Variation trends of asymmetrical precipitable water vapor outside the tropical cyclone center over the WNP and WSP Ocean

Abstract

Precipitable water vapor (PWV) is one of the crucial driving forces for tropical cyclone (TC) genesis. Under the impact of global warming, TCs have changed their way to concentrate PWV from the ambient atmosphere. This study starts with the asymmetric characteristics of PWV in the TC's north and south sides using altimetry-satellite-based PWV profiles paired with 367 TCs over the western Pacific Ocean between 2008 and 2020. The results suggest that the TC-concentrated PWV has a north-leaning and south-leaning property over the western North Pacific (WNP) and western South Pacific (WSP), respectively. Moreover, it is observed that the radius of TC-concentrated PWV has broadened by 5.44% (5.83%) over the WNP (WSP) from 2008 to 2020. In contrast, the PWV gradient has decreased by 23.5% (17.5%) over the WNP (WSP). Our findings highlight that the TC-concentrated PWV can be used as an important indicator of TC responses to global warming.