DATE2019-01-08 12:44:23
IDABSTRACT2014/220
CONTACTpiero.lionello@unisalento.it
PRESENTATIONPOSTER
INVITED0
IDSESSION2
TITLESEEKING A CONSENSUS VIEW OF THE MEDITERRANEAN STORM TRACK AS DEPICTED BY DIFFERENT CYCLONE TRACKING METHODS
AUTHORSP. Lionello (1,8)|I. F. Trigo (2)|V. Gil (3)|M. L. R. Liberato (4)|K. Nissen (5)|J. G. Pinto (6)|M.Reale (7)|R. M. Trigo (3)|S. Ulbrich (6)|U. Ulbrich (5)
AFFILIATIONS
  1. DiSTeBA, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy
  2. Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera , Lisbon, Portugal
  3. Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
  4. Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), Vila Real, Portugal
  5. Institut fuer Meteorologie, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Berlin, Germany
  6. Institute for Geophysics and Meteorology University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
  7. University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
  8. CMCC, Euro Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, Lecce, Italy
ABSTRACTThis study analyses a cyclone track database collected within the framework of IMILAST project by 14 different cyclone detection and tracking methods. They are all based on objective criteria applied to fields provided by ERA-Interim reanalysis, available 6-hourly and downloaded at 1.5x1.5 space resolution. Four methods considered also fields at 0.75 x 0.75 degs spatial resolution. The various methods for cyclone identification look for signatures near the surface: minima in mean sea level pressure or 1000 hPa geopotential height, or for vorticity maxima at 850 hPa. The tracking is then performed through the analysis of centres identified in consecutive time slots and imposing a set of a priory conditions on the velocity admissible for mid-latitude cyclones. This analysis shows that there is a good consistency among methods in terms of trends, annual cycle and areas of cyclogenesis, if slow moving cyclones and weak cyclones are removed from the data. This implies most differences among methods can be described by a pair of a scaling factors characterizing each method (and each region or/and subregion) and that common patterns in time and space for seasonal cycles and interannual variability of cyclones can be identified. Results show that internal cyclogenesis is dominant: about 70% of cyclones in the MED are generated inside the region. Particularly the western part of the basin contributes about 50% of the cyclones. The Atlantic cyclones contribute about 15% of the cyclones crossing the MED. In the period 1979-2008 there is no significant trends in the number of cyclones in the Mediterranean region.
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