IPRC’s Yuqing Wang recognized for Outstanding Paper
IPRC’s Yuqing Wang and his co-author Jing Xu received a 2018 Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan (JMSJ) Award for their paper “Effect of the initial vortex structure on intensification of a numerically simulated tropical cyclone.” The editorial committee of the JMSJ gives the award to authors of outstanding papers published each year in JMSJ. Xu and Wang presented evidence, based on model simulations in support of their earlier observational findings, that the rate and duration of the first strengthening (initial spin-up) and the subsequent intensification of a cyclone depends on its starting structure and size. Those cyclones with an initially small central eye (smaller “radius of maximum wind” (RMW)) or with winds that drop off more quickly outward from the RMW, will intensify more rapidly. The duration of this intensification depends on how quickly the internal structure of the vortex develops, with cyclones with a larger initial RMW correlating with a longer initial spin-up period followed by a slower intensification. Compliments to the authors on the merits of this work being so recognized!