Abstract
The existence of physical solutions for the gradient wind balance is examined at the top of 12 simulated tropical cyclones. The pressure field at the top of these storms, which depends on the vertically integrated effect of the warm core and the near surface low, is found to violate the gradient wind balance—termed here as a state of nonbalance. Using a toy model, it is shown that slight changes in the relative location and relative widths of the warm core drastically increase the isobaric curvature at the upper level pressure maps leading to nonbalance. While idealized storms return to balance within several days, simulations of real-world tropical cyclones retain a considerable degree of nonbalance throughout the model integration. Comparing mean and maximum values of different storms shows that peak nonbalance correlates with either peak intensity or intensification, implying the possible importance of nonbalance at upper levels for the near surface winds.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 8017-8026 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue number | 15 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 16 2017 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Geophysics
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
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On the violation of gradient wind balance at the top of tropical cyclones. / Cohen, Yair; Harnik, Nili; Heifetz, Eyal; Nolan, David S.; Tao, Dandan; Zhang, Fuqing.
In: Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 44, No. 15, 16.08.2017, p. 8017-8026.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - On the violation of gradient wind balance at the top of tropical cyclones
AU - Cohen, Yair
AU - Harnik, Nili
AU - Heifetz, Eyal
AU - Nolan, David S.
AU - Tao, Dandan
AU - Zhang, Fuqing
PY - 2017/8/16
Y1 - 2017/8/16
N2 - The existence of physical solutions for the gradient wind balance is examined at the top of 12 simulated tropical cyclones. The pressure field at the top of these storms, which depends on the vertically integrated effect of the warm core and the near surface low, is found to violate the gradient wind balance—termed here as a state of nonbalance. Using a toy model, it is shown that slight changes in the relative location and relative widths of the warm core drastically increase the isobaric curvature at the upper level pressure maps leading to nonbalance. While idealized storms return to balance within several days, simulations of real-world tropical cyclones retain a considerable degree of nonbalance throughout the model integration. Comparing mean and maximum values of different storms shows that peak nonbalance correlates with either peak intensity or intensification, implying the possible importance of nonbalance at upper levels for the near surface winds.
AB - The existence of physical solutions for the gradient wind balance is examined at the top of 12 simulated tropical cyclones. The pressure field at the top of these storms, which depends on the vertically integrated effect of the warm core and the near surface low, is found to violate the gradient wind balance—termed here as a state of nonbalance. Using a toy model, it is shown that slight changes in the relative location and relative widths of the warm core drastically increase the isobaric curvature at the upper level pressure maps leading to nonbalance. While idealized storms return to balance within several days, simulations of real-world tropical cyclones retain a considerable degree of nonbalance throughout the model integration. Comparing mean and maximum values of different storms shows that peak nonbalance correlates with either peak intensity or intensification, implying the possible importance of nonbalance at upper levels for the near surface winds.
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U2 - 10.1002/2017GL074552
DO - 10.1002/2017GL074552
M3 - Article
VL - 44
SP - 8017
EP - 8026
JO - Geophysical Research Letters
JF - Geophysical Research Letters
SN - 0094-8276
IS - 15
ER -