Dr. Paul Reasor, Ph.D. Colorado State University, 2000
(850) 644-4056
Assistant Professor
Dynamic meteorology, tropical cyclones (TCs); radar meteorology. Current research topics include TC genesis and intensity change, vortex resiliency theory, and radar observation of TCs. Idealized and "full-physics" numerical models are employed to understand the impact of strain/shear flows on vortex robustness. In the case of TCs, a mechanism intrinsic to the dry dynamics has been identified, believed largely responsible for the resiliency of the vertically-sheared vortex. The impact of diabatic processes on the general evolution of the TC in shear is under investigation.
The TC genesis problem is being studied using surface winds derived from QuikSCAT measurements as well as three-dimensional wind measurements from airborne Doppler radar. The surface wind evolution of developing and non-developing tropical disturbances is examined in the light of recent observational and theoretical work on the organization of low-level vorticity during the initial genesis phase. Additionally, the examination of vortex resiliency is being extended downscale to vortices generated by deep convection in tropical disturbance environments. This most recent work is in support of the objectives of FSU's Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center.
A final research thrust is the utilization of Doppler radar to document the three-dimensional structure and time evolution of the TC wind field. Unique data sets covering the TC intensification process from genesis to maturity are analyzed in conjunction with numerical modeling to gain a deeper understanding of the vortex dynamics. A database of analyzed radar observations, permitting multi-case examinations of specific processes, is currently being constructed for this purpose.
Selected Publications
2008: Reasor, P. D., M. D. Eastin, and J. F. Gamache. Rapidly intensifying Hurricane Guillermo (1997). Part I: Low-wavenumber structure and evolution. Monthly Weather Review, in press
2007: Gierach, M. M., M. A. Bourassa, P. Cunningham, J. J. O'Brien, and P. D. Reasor. Vorticity-based detection of tropical cyclogenesis. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 46, 1214-1229
2005: Reasor, P. D., M. T. Montgomery, and L. F. Bosart. Mesoscale observations of the genesis of Hurricane Dolly (1996). Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 62, 3151-3171
2004: Reasor, P. D., and M. T. Montgomery. A new look at the problem
of tropical cyclones in vertical shear flow: vortex resiliency. Journal
of the Atmospheric Sciences, 61, 3-22
2002: Schecter, D. A., M. T. Montgomery, and P. D. Reasor. A
theory for the vertical alignment of a quasi-geostrophic
vortex. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 59, 150-168
2001: Reasor, P. D., and M. T. Montgomery. Three-dimensional
alignment and corotation of weak, TC-like vortices via linear vortex
Rossby waves. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 58, 2306-2330
2000: Reasor, P. D., M. T. Montgomery, F. D. Marks,
J. F. Gamache. Low-wavenumber structure and evolution of the hurricane
inner core observed by airborne dual-Doppler radar. Monthly Weather
Review, 128, 1653-1680
1999: Reasor, P. D., and M. T. Montgomery. Diagnosing the
QBO's influence on circumpolar vortex variability using MSU
brightness temperatures and MSU-derived winds. Monthly Weather Review,
127, 46-56
