Wayne Schubert’s Contributions to our Understanding of Tropical Cyclone Wind Structure Change and Eyewall Replacement Cycles

Wayne Schubert and his research group have made significant contributions to our current understanding of tropical cyclone (TC) structure change and eyewall replacement cycles (ERCs). Some of his earliest work on balanced vortex dynamics continues to form the basis of contemporary frameworks of intensification and structure change. This work includes analytical and numerical solutions to the Eliassen (1952) vortex model that illustrate how the spatial distribution of latent heating in relation to regions of higher inertial stability impacts TC intensity. Recent research has linked these results to both structure change and ERC dynamics. At the same time, Wayne Schubert has recognized the importance of planetary boundary layer (PBL) processes in TC structure evolution. He has more recently used a simplified boundary layer model to illustrate how PBL dynamics and shocks can help influence the development and location of TC primary and secondary eyewalls. This talk will review foundational frameworks Wayne Schubert has developed that continue to be an integral part of our current understanding of TC structure change. Also, an examination of these frameworks in a full-physics numerical simulation of ERCs and structure change will be presented.