Work

Radio occultation for tropical cyclone monitoring and prediction

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In honor of the 75th anniversary of the JASTP, which was founded by Edward Victor Appleton whose work greatly advanced the field of ionospheric science, we present a summary of our research on forecasting and monitoring tropical cyclones. Over the past three decades, radio occultation techniques have greatly improved our ability to monitor the Earth by employing satellite technology to accurately detect atmospheric and ionospheric qualities through novel calculations and approaches. Radio occultation advances our understanding of atmospheric dynamics and is highly accurate compared to terrestrial monitoring. This emphasizes its importance in contemporary meteorological and environmental research. While radio occultation holds potential for improving climate predictions, its shortcomings in accurately tackling tropical cyclogenesis highlight the demand for advanced algorithms and integrated data analysis. The study suggests that remote sensing technologies, particularly microwave surveillance, greatly enhance our understanding of sea-atmosphere system instability and enable timely tropical cyclone detection. By offering crucial measurements of heat fluxes and the vertical distribution of atmospheric gases, this approach advances cyclone prediction and addresses major scientific challenges in meteorology. The analysis showed that from 1995 to 2023, hurricanes in the North Atlantic (0–20°N, 30–70°W) mainly formed near tectonic faults, following a week of increased sensible and latent heat fluxes. Also, key calculations are included, and the determination of four Stock's coefficients is explored. These are vital for identifying cloud and rain formation as signs of tropical cyclone development. Finally, it proposes a global monitoring system using radio occultation to enhance cyclone forecasting.

Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

DOI: 10.1016/j.jastp.2025.106678

Authors: Costas A. Varotsos, Ferdenant A. Mkrtchyan, Vladimir Yu. Soldatov

Institutions: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Kotelnikov Institute of Radioengineering and Electronics of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research

Subfield: Atmospheric Science

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,770