Phys.org January 19, 2023
Tropical cyclones (TCs) with genesis in the Coral Sea present significant hazards to coastal regions in their surroundings. In addition, the erratic nature of TC tracks is not well understood in this region. Researchers in Australia grouped Coral Sea TC tracks over the last fifty years based on K-means clustering of the maximum wind-weighted centroids to extract valuable new cyclone power, track curvature and location related information to predict their behaviour. They assessed the TC track variance and curvature (sinuosity) and identified three well-defined clusters of TC tracks. The results showed differing predominant directions of TC movement by cluster and track sinuosity increased from east to west except for one cluster which showed decreasing TC frequency. Based on the location of cyclone maximum intensity, only one cluster showed a statistically significant trend (towards the equator). According to the researchers their work contributes to the knowledge of tropical cyclone behavior in relation to sea surface temperature and climate phenomenon and helps to anticipate their future behavior in the light of a changing climate. It provides insight to the analysis of tropical cyclone risk based on geo-location and cyclone track evolution…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
TC tracks with centroids clustered by first moment (track centroids)… Credit: Natural Hazards (2023)Â