UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #886

Overall Research Project Description The Mediterranean basin is recognized as a climate change hotspot, where intense cyclones occur. The frequency of these cyclones is expected to increase in a warming climate. These cyclones share characteristics with both tropical cyclones (TCs, like hurricanes) and extratropical cyclones (ECs), leading to their classification as 'hybrid' or 'subtropical' cyclones, which are receiving increasing attention in the literature. Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones (TLCs), commonly known as medicanes, fall into this category: 1) they develop in environments similar to ECs, and 2) their mature stages resemble TCs. Medicanes have a calm central 'eye' surrounded by strong winds and rainbands extending from the center to the outer areas. Although generally smaller and weaker than TCs, their unique hybrid nature and significance in a changing climate make them significant.

The selected student will conduct research aimed at supporting statistical analysis and/or case comparisons. Depending on their interests and skillsets, students can explore climatological data or investigate the environmental conditions that lead to the formation of medicanes. For example, it is important to understanding the role of humidity before cyclone formation to reveal how evaporation modifies the low-level humidity and seek to identify relevant differences in selected cases.