Estimation of water origins within an explosive cyclone over the Sea of Japan using an isotopic regional spectral model

Abstract

AbstractMoisture sources and their corresponding temperature and humidity are important for explosive extratropical cyclones’ development regarding latent heating. To clarify the water origins and moisture-transport processes within an explosive cyclone, we simulated an explosive cyclone migrating poleward across the Sea of Japan on November 30, 2014, by using an isotopic regional spectral model. In the cyclone’s center area, a replacement of water origins occurred during the cyclone’s development. During the early stage, the warm conveyor belt (WCB) transported large amounts of moisture from the East China Sea and Kuroshio into the cyclone’s inner region. While in the deepening stage, the cold conveyor belt (CCB) and dry intrusion (DI) conveyed more moisture from the Northwest Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, respectively. Compared with the contribution of local moisture, that of remote moisture was dominant in the cyclone’s center area. Regarding the water origins of condensation within the frontal system in the deepening stage, the Northwest Pacific Ocean vapors, principally transported by the CCB, contributed 35.5% of the condensation in the western warm front. The East China Sea and Kuroshio moisture, conveyed by the WCB, accounted for 32.4% of the condensation in the cold and eastern warm fronts. In addition, condensation from the Sea of Japan, which was mainly triggered by the DI and induced by the topography, occurred on the west coast of the mainland of Japan and near the cyclone center. The spatial distribution of the isotopic composition in condensation and water vapor also supports the water-origin results.