Hung-Chi Kuo

Potential Vorticity Modeling of the ITCZ and the Hadley Circulation

Abstract A simple zonally symmetric balanced model of the Hadley circulation is presented. The model is based on potential vorticity arguments and consists of a predictive equation for the potential pseudodensity and an invertibility principle to diagnose the associated balanced wind and mass fields. When the theory is formulated in the potential latitude coordinate, the meridional advection is implicit in the coordinate transformation, which makes the prediction equation for potential pseudodensity analytically solvable. For convective heating patterns that simulate the ITCZ, the model produces upper and lower tropospheric potential vorticity anomalies of opposite sign. The associated winds are easterly at low levels and westerly aloft, except between the equator and the ITCZ, where there are low-level westerlies and upper-level easterlies. Since the potential vorticity anomalies develop within a background state that has potential vorticity increasing to the north, reversed poleward gradients of potenti...

Rossby Waves in Zonally Opposing Mean Flow: Behavior in Northwest Pacific Summer Monsoon

Abstract The interactions between monsoon circulations and tropical disturbances in the Northwest Pacific, where the low-level mean flow is westerly in the west and easterly in the east, are studied with a barotropic model. The authors’ model results suggest that the scale contraction by the confluent background flow, the nonlinear dynamics, the β effect, and the large-scale convergence are important for the energy and enstrophy accumulation near the region where the zonal flow reverses. The energy/enstrophy accumulation can be maintained with a continuous Rossby wave emanation upstream. The largest accumulation occurs when the emanating zonal wavelength is around 2000 km. Longer Rossby waves experience less scale contraction and nonlinear effects while shorter Rossby waves cannot hold a coherent structure against dispersive effects. The nonlinear energy/enstrophy accumulation mechanism is significantly different from previous linear energy accumulation theories. In the linear theories this is primarily a...

The Formation of Concentric Vorticity Structures in Typhoons

Abstract An important issue in the formation of concentric eyewalls in a tropical cyclone is the development of a symmetric structure from asymmetric convection. It is proposed herein, with the aid of a nondivergent barotropic model, that concentric vorticity structures result from the interaction between a small and strong inner vortex (the tropical cyclone core) and neighboring weak vortices (the vorticity induced by the moist convection outside the central vortex of a tropical cyclone). The results highlight the pivotal role of the vorticity strength of the inner core vortex in maintaining itself, and in stretching, organizing, and stabilizing the outer vorticity field. Specifically, the core vortex induces a differential rotation across the large and weak vortex to strain out the latter into a vorticity band surrounding the former. The straining out of a large, weak vortex into a concentric vorticity band can also result in the contraction of the outer tangential wind maximum. The stability of the out...

A Possible Mechanism for the Eye Rotation of Typhoon Herb

An elliptical eye that rotated cyclonically with a period of approximately 144 minutes in Typhoon Herb 1996 was documented. The elliptical region had a semimajor axis of 30 km and a semiminor axis of 20 km. Two complete periods of approximately 144 min were observed in the Doppler radar data. The rotation of the elliptical eye in the context of barotropic dynamics at three levels were explored: linear waves on a Rankin vortex, a nonlinear Kirchhoff vortex, and with a nonlinear spectral model. The linear wave theory involves the existence of both the high (potential) vorticity gradient near the eye edge and the cyclonic mean tangential flow in the typhoon. The propagation of (potential) vorticity waves in the cyclonic mean flow makes the elliptical eye rotate cyclonically. The rotation period is longer than the period of a parcel trajectory moving in the cyclonic mean flow around the circumference, because the vorticity wave propagates upwind. The nonlinear theory stems from the rotation of Kirchhoff’s vortex. Estimates of the eye rotation period from both linear and nonlinear theories agree with observations of the eye rotation period when the observed maximum wind from Herb is used. Nonlinear numerical computations suggest the importance of the interaction of neutral vorticity waves, which determine the shape and the rotation period of the eye. The calculations also support the rotation of the eye in approximately 144 min in the presence of axisymmetrization, vorticity redistribution, wave breaking, and vortex merging processes.

Vortex Interactions and Barotropic Aspects of Concentric Eyewall Formation

Concentric eyewall formation can be idealized as the interaction of a tropical cyclone core with nearby weaker vorticity of various spatial scales. This paper considers barotropic aspects of concentric eyewall formation from modified Rankine vortices. In this framework, the following parameters are found to be important in concentric eyewall formation: vorticity strength ratio, separation distance, companion vortex size, and core vortex skirt parameter. A vorticity skirt on the core vortex affects the filamentation dynamics in two important ways. First, the vorticity skirt lengthens the filamentation time, and therefore slows moat formation in the region just outside the radius of maximum wind. Second, at large radii, a skirted core vortex induces higher strain rates than a corresponding Rankine vortex and is thus more capable of straining out the vorticity field far from the core. Calculations suggest that concentric structures result from binary interactions when the small vortex is at least 4–6 times as strong as the larger companion vortex. An additional requirement is that the separation distance between the edges of the two vortices be less than 6–7 times the smaller vortex radius. Broad moats form when the initial companion vortex is small, the vorticity skirt outside the radius of maximum wind is small, and the strength ratio is large. In concentric cases, an outer vorticity ring develops when the initial companion vortex is large, the vorticity skirt outside the radius of maximum wind is small, and the strength ratio is not too large. In general, when the companion vortex is 3 times as strong as the core vortex and the separation distance is 4–6 times the radius of the smaller vortex, a core vortex with a vorticity skirt produces concentric structures. In contrast, a Rankine vortex produces elastic interaction in this region of parameter space. Thus, a Rankine vortex of sufficient strength favors the formation of a concentric structure closer to the core vortex, while a skirted vortex of sufficient strength favors the formation of concentric structures farther from the core vortex. This may explain satellite microwave observations that suggest a wide range of radii for concentric eyewalls.

