On the Structure and Formation of UTLS PV Dipole/Jetlets in Tropical Cyclones by Convective Momentum Surges

Abstract

AbstractThe structure and origin of mesoscale jets and associated potential vorticity (PV) dipoles in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) in tropical cyclones (TCs) are investigated. UTLS PV dipole/jetlets, which occurred in Talas (2011), Edouard (2014), and Ita (2014), are simulated with the University of Wisconsin Nonhydrostatic Modeling System (UWNMS). PV dipoles are confined to the UTLS, where the jetlets oppose the ambient anticyclonic flow. They form ~100–250 km from the eye in convective asymmetries and are characterized by surges of air that accelerate in the updraft, overshoot, and extend radially outward. In these cases, the outflow jet merges with the subtropical westerly jet. Analysis of the structure of UTLS PV dipole/jetlets led to a new physical interpretation for their formation, based on the difference in momentum between the updraft and air in the UTLS: the convective momentum transport hypothesis. This view is complementary to the vorticity tilting hypothesis. A jetlet will form whenever an updraft carries horizontal winds to a level with different wind. Schematic diagrams show how to predict jetlet orientation based on horizontal speeds in the updraft and UTLS ambient air. In TCs, horizontal winds in the updraft are cyclonic, so a UTLS jetlet will be cyclonic and oppose the ambient flow. Each jetlet creates an anticyclonic, inertially unstable PV member, which lies radially outward. Estimates of terms in the PV conservation equation support the hypothesis that the dipoles arise from the curl of shear stress. Convective asymmetries associated with PV dipole/jetlets can significantly modify TC evolution by local thermodynamic acceleration.