Structure and Maintenance Mechanism of Long-Lived Concentric Eyewalls Associated with Simulated Typhoon Bolaven (2012)

Abstract

AbstractTyphoons with long-lived concentric eyewalls (CEs) are more intense than those with short-lived CEs. It is important for more accurate prediction of typhoon intensity to understand the maintenance mechanism of the long-lived CEs. To study the mechanism of the long-term maintenance of CEs, a numerical experiment of Typhoon Bolaven (2012) is performed using a nonhydrostatic model with full physics. Two aspects of the maintenance of simulated CEs are investigated: the maintenance of the inner eyewall and the contraction of the outer eyewall. To examine the maintenance of the inner eyewall, the equivalent potential temperature budget and air parcel trajectories of the simulated inner eyewall are calculated. The results show that the entropy supply to the inner eyewall is sufficient to maintain the inner eyewall after secondary eyewall formation (SEF). During the early period after SEF, entropy is supplied by an axisymmetric inflow, and later it is supplied by nonaxisymmetric flows of the outer eyewall. To examine the contraction of the outer eyewall, the potential vorticity (PV) budget of the outer eyewall is diagnosed. The result reveals that the negative contribution to the contraction of the outer PV peak (i.e., the outer eyewall) in the early period is the negative PV generation due to axisymmetric advection and diabatic heating just inside of the outer PV peak. In the later period, the negative PV generation due to nonaxisymmetric structure is important for the prevention of contraction. The present study reveals that the structure of the outer eyewall plays important roles in the maintenance of long-lived CEs.