Roles of Upper-Level Descending Inflow in Moat Development in Simulated Tropical Cyclones with Secondary Eyewall Formation

This study investigated the effects of upper-level descending inflow(ULDI)associated with inner-eyewall convection on the formation of the moat in tropical cyclones(TCs)with secondary eyewall formation(SEF).In our numerical experiments,a clear moat with SEF occurred in TCs with a significant ULDI,while no SEF occurred in TCs without a significant ULDI.The eyewall convection developed more vigorously in the control run.A ULDI occurred outside the inner-eyewall convection,where it was symmetrically unstable.The ULDI was initially triggered by the diabatic warming released by the inner eyewall and later enhanced by the cooling below the anvil cloud.The ULDI penetrated the outer edge of the inner eyewall with relatively dry air and prevented excessive solid-phase hydrometeors from being advected further outward.It produced extensive sublimation cooling of falling hydrometeors between the eyewall and the outer convection.The sublimation cooling resulted in negative buoyancy and further induced strong subsidence between the eyewall and the outer convection.As a result,a clear moat was generated.Development of the moat in the ongoing SEF prevented the outer rainband from moving farther inward,helping the outer rainband to symmetrize into an outer eyewall.In the sensitivity experiment,no significant ULDI formed since the eyewall convection was weaker,and the eyewall anvil developed relatively lower,meaning the formation of a moat and thus an outer eyewall was less likely.This study suggests that a better-represented simulation of inner-eyewall convective structures and distribution of the solid-phase hydrometeors is important to the prediction of SEF.

Optimal Assimilation of Microwave Upper-Level Sounding Data in CMA-GFS

Various approaches have been proposed to minimize the upper-level systematic biases in global numerical weather prediction(NWP)models by using satellite upper-air sounding channels as anchors.However,since the China Meteorological Administration Global Forecast System(CMA-GFS)has a model top near 0.1 hPa(60 km),the upper-level temperature bias may exceed 4 K near 1 hPa and further extend to 5 hPa.In this study,channels 12–14 of the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit A(AMSU-A)onboard five satellites of NOAA and METOP,whose weighting function peaks range from 10 to 2 hPa are all used as anchor observations in CMA-GFS.It is shown that the new“Anchor”approach can effectively reduce the biases near the model top and their downward propagation in three-month assimilation cycles.The bias growth rate of simulated upper-level channel observations is reduced to±0.001 K d^(–1),compared to–0.03 K d^(–1)derived from the current dynamic correction scheme.The relatively stable bias significantly improves the upper-level analysis field and leads to better global medium-range forecasts up to 10 days with significant reductions in the temperature and geopotential forecast error above 10 hPa.

IMPACTS OF UPPER-LEVEL COLD VORTEX ON THE RAPID CHANGE OF INTENSITY AND MOTION OF TYPHOON MERANTI(2010)

Typhoon Meranti originated over the western North Pacific off the south tip of the Taiwan Island in 2010.It moved westward entering the South China Sea,then abruptly turned north into the Taiwan Strait,got intensified on its way northward,and eventually made landfall on Fujian province.In its evolution,there was a northwest-moving cold vortex in upper troposphere to the south of the Subtropical High over the western North Pacific(hereafter referred to as the Subtropical High).In this paper,the possible impacts of this cold vortex on Meranti in terms of its track and intensity variation is investigated using typhoon best track data from China Meteorological Administration,analyses data of 0.5×0.5 degree provided by the global forecasting system of National Centers for Environmental Prediction,GMS satellite imagery and Taiwan radar data.Results show as follows:(1)The upper-level cold vortex was revolving around the typhoon anticlockwise from its east to its north.In the early stage,due to the blocking of the cold vortex,the role of the Subtropical High to steer Meranti was weakened,which results in the looping of the west-moving typhoon.However,when Meranti was coupled with the cold vortex in meridional direction,the northerly wind changed to the southerly at the upper level of the typhoon;at the same time the Subtropical High protruded westward and its southbound steering flow gained strength,and eventually created an environment in which the southerly winds in both upper and lower troposphere suddenly steered Meranti to the north;(2)The change of airflow direction above the typhoon led to a weak vertical wind shear,which in return facilitated the development of Meranti.Meanwhile,to the east of typhoon Meranti,the overlapped southwesterly jets in upper and lower atmosphere accelerated its tangential wind and contributed to its cyclonic development;(3)The cold vortex not only supplied positive vorticity to the typhoon,but also transported cold advection to its outer bands.In conjunction with the warm and moist air masses at the lower levels,the cold vortex increased the vertical instability in the atmosphere,which was favorable for convection development within the typhoon circulation,and its warmer center was enhanced through latent heat release;(4)Vertical vorticity budget averaged over the typhoon area further shows that the intensification of a typhoon vorticity column mainly depends on horizontal advection of its high-level vorticity,low-level convergence,uneven wind field distribution and its convective activities.

