2016 Articles
Role of Radiative–Convective Feedbacks in Spontaneous Tropical Cyclogenesis in Idealized Numerical Simulations
The authors perform 3D cloud-resolving simulations of radiative–convective equilibrium (RCE) in a rotating framework, with interactive radiation and surface fluxes and fixed sea surface temperature. A tropical cyclone is allowed to develop spontaneously from a homogeneous environment, rather than initializing the circulation with a weak vortex or moist bubble (as is often done in numerical simulations of tropical cyclones). The resulting tropical cyclogenesis is compared to the self-aggregation of convection that occurs in nonrotating RCE simulations. The feedbacks leading to cyclogenesis are quantified using a variance budget equation for the column-integrated frozen moist static energy. In the initial development of a broad circulation, feedbacks involving longwave radiation and surface enthalpy fluxes dominate, which is similar to the initial phase of nonrotating self-aggregation. Mechanism denial experiments are also performed to determine the extent to which the radiative feedbacks that are essential to nonrotating self-aggregation are important for tropical cyclogenesis. Results show that radiative feedbacks aid cyclogenesis but are not strictly necessary.
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Also Published In
- Title
- Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-15-0380.1
More About This Work
- Academic Units
- Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics
- Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
- Ocean and Climate Physics
- Published Here
- January 6, 2020