Do gravity waves transport angular momentum away from hurricanes?
Yumin Moon, RSMAS/University of Miami, Miami, FL; and D. S. Nolan Latent heat generated from the condensation in air parcel creates a localized departure in the atmosphere in hydrostatic and geostrophic balance. In response, hydrostatic and geostrophic adjustment processes gradually establish a new equilibrium in the atmosphere by dispersing the source of imbalance to the surroundings through means such as gravity waves. The effect of convection on tropical cyclones has been examined extensively in the past but with different approaches for the representation of convection around the storm. Many studies used balanced potential vorticity perturbations to represent convection because they were considered to be the end product of a rapid adjustment process to strong localized convective heating. However, recent studies have shown the importance of capturing this rapid adjustment process (such as strong vertical acceleration and gravity wave radiation) to accurately compute the effect of c