Impact of Mid-and Upper-Level Dry Air on Tropical Cyclone Genesis and Intensification:A Modeling Study of Durian(2001)

The impact of mid-and upper-level dry air,represented by low relative humidity(RH)values,on the genesis of tropical cyclone(TC)Durian(2001)in the South China Sea was investigated by a series of numerical experiments using the Weather Research and Forecasting model.The mid-level RH was lowered in different regions relative to TC Durian(2001)’s genesis location.Results suggest that the location of dry air was important to Durian(2001)’s genesis and intensification.The rapid development of the TC was accompanied by sustained near-saturated mid-and upper-level air,whereas low humidity decelerated its development.Water vapor budget analysis showed that moisture at mid and upper levels was mainly supplied by the vertical convergence of moisture flux and the divergence terms,and consumed by the condensation process.The horizontal convergence of moisture flux term supplied moisture in the air moistening process but consumed moisture in the air drying process.With a dryer mid-and upper-level environment,convective and stratiform precipitation were both inhibited.The upward mass fluxes and the diabatic heating rates associated with these two precipitation types were also suppressed.Generally,convection played the dominant role,since the impact of the stratiform process on vertical mass transportation and diabatic heating was much weaker.The vorticity budget showed that the negative vorticity convergence term,which was closely related to the inhibited convection,caused the vorticity to decrease above the lower troposphere in a dryer environment.The negative vorticity tendency is suggested to slow down the vertical coherence and the development rate of TCs.

Comparison and Analysis between Two Types of Sounding Data of China

The upper air weather forecast data used in current business and research and digital data of the recently finished upper air meteorological monthly report were comparatively analyzed in complete data and quality condition of data, and sounding curve change caused by the difference of complete data was also compared, which evaluated advantages and disadvantages of two types of data.

A CLIMATOLOGY OF EXTRATROPICAL TRANSITION OF TROPICAL CYCLONES IN THE WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC

Based on best-track data and JRA-25 reanalysis,a climatology of western North Pacific extratropical transition (ET) of tropical cyclone (TC) is presented in this paper. It was found that 35% (318 out of 912) of all TCs underwent ET during 1979-2008. The warm-season (June through September) ETs account for 64% of all ET events with the most occurrence in September. The area 120°E-150°E and 20°N-40°N is the most favorable region for ET onsets in western North Pacific. The TCs experiencing ET at latitudes 30°N-40°N have the greatest intensity in contrast to those at other latitude bands. The distribution of ET onset locations shows obviously meridional migration in different seasons. A cyclone phase space (CPS) method was used to analyze the TC evolution during ET. Except for some cases of abnormal ET at relatively high latitudes,typical phase evolution paths-along which TC firstly showed thermal asymmetry and an upper-level cold core and then lost its low-level warm core-can be used to describe the main features of ET processes in western North Pacific. Some seasonal variations of ET evolution paths in CPS were also found at low latitudes south of 15°N,which suggests different ET onset mechanisms there. Further composite analysis concluded that warm-season ETs have generally two types of evolutions,but only one type in cold season (October through next May). The first type of warm-season ETs has less baroclinicity due to long distance between the TC and upper-level mid-latitude system. However,significant interactions between a mid-latitude upper-level trough and TC,which either approaches or is absorbed into the trough,and TC's relations with downstream and upstream upper-level jets,are the fingerprints for both a second type of warm-season ETs and almost all the cold-season ETs. For each type of ETs,detailed structural characteristics as well as precipitation distribution are illustrated by latitude.

