Rotating deep convection in tropical cyclones

• Applicant: Professor Roger K. Smith, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Atmospheric Science
• Term: from 2010 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 177318868

• Final Report Year: 2014

Final Report Abstract

Idealized numerical experiments were carried out to obtain a better understanding of the structure (especially the vortical structure) and evolution of rotating deep convection in tropical lows and tropical cyclones. Further experiments investigating the fundamental role of rotating deep convection in tropical cyclogenesis and tropical cyclone intensification have been carried out also and provide an important first step for future studies. A spin off of our involvement in the PREDICT experiment led to analyses examining the convective environment of tropical depressions based on an analysis of observations as well as a study of the boundary-layer thermodynamics in a mature hurricane.

Publications

• 2011: Tropical-cyclone convection: the effects of ambient vertical vorticity. Quart. J. Roy. Met. Soc., 137, 845-857
  Wissmeier, U., and R. K. Smith
  
• 2011: Tropical-Cyclone Formation: Theory and Idealized modelling. In Proceedings of Seventh WMO International Workshop on Tropical e Cyclones (IWTC-VII), La Réunion, Nov. 2010. (WWRP 2011-1) World Meteorological Organization: Geneva, Switzerland.
  Montgomery, M. T., and R. K. Smith
  
• (2012) The genesis of Typhoon Nuri as observed during the Tropical Cyclone Structure 2008 (TCS08) field experiment. Part 2: Observations of the convective environment in developing typhoon Nuri. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 4001- 4009
  Montgomery, M. T., and R. K. Smith
  
• 2012: A numerical study of rotating convection during tropical cyclogenesis. Quart. J. Roy. Met. Soc., 138, 845-857
  Kilroy G., and R. K. Smith
  
• 2012: How important is the isothermal expansion effect to elevating equivalent potential temperature in the hurricane inner-core? Quart. J. Roy. Met. Soc., 139, 70-74
  Smith, R. K., and M. T. Montgomery
  
• 2012: Observations of the convective environment in developing and non-developing tropical disturbances. Quart. J. Roy. Met. Soc., 138: 1721-1739
  Smith, R. K., and M. T. Montgomery
  
• 2012: The Pre-Depression Investigation of Cloud Systems in the Tropics (PREDICT) Experiment: Scientific Basis and Some First Results. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 93, 153-172
  Montgomery, M. T., C. Davis, T. Dunkerton, Z. Wang, C. Velden, R. Torn, S. Majumdar, F. Zhang, R. K. Smith, L. Bosart, M. Bell, J. Haase, M. A. Boothe
  
• 2013: A numerical study of rotating convection during tropical cyclogenesis. Quart. J. Roy. Met. Soc., 140, Online in early view
  Kilroy G., and R. K. Smith, and U. Wissmeier
  
• 2013: A numerical study of rotating convection during tropical cyclogenesis. Quart. J. Roy. Met. Soc., Volume 139, Issue 674, July 2013 Part A, Pages 1255-1269. First publ. 2012
  Kilroy G., and R. K. Smith