A note on the quantitative structure of quasi-stationary tropical cyclone in the vicinity of the eye

Abstract

A fully mature tropical cyclone is a complicated phenomenon, in which effects such as boundary-layer friction, latent heat release, and so on, must be accounted for, in order to give a complete description of the flow. Nevertheless, it is demonstrated here that a two-layer compressible atmosphere model, with a sharp interface separating the layers, is capable of giving a non-linear vortex-type solution at the lowest order of approximation. The ‘eye’ of the cyclone is formed when the interface is drawn down to sea level. Heat energy from the ocean into the cyclone and secondary flow within the vortex are both incorporated. The model provides an approximate description of cyclone behaviour, in terms that are easily understood. More complete descriptions are apparently only possible numerically, however, with a corresponding loss of ease of comprehension.