Kang, Sok Kuh Kim, Sung-Hun Lin, I. -I. Park, Young-Hyang Choi, Yumi Ginis, Isaac Cione, Joseph Shin, Ji Yun Kim, Eun Jin Kim, Kyeong Ok Kang, Hyoun Woo Park, Jae-Hyoung Bidlot, Jean-Raymond Ward, Brian 2024-09-06T06:00:34Z 2024-09-06T06:00:34Z 2024-09-05 2024-03 https://pubs.kist.re.kr/handle/201004/150555 Super Typhoon Mangkhut, which traversed the North Equatorial Current (NEC; 8-17 degrees N) in the western North Pacific in 2018, was the most intense Category-5 tropical cyclone (TC) with the longest duration in history-3.5 days. Here we show that the combination of two factors-high ocean heat content (OHC) and increased stratification - makes the NEC region the most favored area for a rapid intensification (RI) of super typhoons, instead of the Eddy Rich Zone (17-25 degrees N), which was considered the most relevant for RI occurrence. The high OHC results from a northward deepening thermocline in geostrophic balance with the westward-flowing NEC. The stratification is derived from precipitation associated with the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone in the summer peak typhoon season. These factors, which are increasingly significant over the past four decades, impede the TC-induced sea surface cooling, thus enhancing RI of TCs and simultaneously maintaining super typhoons over the NEC region. English Nature Publishing Group The North Equatorial Current and rapid intensification of super typhoons Article 10.1038/s41467-024-45685-2 1 Nature Communications, v.15, no.1 Nature Communications 15 1 Y scie scopus 001271445000005 2-s2.0-85185309163 Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology - Other Topics Article VARIABILITY CIRCULATION SEA-SURFACE TEMPERATURE OCEAN THERMAL STRUCTURE VERTICAL WIND SHEAR TROPICAL CYCLONES POTENTIAL INTENSITY MAXIMUM INTENSITY PART I IMPACT