Has There Been a Recent Shallowing of Tropical Cyclones?

Autor: Tsz‐Kin Lai, Ralf Toumi
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Geophysical Research Letters, Vol 50, Iss 5, Pp n/a-n/a (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1944-8007
0094-8276
DOI: 10.1029/2022GL102184
Popis: Abstract Many aspects of tropical cyclone (TC) properties at the surface have been changing but any systematic vertical changes are unknown. Here, we document a recent trend of high thick clouds of TCs. The global inner‐core high thick cloud fraction measured by satellite has decreased from 2002 to 2021 by about 10% per decade. The TC inner‐core surface rain rate is also found to have decreased during the same period by a similar percentage. This suppression of high thick clouds and rain has been largest during the intensification phase of the strongest TCs. Hence, these two independent and consistent observations suggest that the TC inner‐core convection has weakened and that TCs have become shallower recently at least. For this period, the lifetime maximum intensity of major TCs has not changed and this suggests an increased efficiency of the spin‐up of TCs.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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