Transport of Water Vapor from Tropical Cyclones to the Upper Troposphere

Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of tropical cyclones on water vapor concentrations in the upper atmosphere above these storms. We use independent data sets of tropical storm intensity, water vapor and lightning activity to investigate this relationship. Water vapor in the upper troposphere is a key greenhouse gas, with direct impacts on surface temperatures. Both the amount and altitude of water vapor impact the radiative balance and the greenhouse effect of the atmosphere. The water vapor enters the upper troposphere through deep convective storms, often associated with lightning activity. The intensity of the lightning activity represents the intensity of the convection in these storms, and hence the amount of water vapor transported aloft. In this paper, we investigate the role of tropical cyclones on the contribution of water vapor to the upper atmosphere moistening. Tropical cyclones are the largest most intense storms on Earth and can last for up to two weeks at a time. There is also evidence that the intensity of tropical cyclones is increasing, and will continue to increase, due to global warming. In this study we find that the maximum moistening of the upper atmosphere occurs at the 200 hPa level (~12 km altitude), with a lag of 1–2 days after the maximum sustained winds in the tropical cyclone. While the water vapor peaks after the maximum of the storm intensity, the lightning activity peaks before the maximum intensity of the storms, as shown previously. We show here that the absolute amount of water vapor in the upper troposphere above tropical storms increases linearly with the intensity of the storms. For every 10 hPa decrease in the minimum pressure of tropical storms, the specific humidity increases around 0.2 g/kg at the 200 hPa level.

Day‐To‐Day Quantification of Changes in Global Lightning Activity Based on Schumann Resonances

“…Lightning is not only an indicator but also a driver of climate change by producing strong greenhouse gases (Price et al., 1997; Schumann & Huntrieser, 2007). A strong correlation has also been found between convective intensity and upper tropospheric water vapor, one further key element of Earth's climate, and lightning is related to convective intensity (Plotnik et al., 2021; Price, 2000). This result underlines that thunderstorms play an important role in the global redistribution of water, a key mediator of both short and long wavelength radiation (Williams, 2005).…”

On the performance of CARISMA – Akademik Vernadsky station Schumann resonance monitoring

“…Lightning serves not only as an indicator and a significant driver of climate change due to its production of potent greenhouse gases (Price et al, 1997). Additionally, a strong correlation has been discovered between convective intensity and upper tropospheric water vapor, a key element influencing Earth's climate, with lightning closely associated with convective intensity (Price, 2000;Plotnik et al, 2021). The increases in lightning activity cause changes in the amplitude and frequency of the Schumann resonances, which can be detected using monitoring stations (Sentman & Fraser 1991;Sátori et al, 1996;Sátori, 1996;Nickolaenko & Hayakawa, 2002;Sátori et al, 2005;Koloskov et al, 2005;Ondraskova et al, 2009;Koloskov et al, 2020a;Peterson et al, 2021;Pizzuti et al, 2022).…”