Open AccessRemote sensing of deep convection within a tropical‐like cyclone over the Mediterranean Sea
Author(s) -
Dafis Stavros,
Rysman JeanFrancois,
Claud Chantal,
Flaounas Emmanouil
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
atmospheric science letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.951
H-Index - 45
ISSN - 1530-261X
DOI - 10.1002/asl.823
Subject(s) - tropical cyclone , convection , deep convection , cyclone (programming language) , climatology , lightning (connector) , atmospheric sciences , geology , mediterranean sea , meteorology , convective available potential energy , environmental science , mediterranean climate , geography , physics , power (physics) , archaeology , field programmable gate array , quantum mechanics , computer science , computer hardware
The Mediterranean basin occasionally hosts tropical‐like cyclones named “Medicanes”. Medicanes may have intensity comparable to hurricanes in terms of wind speeds along with an axisymmetric cloud structure. Although these events can be particularly violent, very few studies so far have investigated the distribution and temporal evolution of deep convection within these cyclones. In this study, the characteristics and lifetime of deep convection and lightning activity surrounding the core of the longest‐lasting and probably the most intense Medicane ever recorded in terms of wind speed (Rolf, November 2011) are presented by all available means of microwave and infrared satellite retrievals and a lightning detection system. Results showed that deep convective clouds penetrated the lowest stratosphere and were wrapped around the cyclone centre during the intensification period. Lightning activity was mostly active about a day before the maximum strength of the cyclone studied and it was not temporarily correlated with the most intense deep convection activity. Overall, this study reveals that spatial and temporal distribution of deep convection and lightning activity around the centre of Rolf show more similarities with Tropical Cyclones than intense Mediterranean cyclones.