Basic Concepts Involved in Tropical Cyclone Boundary Layer Shocks

Abstract

This paper discusses some basic concepts that arise in the study of the tropical cyclone frictional boundary layer. Part I discusses the concepts of asymptotic triangular waves and asymptotic N-waves in the context of the nonlinear advection equation and Burgers' equation. Connections are made between triangular waves and single eyewalls, and between N-waves and double eyewalls. In Part II, analytical solutions of a line-symmetric, $f$-plane, slab model of the atmospheric boundary layer are presented. The boundary layer flow is forced by a specified pressure field and initialized with $u$ and $v$ fields that differ from the steady-state Ekman solution. With certain smooth initial conditions, discontinuities in $u$ and $v$ can be produced during the transient adjustment to the steady-state Ekman solution. Associated with these discontinuities in the horizontal wind components are singularities in the boundary layer pumping and the boundary layer vorticity, which can be either divergence-preferred or vorticity-preferred. These models serve as a prototype for understanding the role of the atmospheric boundary layer in the dynamics of primary and secondary eyewalls in tropical cyclones