Date of Award

1-1-2014

Language

English

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

College/School/Department

Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences

Content Description

1 online resource (xv, 122 pages) : color illustrations, color maps.

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Lance F Bosart

Keywords

baroclinic, cyclones, development, subtropical, transition, tropical, Cyclones, Tropospheric circulation, Weather forecasting, Vortex-motion

Subject Categories

Atmospheric Sciences

Abstract

Oceanic cyclones exhibiting properties of both tropical and extratropical systems have been categorized as subtropical cyclones (STCs) since the early 1950s. The opportunity to investigate the roles of baroclinic and diabatic processes during the evolution of STCs from a potential vorticity (PV) perspective motivates this study. This study investigates the roles of baroclinic and diabatic processes during the evolution of STCs by calculating three PV metrics from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Climate Forecast System Reanalysis 0.5° gridded dataset. The three PV metrics quantify the relative contributions of lower-tropospheric baroclinic processes, midtropospheric diabatic heating, and upper-tropospheric dynamical processes during the evolution of individual cyclones. Quantification of these three contributions reveals the changing PV structure of an individual cyclone, indicates fluctuations in the dominant energy source of the cyclone, and aids in categorizing the cyclone.

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