Numerical Simulation of Hurricane Bonnie (1998). Part III: Energetics

Abstract

Abstract Despite considerable research on tropical cyclones (TCs), few studies have been performed to examine inner-core energy conversions because of the lack of high-resolution data. In this study, the TC energetic characteristics in relation to intensity and structural changes under different sheared environments are investigated using a 5-day cloud-resolving simulation of Hurricane Bonnie (1998). Results show that in the presence of intense vertical shear Bonnie undergoes high-frequency fluctuations in intensity and energy conversions (at a time scale of 3 h) during the partial eyewall stage. The fluctuations are closely related to the life cycle of individual convective elements that propagate cyclonically around the downshear portion of the eyewall. The energy conversions are shown to be maximized in the vicinity of the radius of maximum wind (RMW), thus affecting strongly TC intensity. On average, about 2% of latent energy can be converted to kinetic energy to increase TC intensity. After the vertical shear subsides below a threshold, intensity fluctuations become small as convective elements reorganize into an axisymmetric eyewall in which energy conversions are more evenly distributed. Fourier decomposition is conducted to separate the wavenumber-0, -1, and -2 components of inner-core energetics. Whereas wavenumber-1 perturbations dominate the partial eyewall stage, the propagation of wavenumber-2 perturbations is shown to be closely related to individual convective elements during both the partial eyewall and axisymmetric stages. The wavenumber-2 perturbations can be traced as they move around the eyewall in the form of vortex–Rossby waves, and they play a role in determining the large intensity fluctuations during the partial eyewall stage and the formation of an outer eyewall to replace the partial inner eyewall at the later stage.