergence zone and, to a smaller extent, to SST changes. The local response of environmental variables (SST and precipitation rate) and of the TC frequency in the simulated cold region is stronger than in the warm region, resulting in a global decrease in the number of TCs and hurricanes, relative to symmetric climate states." --
Download or read book Mesoscale Meteorology and Forecasting written by Peter Ray and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-03-30 with total page 803 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a collection of selected lectures presented at the ‘Intensive Course on Mesoscale Meteorology and Forecasting’ in Boulder, USA, in 1984. It includes mesoscale classifications, observing techniques and systems, internally generated circulations, mesoscale convective systems, externally forced circulations, modeling and short-range forecasting techniques. This is a highly illustrated book and comprehensive work, including extensive bibliographic references. It is aimed at graduates in meteorology and for professionals working in the field.
Download or read book Tropical Cyclogenesis written by William Anthony Komaromi and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This research is a study of the behavior of the observed processes leading up to genesis, and how ensembles can be used to assess their predictability. In the first part of this study, dropwindsonde observations of developing and non-developing tropical waves are examined from the 2010 Pre-Depression Investigation of Cloud Systems in the Tropics (PREDICT) field campaign. Significant results include the development of positive temperature anomalies from 500-200 hPa two days prior to genesis in developing waves, which is not observed in the non-genesis mean. Progressive mesoscale moistening of the column is observed within 150 km of the center of circulation prior to genesis. The genesis composite is found to be significantly more moist than the non-genesis composite at the middle levels, while comparatively drier at low levels, suggesting that dry air is more detrimental to genesis when located at the middle levels. Time-varying tangential wind profiles reveal an initial delay in intensification, followed by an increase in organization 24 hours pre-genesis. The vertical evolution of relative vorticity, in addition to a warm-over-cold thermal structure, is more consistent with a top-down than a bottom-up genesis mechanism. Thereafter, several metrics are employed to evaluate predictive skill and attempt to quantify predictability using the ECMWF Ensemble Prediction System during the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, with an emphasis on large-scale variables relevant to tropical cyclogenesis. These metrics include: (1) Growth and saturation of error; (2) Errors versus climatology; (3) Predicted forecast error standard deviation; and (4) Predictive Power. Overall, variables that are more directly related to large-scale, slowly-varying phenomena are found to be much more predictable than variables that are inherently related to small-scale convective processes, regardless of the metric. For example, 850-200 hPa wind shear and 200 hPa velocity potential are found to be predictable beyond one week, while 200 hPa divergence and 850 hPa relative vorticity are only predictable to about one day. Similarly, area-averaged quantities such as circulation are much more predictable than non-averaged quantities such as vorticity. Significant day-to-day and month-to-month variability of predictability for a given metric also exists, likely due to the flow regime. For wind shear, more amplified flow regimes are associated with lower Predictive Power (and thereby lower predictability) than less amplified regimes. Relative humidity is found to be less predictable in the early and late season when there exists greater uncertainty of the timing and location of dry air. Similarly, significant case-to-case variability is observed in the wave-relative analysis. For some genesis events, predictability of genesis appears to be directly related to the capability of the ensemble to predict an environment favorable for genesis. In other cases, predictability appears to be more directly associated with the strength and location of the initial disturbance in the model. By examining forecast joint distributions of variables, predicted relative humidity values at 700 hPa of less than 60% in the wave core (
Download or read book Tropical Cyclogenesis and Its Relation to Interactions Between African Easterly Waves and Mesoscale Convective Systems written by Kelly Nunez Ocasio and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tropical cyclogenesis remains a challenging research topic, in part due to the limited understanding of the interactions between the mesoscale processes and the TC-seedling synoptic-scale vortex. The interactions between African easterly waves (AEWs) and mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) over Africa and east Atlantic and how they pertain to the formation of tropical cyclone (TCs) are documented. First, an algorithm that objectively tracks MCSs over Africa is developed to analyze the morphology and climatology of these systems over Africa. It is shown that realistic MCS propagation over Africa is attained when the tracker accounts for the African Easterly Jet (AEJ) mean background flow in which the MCSs propagate on. With an MCS dataset in place, a climatology AEW-MCS dataset is developed to perform a wave-relative analysis of AEW-MCS systems over Africa and over the Main Development Region. It is found that the MCSs of developing AEW-MCS systems (those that develop