Satellite Observations of Stratospheric Gravity Waves Associated With the Intensification of Tropical Cyclones

Hoffmann, Lars; Wu, Xue; Alexander, M. Joan

doi:10.1002/2017gl076123

Cited by 36 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Hoffmann et al () conduct a statistical analysis of TC‐induced GWs that combines TCs' tracks and intensity estimates, AIRS GW data, and the stratospheric background winds. They find that the occurrence of GW peak events associated with the intensification of TCs is twice that of TC weakening.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamical Coupling Between Hurricane Matthew and the Middle to Upper Atmosphere via Gravity Waves

Yue

Xue

et al. 2019

JGR Space Physics

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During 30 September to 9 October 2016, Hurricane Matthew traversed the Caribbean Sea to the east coast of the United States. During its period of greatest intensity, in the central Caribbean, Matthew excited a large number of concentric gravity waves (GWs or CGWs). In this paper, we report on hurricane‐generated CGWs observed in both the stratosphere and mesosphere from spaceborne satellites and in the ionosphere by ground Global Positioning System receivers. We found CGWs with horizontal wavelengths of ~200–300 km in the stratosphere (height of ~30–40 km) and in the airglow layer of the mesopause (height of ~85–90 km), and we found concentric traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs or CTIDs) with horizontal wavelengths of ~250–350 km in the ionosphere (height of ~100–400 km). The observed TIDs lasted for more than several hours on 1, 2, and 7 October 2016. We also briefly discuss the vertical and horizontal propagation of the Hurricane Matthew‐induced GWs and TIDs. This study shows that Hurricane Matthew induced significant dynamical coupling between the troposphere and the entire middle and upper atmosphere via GWs. It is the first comprehensive satellite analysis of gravity wave propagation generated by hurricane event from the troposphere through the stratosphere and mesosphere into the ionosphere.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamical Coupling Between Hurricane Matthew and the Middle to Upper Atmosphere via Gravity Waves

Yue

Xue

et al. 2019

JGR Space Physics

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“…This in turn reinforces the hypothesis of Hoffmann et al . () that stratospheric GW measurements can provide additional information that is useful for predicting intense hurricanes, the early development of which would otherwise be obscured from satellite measurements by tropospheric cloud.…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the global impact of tropical cyclone‐associated gravity waves using HIRDLS, MLS, SABER and IBTrACS data

Wright

2019

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

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Tropical convective systems are major sources of atmospheric gravity waves (GWs). These waves are a key driver of global atmospheric circulation, especially in the middle and upper atmosphere. Tropical cyclones (TCs) such as hurricanes and typhoons are particularly dramatic examples of such systems, and are therefore potentially significant individual sources of GWs. To investigate this effect, GW observations from three satellite limb sounders in the vicinity of TCs are produced and analysed. By statistically combining 15 years of GW observations from 1,379 individual TCs represented in the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship, it is shown that TCs are associated with a 15% increase of GW amplitudes over background and a 25% increase in measured momentum fluxes, primarily during the period immediately before the TC. It is further shown that this additional contribution is small relative to other GW‐generating processes, and thus that individual TCs do not have a large quantitative effect on the dynamics of the middle and upper atmosphere as a whole. Thus, it is concluded that accurate modelling of TC‐generated short vertical wavelength GWs need not be a development priority for the next generation of weather and climate models. The results also demonstrate that stronger GW activity is associated with TCs that will later develop into hurricane‐intensity storms than is observed for those that will not, and thus that better space‐based monitoring of stratospheric GW activity could be a useful tool to help improve the forecasting of strong hurricane events in the presence of obscuring tropospheric cloud.

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“…However, what these waves communicate in terms of storm dynamics, and specifically in terms of storm intensity assessment and prediction, is a subject of growing interest on the cutting edge of scientific inquiry. The basic relationship between TC intensity and stratospheric gravity wave activity has been demonstrated and empirically established (Hoffmann et al 2018), leading to suggestions for new geostationary-based, AIRS-like satellite observing systems (measuring temperature perturbations in the CO 2 absorption band near 4.3 µm) dedicated to the continuous monitoring and characterization of gravity waves (Tratt et al 2018).…”

Section: At Th E W ' S E X Te N S I V E Path O F Devastationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The waves seen in DNB nightglow imagery are best understood as a cross-sectional snapshot of what is in fact a four-dimensional (space/time) varying spectrum of gravity waves throughout the atmospheric column. Nearly concurrent observations (not shown here) from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on NASA's Aqua satellite detected concentric waves in the form of temperature perturbations at ~4.3 µm in the midstratosphere (~40 km; e.g., Hoffmann et al 2018;Tratt et al 2018), while a continental U.S. surface-based total electronic content (TEC) array measured similar concentric wave patterns in the lower ionosphere (90-400 km; e.g., Azeem et al 2015), as the waves induced collisional interactions in the plasma.…”

Section: At Th E W ' S E X Te N S I V E Path O F Devastationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whereas the broad significance of these gravity waves to the general circulation of the atmosphere is well understood (Alexander et al 2010), the practical applications of wave detection to the assessment and monitoring of TC intensity is a topic of active research (Hoffmann et al 2018;Tratt et al 2018). Figure 3 shows thermal infrared (10.763 µm) and DNB imagery for Matthew, honing in on the early morning hours of 1 October, about one day after Matthew had intensified to major hurricane status.…”

Section: At Th E W ' S E X Te N S I V E Path O F Devastationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Dark Side of Hurricane Matthew: Unique Perspectives from the VIIRS Day/Night Band

Miller

Straka

Yue

et al. 2018

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

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Hurricane Matthew (28 September–9 October 2016) was perhaps the most infamous storm of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season, claiming over 600 lives and causing over $15 billion (U.S. dollars) in damages across the central Caribbean and southeastern U.S. seaboard. Research surrounding Matthew and its many noteworthy meteorological characteristics (e.g., rapid intensification into the southernmost category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic basin on record, strong lightning and sprite production, and unusual cloud morphology) is ongoing. Satellite remote sensing typically plays an important role in the forecasting and study of hurricanes, providing a top-down perspective on storms developing over the remote and inherently data-sparse tropical oceans. In this regard, a relative newcomer among the suite of satellite observations useful for tropical cyclone monitoring and research is the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) day/night band (DNB), a sensor flying on board the NOAA–NASA Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite. Unlike conventional instruments, the DNB’s sensitivity to extremely low levels of visible and near-infrared light offers new insight into storm properties and impacts. Here, we chronicle Matthew’s path of destruction and peer through the DNB’s looking glass of low-light visible observations, including lightning connected to sprite formation, modulation of the atmospheric nightglow by storm-generated gravity waves, and widespread power outages. Collected without moonlight, these examples showcase the wealth of unique information present in DNB nocturnal low-light observations without moonlight, and their potential to complement traditional satellite measurements of tropical storms worldwide.

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Satellite Observations of Stratospheric Gravity Waves Associated With the Intensification of Tropical Cyclones

Cited by 36 publications

References 41 publications

Dynamical Coupling Between Hurricane Matthew and the Middle to Upper Atmosphere via Gravity Waves

Dynamical Coupling Between Hurricane Matthew and the Middle to Upper Atmosphere via Gravity Waves

Quantifying the global impact of tropical cyclone‐associated gravity waves using HIRDLS, MLS, SABER and IBTrACS data

The Dark Side of Hurricane Matthew: Unique Perspectives from the VIIRS Day/Night Band

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