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dc.contributor.authorTang, Brian
dc.contributor.authorEmanuel, Kerry Andrew
dc.date.accessioned2013-02-28T16:19:34Z
dc.date.available2013-02-28T16:19:34Z
dc.date.issued2012-08
dc.date.submitted2011-09
dc.identifier.issn0022-4928
dc.identifier.issn1520-0469
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77234
dc.description.abstractThe sensitivity of tropical cyclone intensity to ventilation of cooler, drier air into the inner core is examined using an axisymmetric tropical cyclone model with parameterized ventilation. Sufficiently strong ventilation induces cooling of the upper-level warm core, a shift in the secondary circulation radially outward, and a decrease in the simulated intensity. Increasing the strength of the ventilation and placing the ventilation at middle to lower levels results in a greater decrease in the quasi-steady intensity, whereas upper-level ventilation has little effect on the intensity. For strong ventilation, an oscillatory intensity regime materializes and is tied to transient convective bursts and strong downdrafts into the boundary layer. The sensitivity of tropical cyclone intensity to ventilation can be viewed in the context of the mechanical efficiency of the inner core or a modified thermal wind relation. In the former, ventilation decreases the mechanical efficiency, as the generation of available potential energy is wasted by entropy mixing above the boundary layer. In the latter, ventilation weakens the eyewall entropy front, resulting in a decrease in the intensity by thermal wind arguments. The experiments also support the existence of a threshold ventilation beyond which a tropical cyclone cannot be maintained. Downdrafts overwhelm surface fluxes, leading to a precipitous drop in intensity and a severe degradation of structure in such a scenario. For a given amount of ventilation below the threshold, there exists a minimum initial intensity necessary for intensification to the quasi-steady intensity.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant ATM-0850639)en_US
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherAmerican Meteorological Societyen_US
dc.relation.isversionofhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-11-0232.1en_US
dc.rightsArticle is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.en_US
dc.sourceAmerican Meteorological Societyen_US
dc.titleSensitivity of Tropical Cyclone Intensity to Ventilation in an Axisymmetric Modelen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dc.identifier.citationTang, Brian, and Kerry Emanuel. “Sensitivity of Tropical Cyclone Intensity to Ventilation in an Axisymmetric Model.” Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 69.8 (2012): 2394–2413. © 2012 American Meteorological Societyen_US
dc.contributor.departmentMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciencesen_US
dc.contributor.mitauthorEmanuel, Kerry Andrew
dc.relation.journalJournal of the Atmospheric Sciencesen_US
dc.eprint.versionFinal published versionen_US
dc.type.urihttp://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticleen_US
eprint.statushttp://purl.org/eprint/status/PeerRevieweden_US
dspace.orderedauthorsTang, Brian; Emanuel, Kerryen
dc.identifier.orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2066-2082
mit.licensePUBLISHER_POLICYen_US
mit.metadata.statusComplete


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