THE INFLUENCE OF PROTECTIVE POUCHES ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND INTENSIFICATION OF HURRICANE ETA (2020)
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Authors
Corretjer, Nicohl M.
Subjects
marsupial paradigm
tropical cyclone formation
tropical cyclone intensification
2020 Atlantic hurricane Season
Caribbean Sea
Okubo-Weiss parameter
pouch
hurricane Eta
tropical cyclone formation
tropical cyclone intensification
2020 Atlantic hurricane Season
Caribbean Sea
Okubo-Weiss parameter
pouch
hurricane Eta
Advisors
Boothe, Mark A.
Montgomery, Michael T.
Date of Issue
2023-06
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
This thesis investigates the development of Hurricane Eta (2020) and its rapid intensification in the Western Caribbean during the late hurricane season. This study aims to show that the different stages of development of the system are supported by the marsupial paradigm. This paradigm requires, for tropical cyclogenesis, the existence of a protective pouch defined by a dividing streamline with a recirculating flow in a comoving frame of reference, which in the Atlantic is often associated with a westward-tracking African easterly wave. Global Model Analyses were examined in a comoving frame and indeed the precursor to Hurricane Eta was determined to have originated over Africa and then tracked westward over the Atlantic. Moreover, thorough examination of the model analyses allowed for a careful study of the interaction of multiple vortices within the pouch. Specifically, as the pouch crossed the central Atlantic, the separation distance between the two vortices within the pouch increased and then subsequently decreased as they merged and came into vertical alignment soon before formation as a tropical depression. The rapid intensification phase of Hurricane Eta immediately before landfall in Nicaragua is described also by examining moisture, relative vorticity, and vertical wind shear.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Meteorology (MR)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.