Horizontal Vortex Tubes near a Simulated Tornado: Three-Dimensional Structure and Kinematics

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dc.contributor.authorOliveira, Mauricio I.
dc.contributor.authorXue, Ming
dc.contributor.authorRoberts, Brett J.
dc.contributor.authorWicker, Louis J.
dc.contributor.authorYussouf, Nusrat
dc.date.accessioned2020-02-18T16:23:27Z
dc.date.available2020-02-18T16:23:27Z
dc.date.issued2019-11-16
dc.description.abstractSupercell thunderstorms can produce a wide spectrum of vortical structures, ranging from midlevel mesocyclones to small-scale suction vortices within tornadoes. A less documented class of vortices are horizontally-oriented vortex tubes near and/or wrapping about tornadoes, that are observed either visually or in high-resolution Doppler radar data. In this study, an idealized numerical simulation of a tornadic supercell at 100 m grid spacing is used to analyze the three-dimensional (3D) structure and kinematics of horizontal vortices (HVs) that interact with a simulated tornado. Visualizations based on direct volume rendering aided by visual observations of HVs in a real tornado reveal the existence of a complex distribution of 3D vortex tubes surrounding the tornadic flow throughout the simulation. A distinct class of HVs originates in two key regions at the surface: around the base of the tornado and in the rear-flank downdraft (RFD) outflow and are believed to have been generated via surface friction in regions of strong horizontal near-surface wind. HVs around the tornado are produced in the tornado outer circulation and rise abruptly in its periphery, assuming a variety of complex shapes, while HVs to the south-southeast of the tornado, within the RFD outflow, ascend gradually in the updraft.en_US
dc.description.peerreviewYesen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThe first author is supported by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Grant number 88881.129505/2016-01 of the “Programa de Doutorado Pleno no Exterior” (DPE – 3830) under the Brazilian Ministry of Education. The second author is supported NSF Grant AGS-1261776 and NOAA VORTEX-SE Grant NA17OAR4590188. Open Access fees paid for in whole or in part by the University of Oklahoma Libraries.en_US
dc.identifier.citationOliveira, Maurício I.; Xue, Ming; Roberts, Brett J.; Wicker, Louis J.; Yussouf, Nusrat. 2019. "Horizontal Vortex Tubes near a Simulated Tornado: Three-Dimensional Structure and Kinematics." Atmosphere 10, no. 11: 716.en_US
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/atmos10110716en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/11244/323758
dc.languageen_USen_US
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.subjecthorizontal vorticesen_US
dc.subjecttornadoesen_US
dc.subjectsupercellen_US
dc.subjectnumerical simulationen_US
dc.subjectvisualizationen_US
dc.titleHorizontal Vortex Tubes near a Simulated Tornado: Three-Dimensional Structure and Kinematicsen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
ou.groupCollege of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences::School of Meteorologyen_US

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