Predecessor Rain Events in the Yangtze River Delta Region Associated with South China Sea and Northwest Pacific Ocean(SCS-WNPO)Tropical Cyclones

Predecessor rain events(PREs) in the Yangtze River Delta(YRD) region associated with the South China Sea and Northwest Pacific Ocean(SCS-WNPO) tropical cyclones(TCs) are investigated during the period from 2010 to 2019.Results indicate that approximately 10% of TCs making landfall in China produce PREs over the YRD region;however,they are seldom forecasted. PREs often occur over the YRD region when TCs begin to be active in the SCS-WNPO with westward paths, whilst the cold air is still existing or beginning to be present. PREs are more likely to peak in June and September. The distances between the PRE centers and the parent TC range from 900 to 1700 km. The median value of rain amounts and the median lifetime of PREs is approximately 200 mm and 24 h, respectively. Composite results suggest that PREs form in the equatorward jet-entrance region of the upper-level westerly jet(WJ), where a 925-hPa equivalent potential temperature ridge is located east of a 500-hPa trough. Deep moisture is transported from the TC vicinity to the remote PREs region. The ascent of this deep moist air in front of the 500-hPa trough and frontogenesis beneath the equatorward entrance region of the WJ is advantageous for the occurrence of PREs in the YRD region. The upper-level WJ may be affected by the subtropical high and westerly trough in the Northwest Pacific Ocean, and the occurrence of PREs may favor the maintenance of the upper-level WJ. The upper-level outflow of TCs in the SCS plays a secondary role.

ON THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE UNUSUAL TRACK OF TYPHOON MORAKOT(0908)AND THE UPPER WESTERLY TROUGH

In this paper,by carrying out sensitivity tests of initial conditions and diagnostic analysis of physical fields,the impact factors and the physical mechanism of the unusual track of Morakot in the Taiwan Strait are discussed and examined based on the potential vorticity(PV)inversion.The diagnostic results of NCEP data showed that Morakot's track was mainly steered by the subtropical high.The breaking of a high-pressure zone was the main cause for the northward turn of Morakot.A sensitivity test of initial conditions showed that the existence of upper-level trough was the leading factor for the breaking of the high-pressure zone.When the intensity was strengthened of the upper-level trough at initial time,the high-pressure zone would break ahead of time,leading to the early northward turn of Morakot.Conversely,when the intensity was weakened,the breaking of the high-pressure zone would be delayed.Especially,when the intensity was weakened to a certain extent,the high-pressure zone would not break.The typhoon,steered by the easterly flow to the south of the high-pressure zone,would keep moving westward,with no turn in the test.The diagnostic analysis of the physical fields based on the sensitivity test revealed that positive vorticity advection and cold advection associated with the upper-level trough weakened the intensity of the high-pressure zone.The upper-level trough affected typhoon's track indirectly by influencing the high-pressure zone.

THE STRONG DRAGON BOAT RACE PRECIPITATION OF GUANGDONG IN 2008 AND QUASI-10-DAY OSCILLATION

Guangdong suffered from the most serious precipitation of its corresponding time during the dragon-boat race of 2008 since 1951.The relationship between the strong dragon-boat precipitation in 2008 and atmospheric low-frequency oscillation was analyzed with the methods of wavelet analysis,correlation and Lanczos filter.Results showed that the daily rainfall exhibits a significant 7 to 12-day quasi-periodic oscillation(namely quasi-10-day oscillation) during the precipitation,the daily 500 hPa height over Guangdong exhibits a significant 8 to 13-day quasi-periodic oscillation,and the daily 850 hPa zonal wind averaged over the north of the South China Sea presents a significant quasi-12-day periodic oscillation.The Guangdong rainfall during the annually first rainy season is most closely correlated with monsoon over the north of South China Sea,and less closely with an upper-level trough at 500 hPa affecting Guangdong.Strong monsoon surges induced two heavy rainfall processes in 2008.The monsoon surges joined with a westward-propagating quasi-10-day oscillation that originated from the central Pacific and was enhanced in a strong convective region east of the Philippines and a northward-propagating monsoon that originated from the southern South China Sea was enhanced.With composite analysis of typical phases,the common evolution characteristics of atmospheric circulation of the two heavy rainfall processes were analyzed for different phases.These features can be used as reference for medium prediction of heavy rainfall processes in Guangdong.

