The Genesis of Typhoon Nuri As Observed During the Tropical Cyclone Structure 2008 (TCS-08) field Experiment – Part 1: the Role of the Easterly Wave Critical Layer
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 9879–9900, 2010 www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/9879/2010/ Atmospheric doi:10.5194/acp-10-9879-2010 Chemistry © Author(s) 2010. CC Attribution 3.0 License. and Physics The genesis of Typhoon Nuri as observed during the Tropical Cyclone Structure 2008 (TCS-08) field experiment – Part 1: The role of the easterly wave critical layer M. T. Montgomery, L. L. Lussier III, R. W. Moore, and Z. Wang Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, USA Received: 5 June 2009 – Published in Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss.: 16 September 2009 Revised: 14 April 2010 – Accepted: 25 May 2010 – Published: 20 October 2010 Abstract. An observational and real-time model forecast Real-time forecasts were produced using operational study of the genesis of Typhoon Nuri during the Tropical Cy- global prediction model data to support scientific missions clone Structure 2008 (TCS-08) field campaign in the western during TCS-08. These forecasts were found to be useful North Pacific sector is presented. Analysis and observational in flight planning discussions and predicted Typhoon Nuri’s data show that the surrounding base state is an easterly trade eventual genesis latitude within 1.5 degrees 72 h in advance. wind flow and the precursor disturbance to Typhoon Nuri is an easterly wave that originates in the ITCZ in the Central Pa- cific. This disturbance can be tracked more than 10 days prior to tropical storm formation. An overview of the field data is 1 Introduction presented here using a newly proposed dynamical framework The western North Pacific region is the most active trop- for tropical cyclone formation within the critical layer of an ical cyclone (TC) basin on the earth, responsible for, on easterly wave. Despite propagating through a hostile envi- average, 26 of the 84 named storms annually (Neumann, ronment ripe with strong vertical wind shear and relatively 1993). Numerous synoptic-scale patterns have been iden- dry air, the easterly wave critical layer protects the proto- tified as favorable to tropical cyclogenesis over the years, vortex and allows it to gestate until it reaches a more favor- including, but not limited to: Tropical Upper Tropospheric able environment. Within this protective “Kelvin cat’s eye Troughs (TUTT) (e.g., Sadler, 1976, 1978), formation within flow” located within the wave’s critical layer existed a sweet a monsoon trough regime (e.g., Holland, 1995) including spot, defined as the intersection between the wave trough and the special cases of monsoon depression formation (Harr critical latitude, which is the preferred location for tropical et al., 1996) and monsoon gyre formation (Lander, 1994), cyclogenesis. Global Forecast System Final Analyses and wave energy dispersion from pre-existing depressions (Carr IR satellite imagery, which shows convective bands wrap- and Elsberry, 1995; Holland, 1995), filamentary intrusions ping around the sweet spot as genesis nears, confirm that this from the subtropics (Deleon, 2008), mixed Rossby-gravity sweet spot is the location where Typhoon Nuri’s dominant waves (Dickinson and Molinari, 2002), and easterly waves low-level circulation emerges. (Ritchie and Holland, 1999; Fu et al., 2007). Ritchie and United States Air Force C130 and Naval Research Labora- Holland (1999) present a climatology of formation mecha- tory P3 research flights on 16 and 17 August collected flight- nisms in this basin and document five synoptic-scale regimes level, dropwindsonde, and Doppler radar data that allowed favorable to tropical cyclogenesis1. Using eight years data an evaluation of the dynamic and thermodynamic processes from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology tropical anal- within the cat’s eye circulation. The dropwindsonde analy- ysis scheme, they attribute 42% of the western North Pa- ses identifies the precursor easterly wave disturbance on 16 cific tropical cyclogenesis cases to monsoon shear lines, 29% August and identifies an area of weak low-level cyclonic cir- to monsoon confluent regions, 18% to easterly wave distur- culation on 17 August. bances, 8% to wave energy dispersion, and 3% to monsoon gyre formations. Ritchie and Holland (1999) note that these 1Ritchie and Holland (1999) define genesis as: “... the series of Correspondence to: M. T. Montgomery physical processes by which a warm-core, tropical cyclone–scale ([email protected]) vortex with maximum amplitude near the surface forms”. Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 9880 M. T. Montgomery et al.: The role of the easterly wave critical layer data most likely underestimate the true number of easterly Using the National Hurricane Center best track data, Na- wave type formations: “development may also occur entirely tional Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Trop- in the easterly wave (18% of cases examined here) although ical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) data, and Eu- the sample for this pattern most probably has a low bias due ropean Center for Medium-range Weather Prediction Fore- to the exclusion of genesis cases near the date line”. Ad- casts (ECMWF) Reanalysis (ERA-40) data during August ditionally, they note: “It is difficult to distinguish between and September (1998–2001), they examined tropical cyclone genesis in the confluence region and genesis directly from formation from quasi-monochromatic easterly waves in the an easterly wave because of the uncertainty of when genesis Atlantic and eastern Pacific basins and proposed a dynamical processes have finished”. It is possible that the easterly wave pathway to genesis that held true in 53/55 cases4. pathway to genesis is more prominent in the western North This proposed tropical cyclogenesis sequence is centered Pacific basin than Ritchie and Holland (1999) suggest. Moli- around three new hypotheses (hereafter H1–H3) examining nari et al. (2004) examine genesis cases in the western North the flow dynamics, moist thermodynamics, and wave/vortex Pacific basin and “...believe that a significant fraction, and interactions associated with the Kelvin cat’s eye flow within likely the majority, of western-Pacific tropical cyclones form the critical layer of a tropical easterly wave. The cat’s eye in association with westward moving disturbances”. Chen et flow is hypothesized to be important to tropical storm for- al. (2008), for example, have proposed that 80% of the tropi- mation because: H1) wave breaking or roll-up of the cy- cal cyclone formations in this basin are due to easterly wave2 clonic vorticity near the critical surface in the lower tropo- influences either directly or indirectly (through wave-gyre in- sphere provides a favorable environment for the aggregation teractions)3. of vorticity seedlings for TC formation; H2) the cat’s eye Although easterly waves are ubiquitous in the trade wind is a region of approximately closed Lagrangian circulation, region of the tropics, typically only a small percentage of and air is repeatedly moistened by convection and protected these waves develop into tropical cyclones (Frank, 1970; to some degree from dry air intrusion, which favors a pre- Ritchie and Holland, 1999). Recently, Dunkerton, Mont- dominantly convective type of heating profile; and H3) the gomery, and Wang (2009; hereafter DMW09) have devel- parent wave is maintained and possibly enhanced by diabat- oped a new framework to describe the transition sequence ically amplified mesoscale vortices within the cat’s eye. The from synoptic-scale easterly wave to tropical depression. cat’s eye circulation has been shown to be the favored region of storm formation, with the eventual storm center located 2In their analysis, Chen et al. (2008) did not distinguish be- near the intersection of the wave’s critical surface and trough tween easterly waves and other westward propagating wave distur- axis (i.e., the “sweet spot”). This cyclogenesis sequence is bances such as mixed Rossby-gravity and equatorial Rossby waves likened by DMW09 to the development of a marsupial infant that have been shown to lead to tropical cyclogenesis in the west- in its mother’s pouch5 wherein the juvenile proto-vortex is ern North Pacific (e.g., Dickinson and Molinari, 2002; Frank and Roundy, 2006). This reference nonetheless serves to illustrate that 4The two remaining storms were found also to develop in a re- there is a school of thought that believes wave activity is more gion of closed circulation when the meridional component of wave prominent in western North Pacific tropical cyclone formation (e.g., propagation is accounted for, although in one of these cases, the Molinari et al., 2004) than many researchers are willing to believe. horizontal resolution of ERA-40 is barely adequate. For a complete While we care deeply about the different types of waves, the ques- definition of all technical terms used herein please consult DMW09 tions of how they lead to tropical cyclogenesis, and whether or not and the Glossary therein. they can be analyzed in the marsupial framework must await future 5The term “pouch” is defined in DMW09 as the flow bounded by study. Nuri represents a useful and illustrative easterly wave case the closed streamline that passes through the stagnation point clos- that represents a first step in a long process to explore the utility est to the sweet spot. The region of recirculating quasi-horizontal of the marsupial paradigm in this basin. Finally, we note that re- flow located within is the so-called Kelvin cat’s eye circulation. search is underway to study different types of western North Pacific Certain characteristics of the pouch, specifically the moisture gradi- waves and how the marsupial paradigm could be applied to these ent, are used here and elsewhere (Wang et al., 2009) to identify the cases. A particularly interesting case involves Super Typhoon Man- horizontal extent and location of the pouch. yi (2007), whose precursor disturbance was an equatorial Rossby Although the Kelvin cat’s eye now serves as a canonical illus- wave and to which some of the marsupial ideas seem applicable tration of ‘anti-mixing’ behavior in the two-dimensional fluid dy- (Lussier, 2010).