Response of Tropical Cyclone Frequency to Sea Surface Temperatures Using Aqua-Planet Simulations

Abstract

The present study investigates the effect of increasing sea surface temperatures (SSTs) on tropical cyclone (TC) frequency using the high-resolution Australian Community Climate and Earth-System Simulator (ACCESS) model. We examine environmental conditions leading to changes in TC frequency in aqua-planet global climate model simulations with globally uniform sea surface temperatures (SSTs). Two different TC tracking schemes are used. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) scheme (a resolution-dependent scheme) detects TCs that resemble observed storms, while the Okubo–Weiss zeta parameter (OWZP) tracking scheme (a resolution-independent scheme) detects the ..