Universal Scaling of Tangential Wind Fields in Axisymmetric Tropical Cyclone Vortices: Empirical Evidence for V²R Conservation

Universal Scaling of Tangential Wind Fields in Axisymmetric Tropical Cyclone Vortices: Empirical Evidence for V²R Conservation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Universal Scaling of Tangential Wind Fields in Axisymmetric Tropical Cyclone Vortices: Empirical Evidence for V²R Conservation YI Wang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9190077/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Imagine tropical cyclones (TCs) as the most perfectly structured and dynamically powerful rotating vortex systems at the interface of Earth’s oceans and atmosphere—much like celestial planets in the sky, they exhibit extraordinary structural order and hidden dynamical laws. For decades, scientists have relied on the modified Rankine (mRankine) vortex model to parameterize TC wind fields, yet the critical decay parameter α has remained purely empirical, with no clear underlying physical constraints. Our global observational analysis of nearly circular TCs finally unlocks this mystery: we reveal that the primary circulation region of these storms strictly adheres to a V²R conservation law—where V is the tangential wind speed and R is the radial distance from the storm center. Analyzing 59 observational data points across multiple ocean basins—the Western North Pacific, Atlantic, and South Pacific—we find that V²R remains nearly invariant across 64 kt, 50 kt, and 34 kt wind radii at identical observation times. Statistical validation confirms this robustness with an overall standard deviation of just 6.6%. From this conservation law, we further derive a fundamental mathematical relation: R³/T² = K (a constant), where R is the rotational radius and T is the rotation period. This striking parallel to Kepler’s third law of planetary motion hints at an inherent dynamical symmetry within stable TC vortices. Our findings not only resolve the long-standing enigma of the empirical decay parameter α but also lay a new theoretical foundation for vortex dynamics and wind field modeling, offering fresh insights into the fundamental laws governing these "planets of the atmosphere." Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Atmospheric science/Atmospheric dynamics Physical sciences/Physics/Fluid dynamics Tropical cyclone Nearly circular vortex V2R conservation R3/T2 constant Vortex dynamics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9190077","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":612532549,"identity":"92963c81-c57b-4a31-a392-7f1b4d0a0ed6","order_by":0,"name":"YI Wang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA10lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYPCCAwwGDMwHgAwJGWKUMzZAtLAlgLTwkKKFxwDEI6zF4Hjv8wcf2+4kbpfI+fzqRo0FDwP74aMb8Go5c9ywccaZZ4k7Z+Rus845BnQYT1raDXxaJGekMTbzVBxO3HAjd5txDhtQiwSPGWEtfwxAWnKeGef8I0ILvwRQCwPYlhzmx7ltxGjhOcY4s+fMYeMNZ56ZMef2SfCwEfILG3sbw4efbYdlNxxPfvw551udHD/74WN4taBolwCTxCoHAeYPpKgeBaNgFIyCkQMAnYBNJ32lYXcAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"East China Normal University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"YI","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-22 08:55:07","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9190077/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9190077/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106279898,"identity":"a51aa7c8-8a8c-4369-a14f-a265d8b4c1ab","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-07 05:28:21","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1225519,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"UniversalScalingofTangentialWindFieldsinAxisymmetricTropicalCycloneVorticesEmpiricalEvidenceforV2RConservation.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9190077/v1_covered_bd0e0b50-4809-41c6-991a-f1f3c5b59e23.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Universal Scaling of Tangential Wind Fields in Axisymmetric Tropical Cyclone Vortices: Empirical Evidence for V²R Conservation","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Tropical cyclone, Nearly circular vortex, V2R conservation, R3/T2 constant, Vortex dynamics","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9190077/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9190077/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Imagine tropical cyclones (TCs) as the most perfectly structured and dynamically powerful rotating vortex systems at the interface of Earth’s oceans and atmosphere—much like celestial planets in the sky, they exhibit extraordinary structural order and hidden dynamical laws.\r\nFor decades, scientists have relied on the modified Rankine (mRankine) vortex model to parameterize TC wind fields, yet the critical decay parameter α has remained purely empirical, with no clear underlying physical constraints. Our global observational analysis of nearly circular TCs finally unlocks this mystery: we reveal that the primary circulation region of these storms strictly adheres to a V²R conservation law—where V is the tangential wind speed and R is the radial distance from the storm center.\r\nAnalyzing 59 observational data points across multiple ocean basins—the Western North Pacific, Atlantic, and South Pacific—we find that V²R remains nearly invariant across 64 kt, 50 kt, and 34 kt wind radii at identical observation times. Statistical validation confirms this robustness with an overall standard deviation of just 6.6%.\r\nFrom this conservation law, we further derive a fundamental mathematical relation: R³/T² = K (a constant), where R is the rotational radius and T is the rotation period. This striking parallel to Kepler’s third law of planetary motion hints at an inherent dynamical symmetry within stable TC vortices.\r\nOur findings not only resolve the long-standing enigma of the empirical decay parameter α but also lay a new theoretical foundation for vortex dynamics and wind field modeling, offering fresh insights into the fundamental laws governing these \"planets of the atmosphere.\"","manuscriptTitle":"Universal Scaling of Tangential Wind Fields in Axisymmetric Tropical Cyclone Vortices: Empirical Evidence for V²R Conservation","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-07 05:28:13","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9190077/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"86446e5c-f083-45fc-a961-64d7c4a8df9f","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 7th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":65174145,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Atmospheric science/Atmospheric dynamics"},{"id":65174146,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Fluid dynamics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-07T05:28:13+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-07 05:28:13","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9190077","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9190077","identity":"rs-9190077","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}