As a first step in this study, I redo Fiorino and Elsberry (1989), which used a non-divergent barotropic model, to check if the model as will be used in this study works correctly.
One of the most significant outcomes of Fiorino and Elsberry (1989) is that TC motion is more sensitive to the outer structure rather than the inner structure;
Figure on the upper left shows the tangential wind profiles used in the model as initial conditions, and the figure on the lower left is the result of 3-day integrations regarding the TC motion.
Figures on the right are the same as left except the initial conditions.
Reference
Fiorino, M., Elsberry, R. L., 1989: Some aspects of vortex structure related to tropical cyclone motion. J. Atmos. Sci., 46, 975-990.
Using SPECTRAL ELEMENT OCEAN MODEL, I succeeded in obtaining the same results as Fiorino and Elsberry (1989).
I used the same initial conditions and the same beta value (15 deg. N = 2.2103e-11_r8).
The lateral boundary conditions are zero along the northern and southern boundaries, and cyclic continuity in the east-west direction.
Animation (stream function up to 3 days with every 1 hour; the value of "VMAX" and "b" determine the initial vortex profile. See Fiorino and Elsberry (1989) for more details);
1. Inner; VMAX=35 m/s, b=0.9575; Outer; VMAX=35 m/s, b=0.9575 Go animation
2. Inner; VMAX=50 m/s, b=1.2141; Outer; VMAX=35 m/s, b=0.9575 Go animation
3. Inner; VMAX=20 m/s, b=0.4082; Outer; VMAX=35 m/s, b=0.9575 Go animation
4. Inner; VMAX=35 m/s, b=0.9575; Outer; VMAX=50 m/s, b=1.2141 Go animation
5. Inner; VMAX=35 m/s, b=0.9575; Outer; VMAX=20 m/s, b=0.4082 Go animation
