The Importance of Studying Storms

Scientists in the United States are concerned by the high number of powerful storms there have been in the very recent past. In the 2005, when hurricane Denise hits the Caribbean and Florida, it was the 4th named storm for the season. As season which went on to deliver hurricane Katrina. It was the most severe Atlantic hurricane season on record. All the storms that crossed the coast Denise, Emily, Katrina, Rita and Wilma were responsible for most of the destruction.

Scientists believed warmer oceans are causing the increase in intensity in storm frequency and severity. According to a comprehensive study, hurricanes will become even more intense because of global warming. A climate modeling study at the geophysical fluid dynamics laboratory used one of the world’s most powerful computers to simulate 1300 virtual storms. It found that within 80 years, the average hurricanes strength will increase by half a category in the five steep scale and destructive power.

The combination of Warm Ocean and favorable prevailing wind is delivering more powerful storms more often starting early at in the season. Average wind speed could jump by 25 kilometers an hour, rainfall by 50 millimeters and storm serge by around a meter. The next day of the study will explore how a changing planet might affect the future frequency of the storms. The researchers are came to incorporate new data into their climate models and work being jointly carried out by Americas national oceanic atmospheric administration and NASA will help answer questions about how storms are triggered.

Two studies, one into the birth of hurricanes and another into the affects of global warming would based in Costa Rica to spend a month, the peak of the hurricane season monitoring oceanic thunderstorms. The high altitude aircraft is fitted with census to collect temperature, humidity, precipitation and wind information on either side of the storm front. The data they gather could help improve with the forecasting and lead to better hurricane warning systems.

The information allows the team to study psychogenesis, the creation of the ideal breathing conditions of the tropical storms and hurricanes. The project is also gathering data on sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Pacific. The researchers say they have developed an understanding of how mature hurricanes behave. With this study, there are concentrating on trying to understand what the early stages of a tropical storm of cyclone look like. At this stage, the computer models are yielding many false positives predicting that a hurricane will form when in practice is it not.

Costa Rica is an ideal sight to carry out this hurricane research. Its board into the west by the Pacific and to the east by the Caribbean Sea and has a seven to eight months long rainy season around 15 tropical storms and hurricanes originate near the western coast each year. They have an impact on the east and Pacific. Many areas concerning the chemical and physical processors that occur in the upper troposphere and it boundary with the stratosphere are still not well understood by scientists.

The mission coordinates observations taken from satellites, high-flying NASA research aircraft, balloons and ground base radar to study gases and ice crystals that flow from the top of storm systems known as the TC4 mission. It will help NASA understand the inter-relationship between global climate change and ozone depletion. Scientists want to document the full life cycle of the clouds in as much details as technology will currently allow. Special equipment in the aircraft can analyze the chemical content and composition of the clouds.

The storm systems amp air more than 12,000 meters above the earth surface where it can influence the composition of the stratosphere home of our planets protective ozone layer. Three different monitoring aircraft were coordinated to fly in stock formation to deliver a three dimensional image of the chemical make-up of the weather formations. Balloons and ground based monitors were used to supplement the picture. The mission would provide a baseline study for future comparison.

To get a global picture of the earth changing wind patterns, the Europeans space agency is preparing a wind monitoring satellite called “Aeolos”. Central to the satellite mission is an instrument which files laser pulses towards the atmosphere and measures the double shift of the collected return signal. This will give an unprecedented view of the growth of large tropical storms. By recording and monitoring the weather in different parts of the world, the wind monitoring satellite will help climatologists due to more complex models of the planetary environment.

Another new tool in atmospheric study ozone be in service known as Helios, it flies at 3 times the altitude of a commercial jetliner and its 14 electric motors are powered by 65,000 silicon crystals solar cells. Helios is remotely controlled and can fly from months at a time above all weather. It will provide a low cost platform for atmospheric monitoring equipment. Other applications include monitoring pollution, monitoring of the oceans and natural resources as well as an observation platform that is asked to management or hurricane tracking because it is solar powered. Helios will live no exhaust traces in the stratosphere which will make it perfect for high altitude atmospheric analysis.

Finally, the unique conditions generated by a strong winter storm in just the right place brought big wave riders, Mike Parsons, Brad Gerlach and Adam Cowan to the Mexican island of Todos Santos. Gail forced winds produce waves with faces well over 17 metes in height. Parson said, there were the biggest waves you’d seen in the area since he begun surfing there 20 years ago. It’s not easy being in the right place at the right time to take advantage of this freak surf. Storm surfing on waves this big makes the riders eligible for the Billabong XXL big wave awards, a worldwide competition that those riding the biggest waves.

These waves are so big; the surface needed tow from a jet ski to catch them. Rain and weather boys fear the north along the California coast recorded off shores wells in access of eight meters, some of the highest readings in a decade.