Journal
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Volume 45, Issue 3, Pages 1692-1700Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1002/2017GL076123
Keywords
gravity waves; tropical cyclones; rapid intensification; stratosphere; remote sensing
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Funding
- National Science Foundation [1519271]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [41605023]
- International Postdoctoral Exchange Fellowship Program [20151006]
- Div Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences
- Directorate For Geosciences [1519271] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Forecasting the intensity of tropical cyclones is a challenging problem. Rapid intensification is often preceded by the formation of hot towers near the eyewall. Driven by strong release of latent heat, hot towers are high-reaching tropical cumulonimbus clouds that penetrate the tropopause. Hot towers are a potentially important source of stratospheric gravity waves. Using 13.5 years (2002-2016) of Atmospheric Infrared Sounder observations of stratospheric gravity waves and tropical cyclone data from the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship, we found empirical evidence that stratospheric gravity wave activity is associated with the intensification of tropical cyclones. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder and International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship data showed that strong gravity wave events occurred about twice as often for tropical cyclone intensification compared to storm weakening. Observations of stratospheric gravity waves, which are not affected by obscuring tropospheric clouds, may become an important future indicator of storm intensification.
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