The Effect of the Subtropical Jet on the Rainfall over Southern China in January 2008

ABSTRACT The third precipitation episode of China＇s great snowstorms of 2008 was analyzed using station observations and ECMWF six-hourly data. The variation of the shape of the upper-level subtropical jet played an important role in the rainfall over south- ern China. With the eastward movement of the trough, the jet shape changed from two straight jets to a tilting jet over China and then it moved southward. With these variations, the south-north movement of ascending flow and precipitation area over southern China occurred.

A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS ON THE DIFFERENT FEATURES OF TC EXTRATROPICAL TRANSITION OVER LAND AND OCEAN

The extratropical transitions(ETs)of tropical cyclones(TCs)over China and the ocean east to 150°E are investigated by the use of best-track data and JRA-25 reanalysis spanning 1979-2008.The ET events occurring north of 25°N and in the warm season(from May to October)are extracted from the reanalysis to emphasize the interaction between TC and midlatitude circulation.Statistical analysis shows that 18.5%of the warm-season TCs go through land ETs north of 25°N in the western North Pacific.And 20.5%of the ET events occur over the ocean east of 150°E.Most(62.2%)ET TCs over China gradually die out after ET,but more(70.7%)ocean ET cases have post-ET reintensification.The evolutions in cyclone phase space and the composite fields for land and ocean ETs,as well as the ET cases with and without post-ET reintensification,are further analyzed.It is found that most TCs with ET over China and those without post-ET reintensification evolve along the typical ET phase path as follows:emergence of thermal asymmetry→losing upper-level warm core→losing lower-level cold core→evolving as extratropical cyclone.The TCs undergoing ETs over ocean and those with post-ET reintensification form a high-level cold core before the ET onset.The TCs with land ET have long distance between the landing TC and a high-level trough.That makes the TC maintain more tropical features and isolates the TC flow from the upstream and downstream jets of the midlatitude trough.The structure of circulation leads to weak development of baroclinicity in land ET.On the contrary,shorter distance between ocean TC and high-level trough makes the high-level trough absorb the TC absolutely.Under that baroclinicity-favorable environment,strong cold advection makes the TC lose its high-level warm core before ET onset.The composite fields confirm that the TC with ocean ET has stronger baroclinic features.Generally,the TC at land ET onset is located to the south of the ridge of the subtropical high,which tends to prevent the TCs from interacting with midlatitude circulation.But for the ocean ET,the situation is just the opposite.Similar analyses are also carried out for the TCs with and without post-ET reintensification over both land and ocean east of 150°E.The results further prove that the TC with stronger baroclinic characteristics,especially in the circumstance favorable to its interaction with high-level midlatitude systems,has more opportunity to reintensify as an extratropical cyclone after ET.

Analysis on the Genesis and the Omission of a Torrential Rain over Linqu on 9 July 2012

In order to further study the drop zone of torrential rain in Weifang and summarize the experience of forecasting torrential rain in the future,a special diagnosis analysis was made on the process of the torrential rain.The meteorological information comprehensive analysis and processing system（MICAPS） 3.1 was used to carry out the analysis of profile and sounding to the conventional meteorological data,and finally numerical weather prediction was tested,which got the reason of production and omission of torrential rain.The results showed that one of the important reason of the torrential rain was caused by the combined effects of the dry cold air brought by the middle latitude shortwave trough and the southwest warm wet airflow brought by the jet flow,and the terrain influence caused by the Yishan in southern Liju County and the water evaporation in Mihe River was also an important reason.The main reason for the omission of the rain was caused by the over dependent on the rainfall forecast of numerical products and neglected the evolution of small scale process as well as analysis of the physical quantity field.Therefore,it was very important to monitor the actual weather situation and analyze all kinds of physical quantities for forecasting torrential rain.Besides,the forecaster should improve their ability in revising the numerical weather prediction.

