Weather Analysis & Forecasting

Tropical Cyclones

Aaron Naeger, TEMPO Deputy Program Applications Lead, University of Alabama in Huntsville / NASA-SPoRT
There exists a large gap in understanding the impact of the complex gas-aerosol-cloud interaction processes on tropical cyclones in the Earth system. Tropical cyclones frequently interact with dust aerosols transported from the Sahara Desert and sea salt over the Atlantic Ocean. As the storms approach the North American landmass, smoke and anthropogenic aerosols from biomass burning and urban emission sources can also interact with tropical cyclones. The synergy of TEMPO and the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) aboard the GOES-16 and 17 Series will provide unprecedented detail on the spatiotemporal evolution of trace gases and aerosols in the vicinity of tropical cyclones, along with information on cloud processes. This high-temporal information will enable robust studies on the trace gas emissions and transport and chemical processes that can govern aerosol mixtures and interactions with tropical cyclones. Single scatter albedo and aerosol layer height retrievals from TEMPO will further characterize the evolving aerosols in the vicinity of tropical cyclones. The high-time (less than 60 min) microwave observations from the TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of SmallSats, launch date 2021) Mission will provide key information on the diurnal evolution of the temperature, humidity, and precipitation structure of tropical cyclones. Altogether, the complementary TEMPO, ABI, and TROPICS data will advance the state of knowledge on how gas and aerosol processes can influence cloud and precipitation characteristics along with changes in intensity and track of tropical cyclones.

Technical Contact: Dr. Aaron Naeger (aaron.naeger@nasa.gov)
Responsible Official: Dr. Gary Jedlovec (gary.jedlovec@nasa.gov)
Page Curator: Paul Meyer (paul.meyer@nasa.gov)