Interdecadal variation of tropical cyclone genesis and its relationship to the monsoon trough over the western North Pacific

ABSTRACT Using the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts Interim Reanalysis data set and the tropical cyclone (TC) best track data obtained from the International Best Tracks Archive for Climate Stewardship project from June to November for the epoch of 1979–2013, this study reexamines...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of climatology 2017-07, Vol.37 (9), p.3587-3596
Main Authors: Huangfu, Jingliang, Huang, Ronghui, Chen, Wen, Feng, Tao, Wu, Liang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Archives & records
Barotropic mode
Climate
Climatology
Convergence
Cyclones
Diagnosis
Direct power generation
Eddy kinetic energy
Energy conversion
Hurricanes
interdecadal variation
Kinetic energy
Monsoon trough
Monsoons
Shear
Spatial distribution
Stewardship
Time
Tropical climate
tropical cyclone genesis
Tropical cyclones
Vortices
Weather forecasting
western North Pacific
Wind
Winds
Zonal winds
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Summary:ABSTRACT Using the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts Interim Reanalysis data set and the tropical cyclone (TC) best track data obtained from the International Best Tracks Archive for Climate Stewardship project from June to November for the epoch of 1979–2013, this study reexamines the recent interdecadal shift in TC genesis over the western North Pacific (WNP) in the late 1990s. An interdecadal decrease in the frequency of the WNP TC genesis was observed during 1998–2013 compared to the period of 1979–1997. The spatial distribution of the interdecadal decrease of the WNP TC genesis running northwest‐southeast, consistent with the monsoon trough (MT) zone. The results imply that the WNP genesis may be closely related to the MT on the interdecadal timescale. After the late 1990s, the intensity of the WNP MT becomes weaker and it extends more westward, thereby providing an unfavourable condition for the TC genesis. Through a diagnosis of the energetics, we suggested that the barotropic energy conversion in the eastern part of the WNP MT tends to be weakened in the late 1990s, hence less energy to support the WNP TC genesis. Both the meridional shear and the convergence of the mean zonal winds over the eastern WNP MT have an important impact on the conversion from mean kinetic energy to eddy kinetic energy, which can be considered as the atmospheric cause of the interdecadal decrease of TC genesis.
ISSN:0899-8418
1097-0088
DOI:10.1002/joc.4939