A Global Tropical Survey of Mid-Tropospheric Cyclones

TL;DR

This study characterizes Mid-Tropospheric Cyclones (MTCs) across the tropics, revealing their distinct features, seasonal distribution, and differences from lower troposphere cyclones, enhancing understanding of tropical cyclone structures.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive global survey of MTCs, comparing their morphology, distribution, and characteristics with lower tropospheric cyclones, and identifies their seasonal and regional variations.

Findings

MTCs have a distinct east-west tilted warm anomaly at 600 hPa.

MTCs are more prevalent near the equator, especially where low-level jets exist.

A bimodal distribution of vorticity peaks distinguishes MTCs from LTCs.

Abstract

Mid-Tropospheric Cyclones (MTCs) are moist synoptic systems with distinct mid tropospheric vorticity maxima and weak signatures in the lower troposphere. Composites and statistics of MTCs over the tropics are constructed and compared with monsoon lows and depressions (together, lower troposphere cyclones; LTCs). We begin with South Asia, where tracking reveals that MTCs change character during their life, i.e., their track is composed of MTC and LTC phases. The highest MTC-phase density and least motion is over the Arabian Sea, followed by the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea. A MTC-phase composite shows an east-west tilted warm above deep cold-core temperature anomaly with maximum vorticity at 600 hPa. While the LTC-phase shows a shallow cold-core below 800 hPa and a warm upright temperature anomaly with lower tropospheric vorticity maximum. Apart from South Asia, systems with similar morphology are observed over the west and central Africa, east and west Pacific in boreal summer. In boreal winter, regions that support MTCs include northern Australia, the southern Indian Ocean, and South Africa. Relatively, the MTC fraction is higher equatorward, where there is a cross-equatorial low-level jet that advects oppositely signed vorticity. Whereas the LTCs are more prevalent further poleward. Finally, a histogram of differential vorticity (difference between middle and lower levels) versus the height of peak vorticity for cyclonic centers is bimodal. One peak, around 600 hPa, corresponds to MTCs while the second, around 900 hPa, comes from LTCs. Thus, moist cyclonic systems in the tropics have a natural tendency to reside in either the MTC or LTC category preferentially