The influence of the Atlantic Meridional Mode on the frequency, duration, and intensity of tropical North Atlantic cyclones

This paper describes the Atlantic Meridional Mode (AMM) and its influence on tropical storm activity in the North Atlantic Basin. The Atlantic Meridional Mode is the oscillating sea- surface temperature (SST) gradient anomaly between the Northern Hemisphere (NH) and Southern Hemisphere (SH) portions of the Tropical Atlantic Ocean (TAO). Synthetic data generated from computer simulations as well as actual reanalysis data from North Atlantic Basin tropical storms was examined. A moderate correlation exists between increased (decreased) North Atlantic tropical storm activity and the high (low) phase of the AMM. The AMM correlates more strongly with the duration and intensity of tropical storms than the frequency. Increased understanding about the AMM and its affects on tropical storm activity will lead to improved forecasting of tropical systems, which affect many human lives each year.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Loyd, Nicholas (Nicholas W.)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Kerry Emanuel.

• Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/114331

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/114331