into TCs) are more likely to be in phase with and propagate at the same speed as the AEW trough. In contrast, the MCSs of non-developing AEW-MCS systems are more likely to be positioned south of the AEW trough and do not necessarily propagate at the same speed. In addition, it is found that developing AEWs over West Africa are associated with a larger number of Convective Cloud Clusters (CCCs; squall line-type systems) than non-developing AEWs. Over West Africa, the fraction of extremely large MCS areas associated with developing AEWs is larger than for non-developing AEWs. These findings support the notion that both the position of moisture and latent heating relative to the AEW trough are essential for cyclogenesis. At the synoptic-scale, significant differences between developing and non-developing AEWs are identified over eastern Africa (region of AEW onset) that can inform tropical cyclogenesis prediction. TC precursors when compared to non-developing AEWs experience: anomalously active West African Monsoon, stronger northerly flow, more intense zonal Somali jet, anomalous convergence over the Marrah Mountains (region of AEW forcing), and a more intense and elongated African easterly jet (AEJ). These more favorable large scale condition for developers reflect in their initial 850-hPa dynamic and thermodynamic structure over eastern Africa. It is found that AEWs that initiate over eastern Africa and cross the west coast of Africa are more likely to undergo tropical cyclogenesis than those initiating over central or west Africa. Developing AEWs are also more likely to be southern-track AEWs than non-developers.
Download or read book Cloud Dynamics written by Robert A. Houze Jr. and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 1994-06-28 with total page 605 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clouds play a critical role in the Earth's climate, general atmospheric circulation, and global water balance. Clouds are essential elements in mesoscale meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, air pollution, atmosphericradiation, and weather forecasting, and thus must be understood by any student or researcher in the atmospheric sciences. Cloud Dynamics provides a skillful and comprehensive examination of the nature of clouds--what they look like and why, how scientists observe them, and the basic dynamics and physics that underlie them. The book describes the mechanics governing each type of cloud that occurs in Earth's atmosphere, and the organization of various types of clouds in larger weather systems such as fronts, thunderstorms, and hurricanes.This book is aimed specifically at graduate students, advanced undergraduates, practicing researchers either already in atmospheric science or moving in from a related scientific field, and operational meteorologists. Some prior knowledge of atmospheric dynamics and physics is helpful, but a thorough overview of the necessary prerequisites is supplied. Provides a complete treatment of clouds integrating the analysis of air motions with cloud structure, microphysics, and precipitation mechanics Describes and explains the basic types of clouds and cloud systems that occur in the atmosphere-fog, stratus, stratocumulus, altocumulus, altostratus, cirrus, thunderstorms, tornadoes, waterspouts, orographically induced clouds, mesoscale convection complexes, hurricanes, fronts, and extratropical cyclones Presents a photographic guide, presented in the first chapter, linking the examination of each type of cloud with an image to enhance visual retention and understanding Summarizes the fundamentals, both observational and theoretical, of atmospheric dynamics, thermodynamics, cloud microphysics, and radar meteorology, allowing each type of cloud to be examined in depth Integrates the latest field observations, numerical model simulations, and theory Supplies a theoretical treatment suitable for the advanced undergraduate or graduate level
Download or read book Climate Dynamics written by De-Zheng Sun and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-05-02 with total page 545 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 189. Climate Dynamics: Why Does Climate Vary? presents the major climate phenomena within the climate system to underscore the potency of dynamics in giving rise to climate change and variability. These phenomena include deep convection over the Indo-Pacific warm pool and its planetary-scale organization: the Madden-Julian Oscillation, the monsoons, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and the low-frequency variability of extratropical circulations. The volume also has a chapter focusing on the discussion of the causes of the recent melting of Arctic sea ice and a chapter devoted to the discussion of the causes of recent changes in the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones. On each topic, the basic material of climate dynamics is covered to aid the understanding of the forefront research, making the volume accessible to a broad spectrum of readers. The volume highlights include Diabatic and nonlinear aspects of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation Causes of sea ice melting in the Arctic Impact of global warming on tropical cyclone activity Origins of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation Causes of climate variability of Asian monsoons The volume will be of particular interest to graduate students and young researchers in atmospheric and oceanic sciences and related disciplines such as geology and geography. The book will also be a good read for those who have a more general interest in the Earth's climate and why it varies.