Cluster analysis of North Atlantic tropical cyclones

Corporal-Lodangco, IL; Richman, MB; Leslie, LM; Lamb, PJ

Cluster analysis of North Atlantic tropical cyclones

Corporal-Lodangco, IL Richman, MB Leslie, LM

Lamb, PJ

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Procedia Computer Science, 2014, 36 (C), pp. 293 - 300
Issue Date:: 2014-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Corporal-Lodangco, IL	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Richman, MB	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Leslie, LM https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5616-2330	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Lamb, PJ	en_US
dc.date.issued	2014-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Procedia Computer Science, 2014, 36 (C), pp. 293 - 300	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/120219
dc.description.abstract	© 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. Tropical cyclones (TCs) in the North Atlantic (NA) basin pose an annual risk to coastal regions, with hurricane Katrina (2005) the costliest TC in US history. This study employs K-means cluster analysis (CA) to detect the distinctive, important NA TC paths and lifecycles. Unlike previous TC cluster analyses, which examined TC tracks, the present work documents TC genesis and decay locations. Application of the silhouette coefficient provided an objective method to determine the optimal number of clusters (7 for genesis locations, 6 for preferred tracks, and 5 for decay locations). Additionally, silhouette coefficients provided the information necessary to remove storms that did not fit specific clusters, improving cluster cohesiveness. For TC genesis, K-means CA captured the separation between tropical and higher-latitude TCs. Clustering of genesis points identifies formative areas. The western NA cluster is the most active. TCs have distinct decay locations, notably in the western NA, Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean Sea. Clustering TC tracks reveals that TCs moving to higher latitudes recurve generally, whereas Caribbean and Gulf coast TCs have straight-line tracks. Temporally, early season TC clusters form in the western Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and western NA. Midseason TC clusters shift eastward, extending from the tropical NA to Africa. Late season TC clusters recur in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and western NA.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Procedia Computer Science	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.procs.2014.09.096	en_US
dc.title	Cluster analysis of North Atlantic tropical cyclones	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	C	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	36	en_US
utslib.for	0103 Numerical and Computational Mathematics	en_US
utslib.for	0802 Computation Theory and Mathematics	en_US
utslib.for	08 Information and Computing Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	10 Technology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	C	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	36	en_US

Abstract:

© 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. Tropical cyclones (TCs) in the North Atlantic (NA) basin pose an annual risk to coastal regions, with hurricane Katrina (2005) the costliest TC in US history. This study employs K-means cluster analysis (CA) to detect the distinctive, important NA TC paths and lifecycles. Unlike previous TC cluster analyses, which examined TC tracks, the present work documents TC genesis and decay locations. Application of the silhouette coefficient provided an objective method to determine the optimal number of clusters (7 for genesis locations, 6 for preferred tracks, and 5 for decay locations). Additionally, silhouette coefficients provided the information necessary to remove storms that did not fit specific clusters, improving cluster cohesiveness. For TC genesis, K-means CA captured the separation between tropical and higher-latitude TCs. Clustering of genesis points identifies formative areas. The western NA cluster is the most active. TCs have distinct decay locations, notably in the western NA, Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean Sea. Clustering TC tracks reveals that TCs moving to higher latitudes recurve generally, whereas Caribbean and Gulf coast TCs have straight-line tracks. Temporally, early season TC clusters form in the western Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and western NA. Midseason TC clusters shift eastward, extending from the tropical NA to Africa. Late season TC clusters recur in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and western NA.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/120219