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Effects of perturbation type on tropical cyclone size over tropical North Western Pacific and Atlantic

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Abstract

In authors’ previous studies, the role of distinctive mean states in the western North Pacific (WNP) and North Atlantic (NA) in affecting tropical cyclone (TC) size was investigated. In this study, the effect of different synoptic scale perturbation types in the two basins on TC size is further investigated. Numerical model experiments with an initial synoptic wave train (SWT) and easterly wave (EW) environmental condition show that the former (latter) leads to the development of a larger (smaller) TC at an equilibrium state. The physical mechanism responsible for the difference is revealed. Compared with the EW, the surface wind speed of the SWT is larger. Therefore, the SWT generates more moisture in the outer region than EW through surface evaporation process. This favors the development of stronger convection in the outer region. The enhanced convection leads to greater diabatic heating, which lower the local sea level pressure (SLP), which changes surface radial pressure gradients in the inner-core and outer-core of the vortex. On the one hand, the falling of the SLP decreases the surface radial pressure gradient in the inner-core. As a result, the radial wind is weakened and then the radius of maximum wind (RMW) extends outwards after initial contraction. On the other hand, the lower SLP increases the radial pressure gradient in the outer region, strengthening the radial wind outside. The wind convergence favors stronger development of convection in the outer region. Through this positive feedback, inflow in the outer region is further strengthened. This accelerates local tangential wind and thus enlarges the TC size.

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Acknowledgements

This study is jointly supported by NSFC Grant 41875069, NSF Grant AGS-16-43297, NOAA Grant NA18OAR4310298, Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province SJKY19_0928 and China Scholarship Council (CSC) under the Grant CSC N201808320282. This is SOEST contribution number 11153, IPRC contribution number 1477 and ESMC number 327.

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  1. Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster, Ministry of Education (KLME), Joint International Research Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Change (ILCEC), Collaborative Innovation Center On Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters (CIC-FEMD), Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

    Chen Ma & Tim Li

  2. International Pacific Research Center and Department of Atmospheric Sciences, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Tim Li

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  1. Chen Ma
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Correspondence to Tim Li.

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Ma, C., Li, T. Effects of perturbation type on tropical cyclone size over tropical North Western Pacific and Atlantic. Clim Dyn 56, 475–489 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-020-05488-9

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