Dynamical Studies in Hurricane Intensity Change and Hurricane Motion
Abstract
The long-term goals and objectives of this research are to develop a physical understanding of tropical cyclone (TC) intensity change processes and the motion of a three-dimensional hurricane vortex. Towards these goals, this year's work focused on four areas: barotropic hurricane motion, assessing the traditional balance approximation for the asymmetric flow in hurricanes, understanding the impact of convective asymmetries on TC intensity change, and understanding the dynamics of hurricane spin down over the open ocean. The following pages summarize pertinent milestones in each area. Although the traditional balance approximation is widely used to extract the asymmetric geopotential height field from the horizontal wind fields in both observational and theoretical hurricane work, the basis for such an approximation in hurricane flows has received little scrutiny. The work described below derives a mathematical criterion under which the traditional balance approximation is formally valid and provides an alternative method for deducing the asymmetric height field from the horizontal winds when the balance approximation breaks down.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA537549
Entities
People
- Michael T. Montgomery
Organizations
- Colorado State University