Numerical analysis of a Mediterranean ‘hurricane’ over south-eastern Italy: Sensitivity experiments to sea surface temperature

Miglietta, Mario Marcello; Moscatello, A.; Conte, Dario; Mannarini, Gianandrea; Lacorata, Guglielmo; Rotunno, Richard

doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2011.04.006

Cited by 127 publications

(122 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The mechanisms through which sea surface fluxes can lead to intensification of convection are illustrated by Miglietta et al (2011). Investigating the effect of SST on a medicane (Mediterranean hurricane) by means of numerical simulations, they show that the sensible and latent heat fluxes from the sea surface are efficient mechanisms for convective destabilization.…”

Section: Discussion Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coupled atmosphere ocean climate model simulations in the Mediterranean region: effect of a high-resolution marine model on cyclones and precipitation

Sanna¹,

Lionello²,

Gualdi³

2013

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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In this study we investigate the importance of an eddy-permitting Mediterranean Sea circulation model on the simulation of atmospheric cyclones and precipitation in a climate model. This is done by analyzing results of two fully coupled GCM (general circulation models) simulations, differing only for the presence/absence of an interactive marine module, at very high-resolution (~ 1/16°), for the simulation of the 3-D circulation of the Mediterranean Sea. Cyclones are tracked by applying an objective Lagrangian algorithm to the MSLP (mean sea level pressure) field. On annual basis, we find a statistically significant difference in vast cyclogenesis regions (northern Adriatic, Sirte Gulf, Aegean Sea and southern Turkey) and in lifetime, giving evidence of the effect of both land–sea contrast and surface heat flux intensity and spatial distribution on cyclone characteristics. Moreover, annual mean convective precipitation changes significantly in the two model climatologies as a consequence of differences in both air–sea interaction strength and frequency of cyclogenesis in the two analyzed simulations

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Section: Discussion Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coupled atmosphere ocean climate model simulations in the Mediterranean region: effect of a high-resolution marine model on cyclones and precipitation

Sanna¹,

Lionello²,

Gualdi³

2013

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…Documented from both the observational (Moscatello et al, 2008b;Claud et al, 2010;Conte et al, 2011) and numerical (Moscatello et al, 2008a;Davolio et al, 2009;Miglietta et al, 2011) points of view, the role of the upper-level trough on the intensification of the storm has been evaluated for the first time.…”

Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This unique dataset combined with the strong intensity of the medicane motivated a number of studies using numerical experiments (Moscatello et al, 2008a;Davolio et al, 2009;Miglietta et al, 2011;Laviola et al, 2011) and satellite observations (Claud et al, 2010;Conte et al, 2011). The overview of the case given below is based on these previous studies.…”

Section: Overview Of the Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropical transition of a Mediterranean storm by jet crossing

Chaboureau

Pantillon

Lambert

et al. 2011

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

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The tropical transition of a Mediterranean storm that occurred on 26 September 2006 over southeastern Italy is investigated. The explosive development classified this cyclone as a bomb and its full-tropospheric warm core as a tropical-like storm or medicane. Forecasts at different scales were analysed to identify the key mechanisms in the explosive development of the medicane. At 108 h lead time, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) failed to predict the medicane and the associated upper-level trough downstream of the ex-tropical cyclone Helene during its extratropical transition. At shorter range, forecasts by both ECMWF and Action de Recherche Petite Echelle Grande Echelle (ARPEGE) increasingly improved with decreasing lead times. The depth of the medicane was missed, however, probably because of the too low resolution with respect to the 60 km diameter cyclone. Forecasts at kilometre scale were run using the mesoscale model Meso-NH and verified against in situ and satellite observations. The Meso-NH forecasts were found to be very sensitive to the initial conditions. Reduced static stability at the southern tip of the upper-level trough determined the convective activity around the pre-existing mesocyclone. The medicane was then formed only if enough vertically developed convection was further enhanced by the jet-induced upward forcing. Otherwise, no tropical transition of the mesocyclone was predicted. This study shows the role of an upper-level jet in explosively deepening a mesocyclone into a tropical storm.

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“…Since the TLC ROLF was generated in this area, we decided to evaluate how relevant the observed anomaly of 3 • C may be for the cyclone generation and evolution, also in order to test the relevance of the sea surface fluxes for the cyclone development. To assess this, we decreased the SST by 3 • C, in a way similar to [10].…”

Section: Sst Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity of a Mediterranean Tropical-Like Cyclone to Different Model Configurations and Coupling Strategies

et al. 2017

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Abstract:In November 2011, an Atlantic depression affected the Mediterranean basin, eventually evolving into a Tropical-Like Cyclone (TLC or Mediterranean Hurricane, usually designated as Medicane). In the region affected by the Medicane, mean sea level pressures down to 990 hPa, wind speeds of hurricane intensity close to the eye (around 115 km/h) and intense rainfall in the prefrontal zone were reported. The intensity of this event, together with its long permanence over the sea, suggested its suitability as a paradigmatic case for investigating the sensitivity of a numerical modeling system to different configurations, air-sea interface parameterizations and coupling approaches. Toward this aim, a set of numerical experiments with different parameterization schemes and levels of coupling complexity was carried out within the Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Wave Sediment Transport System (COAWST), which allows the description of air-sea dynamics by coupling an atmospheric model (WRF), an ocean circulation model (ROMS), and a wave model (SWAN). The sensitivity to different initialization times and Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) parameterizations was firstly investigated by running a set of WRF standalone (atmospheric-only) simulations. In order to better understand the effect of coupling on the TLC formation, intensification and trajectory, different configurations of atmosphere-ocean coupling were subsequently tested, eventually including the full coupling among atmosphere, ocean and waves, also changing the PBL parameterization and the formulation of the surface roughness. Results show a strong sensitivity of both the trajectory and the intensity of this TLC to the initial conditions, while the tracks and intensities provided by the coupled modeling approaches explored in this study do not introduce drastic modifications with respect to those resulting from a fine-tuned standalone atmospheric run, though they provide by definition a better physical and energetic consistency. Nevertheless; the use of different schemes for the calculation of the surface roughness from wave motion, which reflects the description of air-sea interface processes, can significantly affect the results in the fully coupled runs.

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Numerical analysis of a Mediterranean ‘hurricane’ over south-eastern Italy: Sensitivity experiments to sea surface temperature

Cited by 127 publications

References 43 publications

Coupled atmosphere ocean climate model simulations in the Mediterranean region: effect of a high-resolution marine model on cyclones and precipitation

Coupled atmosphere ocean climate model simulations in the Mediterranean region: effect of a high-resolution marine model on cyclones and precipitation

Tropical transition of a Mediterranean storm by jet crossing

Sensitivity of a Mediterranean Tropical-Like Cyclone to Different Model Configurations and Coupling Strategies

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