Strong Relationship between Dry-Season Rainfall over West Africa and Extratropical Disturbance

The recent concerns for food security over Africa related to several climatic factors, such as the strength of the flood and drought within the growing and harvesting seasons and the long-term rainfall variability have motivated the study of identifying the extratropical causes of ＂anomalous＂ dry-season precipitation for the region. The paper examines the role of upper level disturbance in the unusual rainfall over the tropical region of West Africa in the dry-season for the month of December, 2014. The rainfall is examined using the GPCP （global precipitation climatology project） merged satellite-gauge daily precipitation estimate and station rain-gange measurements obtained from Nigeria Meteorological Agency. While the atmospheric circulation features are determined by using the NCEP-NCAR （National Centers for Environmental Prediction-National Center for Atmospheric Research） reanalysis dataset, composites of NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis wind fields, pressure, temperature, humidity and moisture fluxes suggest that rainfall event that affected few countries （Nigeria, Ghana ＆ Cote d＇Ivoire） during the period is linked with an enhanced on-shore westerly low-level flow from the Gulf of Guinea into inland, northward displacement of ITD （Inter-Tropical Discontinuity）, intensification of the weak dry-season Sahara heat-low and upper-cyclonic vortex which help the generating of convection over the region. The influence of synoptic systems was also evident in the rainfall analysis for December, 2014. During the periods of study, the observed low-level flow over West Africa is likely to be an important contributor to the observed dry-season heavy rainfall, regulated by extra-tropical synoptic scale disturbances. The results provide an important basis for further studies on several cases over the past decade years producing heavy rainfall exceeding some kind of climatological, statistically-based threshold.

Causes of Strong Sandstorm Weather on March 15,2021 in Ulanqab City

The severe sandstorm process in Ulanqab,Inner Mongolia on March 15,2021 was analyzed and discussed from the aspects of weather facts,weather causes and dynamic diagnosis.The results show that the strong cold air in West Siberia rapidly moved eastward,and the surface cold front moved eastward to Ulanqab with significant warming in the previous period,resulting in gale and sandstorm weather.This severe sandstorm process occurred in basically stable atmospheric stratification.During the strong sandstorm and extremely strong sandstorm process on March 15,the strong warming in the early period near the surface led to the surface thermal instability,and sand was generated by the upward movement of the Mongolian cyclone.Over the upper northwest air stream,barocline disturbance developed unsteadily,and the upper cold advection stimulated the secondary circulation of front perpendicular to the surface;the surface cyclone turned into strong cold front,and then strong sandstorm weather occurred in Ulanqab.

Effects of Surface Drag on Upper-Level Frontogenesis within a Developing Baroclinic Wave

This paper investigates the effects of surface drag on upper-level front with a three-dimensional nonhy- drostatic mesoscale numerical model （MM5）. To this end, a new and simple potential vorticity intrusion （PVI） index is proposed to quantitatively describe the extent and path that surface drag affects upper-level front. From a PV perspective, the formation of the upper-level front is illustrated as the tropopause folding happens from the stratosphere. The PVI index shows a good correlation with the minimum surface pres- sure, and tends to increase with the deepening of the surface cyclone and upper-level front. The surface drag acts to damp and delay the development of upper-level front, which could reduce the growth rate of the PVI index. However, the damping presents different effects in different development stages. It is the most significant during the rapid development stage of the surface cyclone. Compared with no surface drag cases, the tropopause is less inclined to intrude into the troposphere due to the surface drag. Positive feedback between the surface cyclone and upper-level front could accelerate the development of the frontal system.

Comparative analysis of the rapid intensification of two super cyclonic storms in the Arabian Sea

A comparative analysis of the rapid intensification(RI)of super cyclonic storms Chapala(2015)and Kyarr(2019)in the Arabian Sea is conducted using the North Indian Ocean tropical cyclone data,microwave sounding images,the NOAA OISST data and the ERA5 reanalysis data.Results show that the subtropical westerly jet stream and the Southern Hemisphere anticyclonic circulation led to the formation of an obvious double-channel outflow from the northern and southern sides of the two storm centers,and the substantial inflow appeared at the eastern boundary layer of both storms.These promoted the vertical ascent motion and release of the latent heat of condensation.A warm sea surface is a necessary but not dominant factor for the RI of cyclonic storms in the Arabian Sea.During the RI of Chapala and Kyarr,the deep vertical wind shear was less than 10 m s-1;moreover,the mid-level humidity conditions favored the RI of the two cyclonic storms.Chapala had a single warm core,whereas Kyarr had double warm cores in the vertical direction.The impacts of the latent heat of fusion is more obvious for Chapala,and the potential vorticity in its inner core increases from 4.4 PVU to 8.8 PVU,whereas the potential vorticity and vorticity in the inner core of Kyarr do not change significantly.Microwave detection images show that both Chapala and Kyarr were accompanied by the formation of eyewalls during the RI phase,and the radius of maximum wind decreased and the maximum wind speed increased during the eyewall-thinning process.Both Chapala and Kyarr passed through a positive anomaly region of maximum potential intensity during the RI phase,which increases the possibility to develop to higher intensity after genesis.

