Exploring a Comparative Climatology of Tropical Cyclone Core Structures Joshua Howard Cossuth
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2014 Exploring a Comparative Climatology of Tropical Cyclone Core Structures Joshua Howard Cossuth Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES EXPLORING A COMPARATIVE CLIMATOLOGY OF TROPICAL CYCLONE CORE STRUCTURES By JOSHUA HOWARD COSSUTH A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2014 Joshua Howard Cossuth defended this dissertation on June 6, 2014. The members of the supervisory committee were: Robert Hart Professor Directing Dissertation James Elsner University Representative Mark Bourassa Committee Member William Dewar Committee Member Guosheng Liu Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to everyone I have ever interacted with – those who have been positive influences and provided inspiration and guidance, as well as those who were not so positive, but who allowed me to know what I would like to avoid doing and being. First, I am grateful to my family. They have supported all my choices and goals, even though nobody knows why I wanted to study meteorology. Plus, they provided me some fantastic genetic code, which has only stumbled a few times. Further, the only way I have been able to achieve my goals was through the monetary generosity of others. I am truly thankful for the opportunities provided by funding through many organizations, including federal and state governments, universities, private corporate entities, and charities. I would not have attained a college education without such financial support. I am also thankful for the ability to interact with the wisdom of experienced educators, mentors, and other active meteorologists in the field, all of whom were untouchable heroes before my education began. My committee – Mark Bourassa, Bill Dewar, Jim Elsner, and Guosheng Liu – have provided insightful feedback. Thanks also to Mark Powell for his many contributions. I was given wonderful opportunities and glimpses into the research world by my first research job at COAPS, including help by Jim O’Brien and Shawn Smith. I have also been truly fortunate to be mentored by folks whose tropical cyclone work I’ve read about and used for years – thank you to Jeff Hawkins, Rick Knabb, Chris Velden, and Tony Wimmers. One nice thing about school is meeting different personalities and characters. I am truly fortunate to have worked within the creativity of the Hart Lab while still (barely) staying within the state of Florida. Particularly, I cherish and appreciate the discussions and interactions I’ve had with Leigh Anne Eaton, Dan Halperin, Andy Hazelton, Dave Ryglicki, Chris Selman, Erica Staehling Sarah Strazzo, Ryan Truchelut, Grayum Vickers, Lauren Visin, and Henry Winterbottom. I wish our interactions could continue forever. Finally, I thank Bob Hart. He has been an infinitely patient mentor, a generous supplier of opportunities, and a friend with whom I share many interests and viewpoints. His tolerant virtues and unparalleled pedagogical ability truly set an example for those he teaches. There is no earthly way I can describe my gratitude and appreciation for his ability to simply be himself. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ xvi 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................1 2. BACKGROUND .....................................................................................................................7 2.1 Theory on the TC Lifecycle ...........................................................................................7 2.1.1 Development ......................................................................................................8 2.1.2 Maintenance .....................................................................................................10 2.1.3 Circulation........................................................................................................11 2.2 Dynamics and Physics of TC Features ........................................................................14 2.2.1 Diagnosing Structure .......................................................................................14 2.2.2 Eye ...................................................................................................................15 2.2.3 Inner and Outer Core .......................................................................................16 2.2.4 Banding and Periphery .....................................................................................18 2.2.5 Other Considerations .......................................................................................19 3. THE CLIMATOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TROPICAL CYCLONE INTENSITY AND CORE STRUCTURE USING OPERATIONAL METRICS ........................24 3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................24 3.2 Background ..................................................................................................................26 3.2.1 Operational TC Data ........................................................................................26 3.2.2 Prior Work .......................................................................................................28 3.3 Methodology ................................................................................................................31 3.4 Distribution of Data .....................................................................................................33 3.4.1 Spatial Representation .....................................................................................33 3.4.2 Distributions .....................................................................................................33 3.4.3 Composites .......................................................................................................35 3.5 Structure and Intensity Relationship ............................................................................37 3.5.1 Thermodynamic and Dynamic Information .....................................................37 3.5.2 Climatological Intensity and Eye Size Change ................................................39 3.5.3 Eye Phase Diagram ..........................................................................................40 3.6 Concluding Discussion ................................................................................................41 iv 4. CREATING A STANDARDIZED DIGITAL CLIMATOLOGY OF TROPICAL CYCLONES AS OBSERVED BY PASSIVE MICROWAVE SATELLITE SENSORS ............73 4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................73 4.2 Background ..................................................................................................................75 4.2.1 Operational TC Data ........................................................................................75 4.2.2 Passive Microwave Imagery and TCs ..............................................................77 4.3 Dataset Development ...................................................................................................78 4.4 Climatology of ARCHER Analysis .............................................................................84 4.4.1 Organizational Scores ......................................................................................84 4.4.2 Differences by Dataset Standardization Steps .................................................86 4.5 Discussion ....................................................................................................................87 5. DEVELOPING NEW STRUCTURAL DIAGNOSTICS ...................................................107 5.1 Establishing a Scope and Research Methodology .....................................................107 5.1.1 Culling the Data .............................................................................................107 5.1.2 Analysis Methods: Proof of Concept through HURSAT ..............................108 5.2 Diagnostic Examination in a Case Study ...................................................................115 5.2.1 Testing Eye/Inner-Core Metrics ....................................................................115 5.2.2 Application to Different Eye Sizes ................................................................119 5.3 Composite Results .....................................................................................................120 5.3.1 Relationship with Aircraft Data .....................................................................121 5.3.2