Cloud Microphysics Impact on Hurricane Track as Revealed in Idealized Experiments

Analyses of tropical cyclones created in an idealized environment reveal how and why cloud microphysical assumptions can influencestorm motion, including speed and direction. It is well known that in the absence of a mean flow, a leading factor in storm propagation is the establishment of ‘‘beta gyres’’ owing to planetary vorticity advection by the storm’s circulation. Previous research demonstrated that tangential winds well beyond the core influence storm motion by helping to determine the gyres’ orientation and intensity. Microphysical assumptions, especially involving average particle fall speeds, can strongly influence the winds at outer radius. More specifically, microphysics modulates the radial distribution of column-average virtual temperature, which largely determines the radial surface pressure gradient and therefore the winds because they tend to be in gradient balance beyond the core. Microphysics schemes can differ markedly with respect to average fall speed, depending on the complexity of the scheme and how interactions among condensation types are handled. Average fall speed controls the outward movement of particles produced in the eyewall into the anvil, where they can influence the environment through cloud‐radiative interactions and phase changes. With the assistance of some special sensitivity tests, the influence of microphysics and fall speed on radial temperature gradients, leading to different outer wind strengths and tracks, is shown. Among other things, this work demonstrates that the treatment of outer rainbands in operational models can potentially influence how simulated storms move, thus affecting position forecasts.

Response of the Hadley Circulation to Convective Forcing in the ITCZ

Abstract Through the use of a zonal balance model we investigate the response of the mean meridional circulation to a specified diabatic forcing for both resting and nonresting zonal flows. The use of a potential latitude coordinate and transformed meridional circulation components results in a simplified meridional circulation equation in which the variable coefficients are the normalized potential vorticity and inertial stability. Solutions of this equation illustrate how latent heat release away from the equator forces a winter hemisphere Hadley cell that is more intense than the summer hemisphere cell. This asymmetric response is due primarily to the anisotropy associated with the spatial variation of the inertial stability field. Despite the sensitivity of the meridional circulation to the location and breadth of the forcing, the low latitude thermodynamic response is for the most part insensitive as long as the total latent heat release remains the same. Numerical solutions of the zonal balance mode...

Potential Vorticity in a Moist Atmosphere

The potential vorticity principle for a nonhydrostatic, moist, precipitating atmosphere is derived. An appropriate generalization of the well-known (dry) Ertel potential vorticity is found to be P 5 r21(2 V1 = 3 u )· =ur, where r is the total density, consisting of the sum of the densities of dry air, airborne moisture (vapor and cloud condensate), and precipitation; u is the velocity of the dry air and airborne moisture; and ur 5 Tr is the virtual potential R /c aP a (p /p) 0 temperature, with Tr 5 p/(rRa) the virtual temperature, p the total pressure (the sum of the partial pressures of dry air and water vapor), p0 the constant reference pressure, Ra the gas constant for dry air, and cPa the specific heat at constant pressure for dry air. Since ur is a function of total density and total pressure only, its use as the thermodynamic variable in P leads to the annihilation of the solenoidal term, that is, =ur ·( =r 3 =p) 5 0. In the special case of an absolutely dry atmosphere, P reduces to the usual (dry) Ertel potential vorticity. For balanced flows, there exists an invertibility principle that determines the balanced mass and wind fields from the spatial distribution of P. It is the existence of this invertibility principle that makes P such a fundamentally important dynamical variable. In other words, P (in conjunction with the boundary conditions associated with the invertibility principle) carries all the essential dynamical information about the slowly evolving balanced part of the flow.

Western north Pacific typhoons with concentric eyewalls

Abstract This study examines the intensity change and moat dynamics of typhoons with concentric eyewalls using passive microwave data and best-track data in the western North Pacific between 1997 and 2006. Of the 225 typhoons examined, 55 typhoons and 62 cases with concentric eyewalls have been identified. The data indicate that approximately 57% of category 4 and 72% of category 5 typhoons possessed concentric eyewalls at some point during their lifetime. While major typhoons are most likely to form concentric eyewalls, the formation of the concentric structure may not be necessarily at the lifetime maximum intensity. Approximately one-third of concentric eyewall cases are formed at the time of maximum intensity. The moat is known to be heavily influenced by the subsidence forced by the two eyewalls. Rozoff et al. proposed that the rapid filamentation dynamics may also contribute to the organization of the moat. This paper examines the possibility of rapid filamentation dynamics by devising a filamentati...

On the Geographic Asymmetry of Typhoon Translation Speed across the Mountainous Island of Taiwan

AbstractThis paper examines the effect of topographically phase-locked convection on the motion of typhoons across the island of Taiwan. Data for 84 typhoons that reached Taiwan’s eastern coast from 1960 to 2010 are analyzed, with motions compared to the long-term average overland translation speed. For 61 continuous-track typhoons among all cases, 77% of the slow-moving tropical cyclones (TCs) made landfall on the northern end of Taiwan’s eastern coast, while 60% of the fast storms had southeastern coastal landfalls.This geographic asymmetry with respect to typhoon translation speeds widened after landfall, as the slow movers typically decelerated during the overland period, whereas the faster TCs sped up. In particular, the average overland duration was 16 h for the slow class, compared to only 3 h for the fast-moving typhoons. The combination of slower translation with longer duration for the northern class of TCs led to large rainfall on the southwestern slope of the island’s Central Mountain Range.We...