Abstract
The trajectory characteristics and the intensity evolution of the Alberto tropical cyclone (TC) in the integral water-vapor field are analyzed in detail using a software-algorithmic complex designed for constructing highly detailed global radio-thermal fields of the ocean-atmosphere system based on microwave satellite measurements. This complex was developed by the authors earlier and allows one to obtain global animated radio-thermal fields with a time step of 1.5 h and a spatial resolution of 0.2°. Special attention is paid to the problem of revealing the energy sources of three consecutive intensifications of this TC. The analysis of satellite data with the use of the animation method developed by the authors shows for the first time that these sources are regions with an increased (exceeding the critical level) integral water-vapor content located in different geographical areas lying along the complex trajectory of the TC with a variable intensity. The first region was located in the equatorial intertropical convergence zone, the second was located above the Gulf Stream water area, and the third resided in the area affected by the Azores High.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Dvorak, V.F., Tropical cyclone intensity analysis using satellite data. NOAA Tech. Rep. NESDIS 11, Washington, D.C.: NOAA/NESDIS, 1984.
Ermakov, D.M., Raev, M.D., Suslov, A.I., and Sharkov, E.A., Electronic long-term database of global radiothermal field of the Earth in the context of multiscale investigation of the ocean-atmosphere system, Issled. Zemli Kosmosa, 2007, no. 1, pp. 7–13.
Ermakov, D.M., Chernushich, A.P., Sharkov, E.A., and Shramkov, Ya.N., Possibility of construction of short-term global radiothermal images of the ocean-atmosphere system on the basis of the Stream Handler programming platform, in Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa (Current Problems of Remote Sensing of the Earth from the Space), Moscow: Azbuka-2000, 2011, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 9–16.
Ermakov, D.M., Chernushich, A.P., Sharkov, E.A., and Pokrovskaya, I.V., Search for energy source during the intensification of Katrina tropical cyclone by microwave satellite sounding data, Issled. Zemli Kosmosa, 2012a, no. 4, pp. 47–56.
Ermakov, D.M., Chernushich, A.P., and Sharkov, E.A., Detailed phases of the development of Katrina tropical cyclone by interpolated global fields of water vapor, in Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa (Current Problems of Remote Sensing of the Earth from the Space), Moscow: Azbuka-2000, 2012b, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 207–213.
Kim, G.A., Sharkov, E.A., and Pokrovskaya, I.V., Evolution and energetic structure of the Hondo tropical cyclone by optical and microwave satellite sounding data, in Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa (Current Problems of Remote Sensing of the Earth from the Space), Moscow: Azbuka-2000, 2009, vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 126–136.
Minina, L.S., Tropical cyclones, in Rukovodstvo po ispol’zovaniyu sputnikovykh dannykh v analize i prognoze pogody (A Manual of the Use and Analysis of Satellite Data in Weather Forecast), Vetlov, I.P. and Vel’tishchev, N.F., Eds., Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1982.
Pokrovskaya, I.V. and Sharkov, E.A., Tropicheskie tsiklony i tropicheskie vozmushcheniya Mirovogo okeana: khronologiya i evolyutsiya. Versiya 3.1 (1983–2005) (Tropical Cyclones and Tropical Disturbances in the World Ocean: History and Evolution (1983–2005). Version 3.1), Moscow: Poligraf servis, 2006.
Pokrovskaya, I.V. and Sharkov, E.A., Tropicheskie tsiklony i tropicheskie vozmushcheniya Mirovogo okeana: khronologiya i evolyutsiya (2006–2010). Versiya 4.1 ((Tropical Cyclones and Tropical Disturbances in the World Ocean: History and Evolution (2006–2010). Version 4), Moscow: KDU, 2011.
Richardson, I.E.G., H.264 and MPEG-4 video compression, Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, 2003.
Rostovtseva, V.V. and Goncharenko, I.V., Temporal and spatial statistics of the temperature-humidity criterion of tropical cyclone generation by satellite microwave radiometry data, Issled. Zemli Kosmosa, 2010, no. 4, pp. 32–40.
Ruprecht, E., Atmospheric water vapor and cloud water: An overview, Adv. Space Res., 1996, vol. 18, no. 7, pp. 5–16.
