Chapter 15 - Tropical cyclone life cycle

Abstract

This chapter presents an idealized simulation of an entire life cycle, focussing on the mature phase and decay phase. The life-cycle study is based on the same warm rain model as in the genesis simulation of Chapter 10, the only differences being a broader initial vortex, a slightly coarser horizontal grid spacing and a longer relaxation time scale for Newtonian cooling. The chapter begins with a discussion of how to represent physical processes, such as radiation and convection, in a long term integration of a tropical cyclone model, processes that determine, inter alia, the thermodynamic profiles in the environment. The chapter continues by examining the salient stages of the vortex lifecycle, focusing, in particular, on the rapid decay phase. The chapter concludes by offering a novel explanation for why a decay phase is to be expected at long times even in a quiescent atmosphere on an f-plane lacking adverse effects associated with vertical wind shear, etc.