ENTROPY FLOW CHARACTERISTICS ANALYSIS OF TYPHOON MATSA (0509)

Abstract:

The evolution of Typhoon Matsa (0509) is examined in terms of entropy flow through an entropy balance equation derived from the Gibbs relation, according to the second law of thermodynamics. The entropy flows in the various significant stages of (genesis, development and decaying) during its evolution are diagnosed based on the outputs of the PSU/NCAR mesoscale model (known as MM5). The results show that: (1) the vertical spatial distribution of entropy flow for Matsa is characterized by a predominantly negative entropy flow in a large portion of the troposphere and a positive flow in the upper levels; (2) the fields of entropy flows at the middle troposphere (500 hPa) show that the growth of the typhoon is greatly dependent on the negative entropy flows from its surroundings; and (3) the simulated centres of heavy rainfall associated with the typhoon match well with the zones of large negative entropy flows, suggesting that they may be a significant indicator for severe weather events.