Analysis of Extratropical Transition of Cyclones in the North Atlantic Ocean Using Geostationary Satellite Imagery
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Mississippi State University Scholars Junction Theses and Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2009 Analysis of extratropical transition of cyclones in the north Atlantic Ocean using geostationary satellite imagery Amy Rebecca Wood Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td Recommended Citation Wood, Amy Rebecca, "Analysis of extratropical transition of cyclones in the north Atlantic Ocean using geostationary satellite imagery" (2009). Theses and Dissertations. 639. https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/639 This Graduate Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Scholars Junction. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholars Junction. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ANALYSIS OF EXTRATROPICAL TRANSITION OF CYCLONES IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN USING GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE IMAGERY By Amy Rebecca Wood A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science In Geosciences in the Department of Geosciences Mississippi State, Mississippi December 2009 ANALYSIS OF EXTRATROPICAL TRANSITION OF CYCLONES IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN USING GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE IMAGERY By Amy Rebecca Wood Approved: ____________________________ ____________________________ Jamie L. Dyer P. Grady Dixon Assistant Professor Assistant Professor Department of Geosciences Department of Geosciences (Director of Thesis) (Committee Member) ____________________________ ____________________________ Michael E. Brown Christopher P. Dewey Associate Professor Associate Professor Department of Geosciences Graduate Coordinator of the (Committee Member) Department of Geosciences ____________________________ ____________________________ Darrel Schmitz Gary L. Myers Professor and Head Professor Department of Geosciences Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Name: Amy Wood Date of Degree: December 11, 2009 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: Geosciences Major Professor: Dr. Jamie Dyer Title of Study: ANALYSIS OF EXTRATROPICAL TRANSITION OF CYCLONES IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN USING GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE IMAGERY Pages in Study: 73 Candidate for Degree of Masters in Science Tropical cyclones in the Atlantic basin often undergo a process called extratropical transition (ET) and transform from warm-core to cold-core systems while retaining strong winds, heavy rainfall, and large ocean waves. Infrared satellite imagery from channels 2 and 4 of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) were used to examine key structural changes, synoptic interactions, and loss of deep centered convection in order to determine onset and completion of ET. The primary indicator for ET onset in 75% of cases was found to be a persistent increase in storm asymmetry along with the appearance of warm frontogenesis in its northern region. Cold frontogenesis in the southern portion of the storm was the secondary indicator for declaring onset of ET. Completion of ET was marked by the loss of centered deep convection for all cases. The average ET transition time was 18 hours for 60% of the cases. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to sincerely thank Dr. Jamie Dyer for his continued encouragement, support, and guidance. This work would not have been possible without his invaluable assistance. I would also like to thank and extend my gratitude to the members of my thesis committee, Dr. Grady Dixon and Dr. Mike Brown. Finally, I would like to thank my Mother and Father for their words of advice and continued support and encouragement. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES ..............................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 II. BACKGROUND ...............................................................................................5 2.1 Extratropical Transition Classification Schemes – Klein et al. (2000) ........8 2.2 Extratropical Transition Classification Schemes – Evans and Hart (2003) .........................................................................................................12 2.3 Extratropical Classification Schemes – Arnott et al. (2004) ......................16 2.4 Current ET Classification utilizing Numerical Modeling ..........................21 III. DATA AND METHODOLOGY .....................................................................22 3.1 Research Area ............................................................................................22 3.2 Research Period ..........................................................................................22 3.3 Selection of Cases ......................................................................................23 3.4 Satellite Imagery ........................................................................................26 3.5 Satellite Imagery Format ............................................................................28 3.6 Terminology Used ......................................................................................30 IV. RESULTS ........................................................................................................33 4.1 Representative Examples for Analysis of ET Using IR Satellite Imagery ......................................................................................................39 4.2 Hurricane Isidore – September 2002 ..........................................................40 4.3 Tropical Storm Bill – July 2003 .................................................................43 V. CONCLUSIONS ..............................................................................................46 5.1 Infrared Satellite Imagery Analysis Guidelines for Diagnosing ET ..........46 5.2 Summary and Discussion ...........................................................................49 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................51 APPENDIX A. INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY ANALYSIS FOR CASES OF ET .....55 LIST OF TABLES 1. Extratropical transition cases included in the analysis ...............................................25 2. Warm frontogenesis and cold frontogenesis occurrence in ET given in hours before completion of ET ..................................................................................................37 3. ET Transition Timeline ...............................................................................................39 v LIST OF FIGURES 1. Schematic of conceptual model of transformation stage of ET in the Western North Pacific (Klein et al., 2000). ....................................................................................11 2. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Hurricane Isidore (2002) .......................42 3. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Tropical Storm Bill (2003) ....................45 4. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Hurricane Gordon (2000) ......................56 5. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Hurricane Isaac (2000) ..........................57 6. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Hurricane Michelle (2001) ....................58 7. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Hurricane Noel (2001) ..........................59 8. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Tropical Storm Aurthur (2002) .............60 9. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Hurricane Isabel (2003) ........................61 10. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Tropical Storm Odette (2003) ...............62 11. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Hurricane Charley (2004) .....................63 12. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Hurricane Frances (2004) ......................64 13. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Tropical Storm Matthew (2004) ...........65 14. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Tropical Storm Franklin (2005) ............66 15. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Hurricane Katrina (2005) ......................67 16. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Hurricane Wilma (2005) .......................68 17. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Tropical Storm Alberto (2006) .............69 18. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Tropical Storm Beryl (2006) .................70 vi 19. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Hurricane Florence (2006) ....................71 20. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Tropical Storm Barry (2007) .................72 21. Infrared satellite imagery analysis of ET of Hurricane Noel (2007) ..........................73 vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Tropical cyclones that make landfall in the northern Atlantic and Pacific Ocean basins often undergo a process called extratropical transition (ET). ET is best described as the transformation of a tropical cyclone (a warm-core, axisymmetric, barotropic system) into a cyclone with extratropical characteristics of a baroclinic nature. Extratropical transition can occur as a tropical cyclone