[caption id="attachment_5320" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Arctic Ocean"]
[/caption]Carol Forsloff - Experts tell us that a change of color in the ocean waters could have a
serious impact on the number and severity of hurricanes, something that can be used to pinpoint where storms are likely to develop.
This change in ocean water color has been shown that simulating a change in color can decrease formation of hurricanes by 70 percent.
The color of the oceans has to do with the presence of chlorophyll which
is a green pigment that also helps mediate the development of typhoons,
another word for hurricanes in some places.
Chlorophyll helps the organisms known as phytoplankton convert sunlight
into food which is then shared throughout the ocean's wildlife world.
“We
think of the oceans as blue, but the oceans aren’t really blue, they’re
actually a sort of greenish color,” said Anand Gnanadesikan, a
researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey. “The
fact that [the oceans] are not blue has a [direct] impacton the
distribution of tropical cyclones.”
think of the oceans as blue, but the oceans aren’t really blue, they’re
actually a sort of greenish color,” said Anand Gnanadesikan, a
researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey. “The
fact that [the oceans] are not blue has a [direct] impacton the
distribution of tropical cyclones.”
The research is scheduled to be published in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.
Gnanadesikan’s team tells us a decrease in chlorophyll concentration,
and the color change in the ocean, could cause a resulting decrease in
the formation of hurricanes in the color-depleted zone.
In
examining computer models, the projection is more hurricanes would
hit the Philippines and Vietnam, but fewer would make landfall in South
China and Japan.
examining computer models, the projection is more hurricanes would
hit the Philippines and Vietnam, but fewer would make landfall in South
China and Japan.
When
there is less chorophyll, sunlight can penetrate deeper in the waters,
leaving the surface areas cooler. This temperature drop can impact the
formation of hurricanes and reduce them. Cold water provides less
energy, the circulation of the air changes, so dry air moves upward
making it difficult for hurricanes to develop.
there is less chorophyll, sunlight can penetrate deeper in the waters,
leaving the surface areas cooler. This temperature drop can impact the
formation of hurricanes and reduce them. Cold water provides less
energy, the circulation of the air changes, so dry air moves upward
making it difficult for hurricanes to develop.
Scientists
have also examined the El Nino patterns of the Pacific Ocean, during
which plankton blooms increased, with resulting increases in
chlorophyll, which are now being considered as related to the increase
in storms.
have also examined the El Nino patterns of the Pacific Ocean, during
which plankton blooms increased, with resulting increases in
chlorophyll, which are now being considered as related to the increase
in storms.
This research was primarily supported by NOAA, with additional support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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