Idealized Numerical Simulations of Tropical Cyclone Formation Associated with Monsoon Gyres

Monsoon gyres have been identified as one of the important large-scale circulation patterns associated with tropical cyclone （TC） formation in the western North Pacific.A recent observational analysis indicated that most TCs form near the center of monsoon gyres or at the northeast end of the enhanced low-level southwesterly flows on the southeast-east periphery of monsoon gyres.In the present reported study,idealized numerical experiments were conducted to examine the tropical cyclogenesis associated with Rossby wave energy dispersion with an initial idealized monsoon gyre.The numerical simulations showed that the development of the low-level enhanced southwesterly flows on the southeasteast periphery of monsoon gyres can be induced by Rossby wave energy dispersion.Mesoscale convective systems emerged from the northeast end of the enhanced southwesterly flows with mid-level maximum relative vorticity.The simulated TC formed in the northeast of the monsoon gyre and moved westward towards the center of the monsoon gyre.The numerical experiment with a relatively smaller sized initial monsoon gyre showed the TC forming near the center of the initial monsoon gyre.The results of the present study suggest that Rossby wave energy dispersion can play an important role in TC formation in the presence of monsoon gyres.

Re-examination of Tropical Cyclone Formation in Monsoon Troughs over the Western North Pacific

The monsoon trough （MT） is one of the large-scale patterns favorable for tropical cyclone （TC） formation over the western North Pacific （WNP）. This study re-examines TC formation by treating the MT as a large-scale background for TC activity during May-October. Over an 11-year （2000-10） period, 8.3 TC formation events on average per year are identified to occur within MTs, accounting for 43.1% of the total TC formation events in the WNP basin. This percentage is much lower than those reported in previous studies. Further analysis indicates that TC formation events in monsoon gyres were included at least in some previous studies. The MT includes a monsoon confluence zone where westerlies meet easterlies and a monsoon shear line where the trade easterlies lie north of the monsoon westerlies. In this study, the large-scale flow pattern associated with TC formation in the MT is composited based on the reference point in the confluence zone where both the zonal and meridional wind components are zero with positive vorticity. While previous studies have found that many TCs form in the confluence zone, the composite analysis indicates that nearly all of the TCs formed in the shear region, since the shear region is associated with stronger low-level relative vorticity than the confluence zone. The prevailing easterly vertical shear of zonal wind and barotropic instability may also be conducive to TC formation in the shear region, through the development of synoptic-scale tropical disturbances in the MT that are necessary for TC formation.

An Examination of the Predictability of Tropical Cyclone Genesis in High-Resolution Coupled Models with Dynamically Downscaled Coupled Data Assimilation Initialization

Predicting tropical cyclone(TC)genesis is of great societal importance but scientifically challenging.It requires fineresolution coupled models that properly represent air−sea interactions in the atmospheric responses to local warm sea surface temperatures and feedbacks,with aid from coherent coupled initialization.This study uses three sets of highresolution regional coupled models(RCMs)covering the Asia−Pacific(AP)region initialized with local observations and dynamically downscaled coupled data assimilation to evaluate the predictability of TC genesis in the West Pacific.The APRCMs consist of three sets of high-resolution configurations of the Weather Research and Forecasting−Regional Ocean Model System(WRF-ROMS):27-km WRF with 9-km ROMS,and 9-km WRF with 3-km ROMS.In this study,a 9-km WRF with 9-km ROMS coupled model system is also used in a case test for the predictability of TC genesis.Since the local sea surface temperatures and wind shear conditions that favor TC formation are better resolved,the enhanced-resolution coupled model tends to improve the predictability of TC genesis,which could be further improved by improving planetary boundary layer physics,thus resolving better air−sea and air−land interactions.

Recent advances in research on tropical cyclogenesis

This review article summarizes recent(2014-2019)advances in our understanding of tropical cyclogenesis,stemming from activities at the ninth International Workshop on Tropical Cyclones.Tropical cyclogenesis involves the interaction of dynamic and thermodynamic processes at multiple spatio-temporal scales.Studies have furthered our understanding of how tropical cyclogenesis may be affected by external processes,such as intraseasonal oscillations,monsoon circulations,the intertropical convergence zone,and midlatitude troughs and cutoff lows.Additionally,studies have furthered our understanding of how tropical cyclogenesis may be affected by internal processes,such as the organization of deep convection;the evolution of the"pouch"structure;the role of friction;the development of the moist,warm core;the importance of surface fluxes;and the role of the mid-level vortex.A relatively recent class of idealized,numerical simulations of tropical cyclogenesis in radiativeconvective equilibrium have highlighted the potential importance of radiative feedbacks on tropical cyclogenesis.We also offer some recommendations to the community on future directions for tropical cyclogenesis research.