Relationship between the Circumglobal Teleconnection and Silk Road Pattern over Eurasian continent

During boreal summer, two remarkable upper-level wave trains over Eurasia were documented in literature, i.e., Circumglobal Teleconnection (CGT) and Silk Road Pattern (SRP). They are widely discussed because of their influences throughout the entire midlatitude Eurasia. SRP was defined by 200 hPa meridional winds [1]. Enomoto et al.[2] found that the wave train influenced the climate variation over Japan when they detected the mechanism of Bonin High, and then named it as "Silk Road Pattern". SRP has 3 prominent action centers, which are located in west-central Asia, Mongolia and the Far East, respectively [3].

Interdecadal Variations of Precipitation and Temperature in China Around the Abrupt Change of Atmospheric Circulation in 1976

The interdecadal characteristics of rainfall and temperature in China before and after the abrupt change of the general circulation in 1976 are analyzed using the global 2.5°×2.5° monthly mean reanalysis data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction of US and the precipitation and temperature data at the 743 stations of China from the National Climate Center of China. The results show that after 1976, springtime precipitation and temperature were anomalously enhanced and reduced respectively in South China, while the reverse was true in the western Yangtze River basin. In summer, precipitation was anomalously less in South China, more in the Yangtze River basin, less again in North China and more again in Northeast China, showing a distribution pattern alternating with negative and positive anomalies （＂ , ＋, -, ＋＂）. Meanwhile, temperature shows a distribution of warming in South China, cooling in the Yangtze and Huaihe River basins, and warming again in northern China. In autumn, precipitation tended to decrease and temperature tended to increase in in South China and warming was most parts of the country. In winter, the trend across all parts of China. precipitation increased moderately The interdecadal decline of mean temperature in spring and summer in China was mainly due to the daily maximum temperature variation, while the interdecadal increase was mainly the result of the minimum temperature change. The overall warming in autumn （winter） was mostly influenced by the minimum （maximum） temperature variation. These changes were closely related to the north-south shifts of the ascending and descending branches of the Hadley cell, the strengthening and north-south progression of the westerly jet stream, and the atmospheric stratification and water vapor transport conditions.

On the rapid intensification for Typhoon Meranti(2016):convection,warm core,and heating budget

Through a cloud-resolving simulation of the rapid intensification(RI)of Typhoon Meranti(2016),the convections,warm core,and heating budget are investigated during the process of RI.By investigating the spatial distributions and temporal evolutions of both convectivestratiform precipitation and shallow-deep convections,we find that the inner-core convections take mode turns,from stratiform-precipitation(SP)dominance to convectiveprecipitation(CP)prevalence during the transition stages between pre-RI and RI.For the CP,it experiences fewer convections before RI,and the conversion from moderate/moderate-deep convections to moderate-deep/deep convections during RI.There is a clear upper-level warm-core structure during the process of RI.However,the mid-lowlevel warming begins first,before the RI of Meranti.By calculating the local potential temperature(0)budget of various convections,the link between convections and the warm core(and further to RI via the pressure drop due to the warming core)is established.Also,the transport pathways of heating toward the center of Meranti driven by pressure are illuminated.The total hydrostatic pressure decline is determined by the mid-low-level warm anomaly before RI,mostly caused by SP.The azimuthal-mean diabatic heating is the largest heating source,the mean vertical heat advection controls the vertical downwards transport by adiabatic warming of compensating downdrafts above eye region,and then the radial 6 advection term radially transports heat toward the center of Meranti in a slantwise direction.Accompanying the onset of RI,the heating efficiency of the upper-level warming core rises swiftly and overruns that of the mid-low-level warmanomaly, dominating the total pressure decrease and beingmainly led by moderate-deep and deep convections. Asidefrom the characteristics in common with SP, for CP, theeddy component of radial advection also plays a positiverole in warming the core, which enhances the centripetaltransport effect and accelerates the RI of Meranti.