Colloquium – Corene Maytas, Geography, University of Florida

Corene Maytas, Geography, University of Florida

Title: On the Edge – Identifying and Measuring Tropical Cyclone Rain Fields

Abstract:

Geographers measure space, and with that comes the challenge of first delineating the space. In this presentation I will discuss how I have defined the edges of the rain fields of tropical cyclones (TCs) utilizing a GIS. I have primarily employed data from ground-based weather radars to examine TCs as they make landfall in the U.S. However I have also used data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission’s 3B42 product to examine TC rain rates over the ocean in the Atlantic and Southwest Indian Ocean basins. After I define the edges of the TC rain fields, I measure their spatial properties including their location relative to the storm center, size, and shape. I then relate environmental conditions to the rain field configurations to more precisely show how moisture availability and the process of extratropical transition can affect TC structure. My current work is funded by the National Science Foundation, and my two Research Assistants are aiding in the development of a 3D mosaic of radar reflectivity values at high spatial and temporal resolutions. We are employing a high performance computing cluster to analyze data in parallel and are testing ways to perform spatial analysis in parallel using a GIS. We are also using these techniques to compare observed radar patterns to those generated by the Weather Research and Forecasting model. Although we are currently analyzing TCs, our future plans are to release our codes to the public for analysis of multiple weather phenomenon without the need to be a radar or GIS expert.