Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2019, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (5): 42-51.doi: 10.11978/2018136CSTR: 32234.14.2018136

• Marine Meteorology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Influence of sea surface temperature gradients in the tropical Pacific and Indian oceans of the Northern Hemisphere on the frequency of tropical cyclone generation in the western North Pacific in summer

Ke FANG,Jinhua YU()   

  1. Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disasters, Ministry of Education / Joint International Research Laboratory of Climate and Environment Change / Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
  • Received:2018-12-12 Revised:2019-04-04 Online:2019-09-20 Published:2019-10-09
  • Contact: Jinhua YU E-mail:jhyu@nuist.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(41575083);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41730961)

Abstract:

Based on the Hadley Center sea surface temperature (SST) data, NECP/NCAR reanalysis data from 1951 to 2018 and numerical model (ECHAM4) simulation outputs, in view of the unusually large number of tropical cyclones (TCs) in the western North Pacific such as in 1994 and 2018, the modalities of SST anomalies (SSTA) and their influence mechanism were studied, in terms of their impacts on the increase of TC generation. It is suggested that the warming of the central tropical Pacific and the cooling of the Indian Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere are the main reasons for the increase of TC generated in the western North Pacific in summer, and the North Atlantic negative tripolar type of SSTA leads to further increase in the TC generated. The central tropical Pacific warming and the Indian Ocean cooling produce anomalous westerly wind and cyclonic circulation anomalies in the east of the Philippines. The North Atlantic negative tripolar type of SSTA excites cyclonic circulation anomalies from the South China Sea and the Philippine Seas to the southeast coast waters of China. The former in the central Pacific Ocean and the latter in the South China Sea create local environments conducive to TC generation. In the summers of 1994 and 2018, the central tropical Pacific SSTAs were warm, the Indian Ocean SSTAs were cold, and the North Atlantic showed negative tripolar type of SSTA. The number of TC generated in the western Pacific Ocean increased greatly. In the past 30 years, when the central tropical Pacific warmed up and the Indian Ocean cooled down, the North Atlantic showed a stronger negative tripolar type of SSTA than that before 1989, the linear correlation between the Pacific Northwest TC generation and Indian Ocean-Pacific SSTA gradients was more significant.

Key words: tropical cyclone genesis number, Indian Ocean-Pacific SSTA gradient, North Atlantic tripolar type of sea surface temperature anomaly

CLC Number: 

  • P732.33