Semin, A.G., Kuz’min, A.V., Khapin, Yu.B., and Sharkov, E.A., On the possibility of reconstruction of vertical distribution of water vapor distribution in the atmosphere over tropics by measurements at 183 GHz from the space, Issled. Zemli Kosmosa, 2012, no. 2, pp. 41–52.
Semin, A.G., Kuz’min, A.V., Khapin, Yu.B., and Sharkov, E.A., The use of 22.2, 183, 325 GHz resonance lines for the reconstruction of detailed vertical profiles of water vapor in the tropical atmosphere, Issled. Zemli Kosmosa, 2013, no. 1, pp. 3–8.
Sharkov, E.A., Remote Sensing of Tropical Regions, Chichester, N.Y: John Wiley and Sons/PRAXIS, 1998.
Sharkov, E.A., Global Tropical Cyclogenesis, Berlin, Heidelberg, L., N.Y.: Springer/PRAXIS, 2000.
Sharkov, E.A., Kim, G.A., and Pokrovskaya, I.V., Evolution of the Gonu tropical cyclone and its relation with the field of integral water vapor in the equatorial area, Issled. Zemli Kosmosa, 2008, no. 6, pp. 25–30.
Sharkov, E.A., Remote investigations of atmospheric catastrophes, Issled. Zemli Kosmosa, 2010, no. 1, pp. 52–68.
Sharkov, E.A., Kim, G.A., and Pokrovskaya, I.V., Evolution of the Honda tropical cyclone in the field of equatorial water vapor using the multispectral approach, Issled. Zemli Kosmosa, 2011a, no. 1, pp. 22–29.
Sharkov, E.A., Kim, G.A., and Pokrovskaya, I.V., Energetic features of multiple tropical cyclogenesis by multispectral satellite observations, Issled. Zemli Kosmosa, 2011b, no. 2, pp. 18–25.
Sharkov, E.A., Shramkov, Ya.N., and Pokrovskaya, I.V., Specific features of the equatorial field of water vapor during the evolution of tropical cyclones (TCs) on the example of the 2001 Francisco TC, in Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa (Current Problems of Remote Sensing of the Earth from the Space), Moscow: Azbuka-2000, 2011c, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 310–316.
Sharkov, E.A., Shramkov, Ya.N., and Pokrovskaya, I.V., A key parameter of tropical ceclone genesis in the global field of integral water vapor, in Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa (Current Problems of Remote Sensing of the Earth from the Space), Moscow: Azbuka-2000, 2011d, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 280–286.
Sharkov, E.A., Global Tropical Cyclogenesis (2nd edition) Berlin, Heidelberg, L., N.Y.: Springer/PRAXIS, 2012a.
Sharkov, E.A., Shramkov, Ya.N., and Pokrovskaya, I.V., Increased content of water vapor in the atmosphere of tropical latitudes as a necessary condition for the genesis of tropical cyclones, Issled. Zemli Kosmosa, 2012b, no. 2, pp. 73–82.
Velden, Ch.S., Olander, T.L., and Zehr, R.M., Development of an objective to estimate tropical cyclone intensity from digital geostationary infrared imagery, Weather Forecasting, 1998, vol. 13, no. 13, pp. 172–186.
Wimmers, A.J. and Velden, C.S., MIMIC: A new approach to visualizing satellite microwave imagery of tropical cyclones, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 2007, vol. 88, no. 8, pp. 1187–1196.
Wimmers, A.J. and Velden, C.S., Seamless advective blending of total precipitable water retrievals from polar-orbiting satellites, J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol., 2011, vol. 50, no. 5, pp. 1024–1036.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © D.M. Ermakov, E.A. Sharkov, I.V. Pokrovskaya, A.P. Chernushich, 2013, published in Issledovanie Zemli iz Kosmosa, 2013, No. 4, pp. 39–49.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ermakov, D.M., Sharkov, E.A., Pokrovskaya, I.V. et al. Revealing the energy sources of alternating intensity regimes of the evolving Alberto tropical cyclone using microwave satellite sensing data. Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 49, 974–985 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433813090053
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433813090053