nerc.ac.uk

Influence of upper ocean stratification interannual variability on tropical cyclones

Vincent, Emmanuel M.; Emanuel, Kerry A.; Lengaigne, Matthieu; Vialard, Jérôme; Madec, Gurvan. 2014 Influence of upper ocean stratification interannual variability on tropical cyclones. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 6. 680-699. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014MS000327

Before downloading, please read NORA policies.
[img]
Preview
Text
jame20091_Madec.pdf - Published Version

Download (5MB) | Preview

Abstract/Summary

Climate modes, such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), influence Tropical Cyclones (TCs) interannual activity through their effect on large-scale atmospheric environment. These climate modes also induce interannual variations of subsurface oceanic stratification, which may also influence TCs. Changes in oceanic stratification indeed modulate the amplitude of TCs-induced cooling, and hence the negative feedback of air-sea interactions on the TC intensity. Here we use a dynamical downscaling approach that couples an axisymmetric TC model to a simple ocean model to quantify this interannual oceanic control on TC activity. We perform twin experiments with contrasted oceanic stratifications representative of interannual variability in each TC-prone region. While subsurface oceanic variations do not significantly affect the number of moderate (Category 3 or less) TCs, they do induce a 30% change of Category 5 TC-days globally, and a 70% change for TCs exceeding 85 m s−1. TCs in the western Pacific and the southwestern Indian Ocean are most sensitive to oceanic interannual variability (with a ∼10 m s−1 modulation of the intensity of strongest storms at low latitude), owing to large upper ocean variations in response to ENSO. These results imply that a representation of ocean stratification variability should benefit operational forecasts of intense TCs and the understanding of their climatic variability.

Item Type: Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.1002/2014MS000327
ISSN: 19422466
Additional Keywords: tropical cyclone activity; upper ocean stratification; interannual variability; ENSO; intense hurricanes
Date made live: 06 Nov 2014 09:59 +0 (UTC)
URI: https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/508767

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Document Downloads

Downloads for past 30 days

Downloads per month over past year

More statistics for this item...