The analysis of the morphology of tropical convective systems has received much attention mainly thanks to the advent of geostationary infrared data. Statistics on the size, duration, propagation of the systems as well as the link to the thermodynamical and dynamical environment is readily acquired. Climatology of the tropical systems morphology is now built from roughly 25 years of continuous observations (e.g., Fiolleau et al., 2007).
On the other hand most of our knowledge on the life cycle of the tropical systems from a physical point of view (rainfall distribution, latent heating and radiation cooling rate vertical distribution, water transport, shear etc…) mainly arises from individual observational campaigns heavily based on ground radar observations and CRM modelling. Use of event-based approach exploiting the TRMM/PR data improves greatly the situation (Liu et al, 2008). The Megha-Tropiques mission, thanks to its sampling offers the possibility to further bridge the numerous individual case study physical observations and the climatological morphological approach (e.g. Kondo et al. 2006, Futyan and Del Genio, 2007).
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