Author(s)

Xiaogang Zhou, Chongjian Liu, Ying Liu, Hui Xu, Xiuming Wang

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Observational analyses show that the equatorial trough in the western North Pacific (WNP) is a well-known origin for tropical cyclones (TC) which have tended to weaken in intensity and decrease in number during the last several decades under global warming. A scientific problem then arises as to why higher sea surface temperatures (SSTs), one of the necessary conditions for typhoon genesis, can cause a weakened equatorial trough and a decreased TC number. In this paper, the WNP is taken as an example to illustrate a possible mechanism for the above-mentioned seemingly counterintuitive phenomena and explain the causality between the unusually heterogeneous pattern of SSTs in a warming environment and TC number in the WNP. This mechanism is based substantially on the second law of thermodynamics.

Second Law of Thermodynamics, Global Warming, Thermal Wind Relation, Sea Surface Temperature

X. Zhou, C. Liu, Y. Liu, H. Xu and X. Wang, "Changes in Tropical Cyclone Number in the Western North Pacific in a Warming Environment as Implied by Classical Thermodynamics," International Journal of Geosciences, Vol. 2 No. 1, 2011, pp. 29-35. doi: 10.4236/ijg.2011.21003.