Hurricane Boundary Layer Height Relative to Storm Motion from GPS Dropsonde Composites
This study investigates the asymmetric distribution of hurricane boundary layer height scales in a storm-motion-relative framework using global positioning system (GPS) dropsonde observations. Data from a total of 1916 dropsondes collected within four times the radius of maximum wind speed of 37 nam...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-06-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/6/339 |
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| author | Yifang Ren Jun A. Zhang Stephen R. Guimond Xiang Wang |
| author_facet | Yifang Ren Jun A. Zhang Stephen R. Guimond Xiang Wang |
| author_sort | Yifang Ren |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study investigates the asymmetric distribution of hurricane boundary layer height scales in a storm-motion-relative framework using global positioning system (GPS) dropsonde observations. Data from a total of 1916 dropsondes collected within four times the radius of maximum wind speed of 37 named hurricanes over the Atlantic basin from 1998 to 2015 are analyzed in the composite framework. Motion-relative quadrant mean composite analyses show that both the kinematic and thermodynamic boundary layer height scales tend to increase with increasing radius in all four motion-relative quadrants. It is also found that the thermodynamic mixed layer depth and height of maximum tangential wind speed are within the inflow layer in all motion-relative quadrants. The inflow layer depth and height of the maximum tangential wind are both found to be deeper in the two front quadrants, and they are largest in the right-front quadrant. The difference in the thermodynamic mixed layer depth between the front and back quadrants is smaller than that in the kinematic boundary layer height. The thermodynamic mixed layer is shallowest in the right-rear quadrant, which may be due to the cold wake phenomena. The boundary layer height derived using the critical Richardson number (<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msub> <mi>R</mi> <mrow> <mi>i</mi> <mi>c</mi> </mrow> </msub> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>) method shows a similar front-back asymmetry as the kinematic boundary layer height. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T00:24:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ff715dbbe9134af0b23266e3ea479215 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T00:24:13Z |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-ff715dbbe9134af0b23266e3ea4792152022-12-21T23:25:07ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332019-06-0110633910.3390/atmos10060339atmos10060339Hurricane Boundary Layer Height Relative to Storm Motion from GPS Dropsonde CompositesYifang Ren0Jun A. Zhang1Stephen R. Guimond2Xiang Wang3The Center of Jiangsu Meteorological Service, Nanjing 21008, ChinaCooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149, USAJoint Center for Earth Systems Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USACentre of Data Assimilation for Research and Application, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaThis study investigates the asymmetric distribution of hurricane boundary layer height scales in a storm-motion-relative framework using global positioning system (GPS) dropsonde observations. Data from a total of 1916 dropsondes collected within four times the radius of maximum wind speed of 37 named hurricanes over the Atlantic basin from 1998 to 2015 are analyzed in the composite framework. Motion-relative quadrant mean composite analyses show that both the kinematic and thermodynamic boundary layer height scales tend to increase with increasing radius in all four motion-relative quadrants. It is also found that the thermodynamic mixed layer depth and height of maximum tangential wind speed are within the inflow layer in all motion-relative quadrants. The inflow layer depth and height of the maximum tangential wind are both found to be deeper in the two front quadrants, and they are largest in the right-front quadrant. The difference in the thermodynamic mixed layer depth between the front and back quadrants is smaller than that in the kinematic boundary layer height. The thermodynamic mixed layer is shallowest in the right-rear quadrant, which may be due to the cold wake phenomena. The boundary layer height derived using the critical Richardson number (<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msub> <mi>R</mi> <mrow> <mi>i</mi> <mi>c</mi> </mrow> </msub> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>) method shows a similar front-back asymmetry as the kinematic boundary layer height.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/6/339atmospheric boundary layertropical cyclonestorm motionasymmetryhurricaneaircraftdropsonde |
| spellingShingle | Yifang Ren Jun A. Zhang Stephen R. Guimond Xiang Wang Hurricane Boundary Layer Height Relative to Storm Motion from GPS Dropsonde Composites Atmosphere atmospheric boundary layer tropical cyclone storm motion asymmetry hurricane aircraft dropsonde |
| title | Hurricane Boundary Layer Height Relative to Storm Motion from GPS Dropsonde Composites |
| title_full | Hurricane Boundary Layer Height Relative to Storm Motion from GPS Dropsonde Composites |
| title_fullStr | Hurricane Boundary Layer Height Relative to Storm Motion from GPS Dropsonde Composites |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hurricane Boundary Layer Height Relative to Storm Motion from GPS Dropsonde Composites |
| title_short | Hurricane Boundary Layer Height Relative to Storm Motion from GPS Dropsonde Composites |
| title_sort | hurricane boundary layer height relative to storm motion from gps dropsonde composites |
| topic | atmospheric boundary layer tropical cyclone storm motion asymmetry hurricane aircraft dropsonde |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/6/339 |
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