Letters to the editor for the June 6, 2022 weekly magazine. Readers discuss what make the Monitor different and why flight shame isn't helpful for everyone.
Jeanne Marjorie (West) Roby was born June 6, 1921, in March, Cambridgeshire, England, and departed this life Thursday, March 18, 2021, in Pullman. She was with family and friends at
Scientists Discover How Hidden Underwater Forces Can Increase Hurricane Intensity
16 MAY 2021
Previously undiscovered underwater currents can seriously increase the power of hurricanes, a new study shows, research which should make storm system forecasts more accurate in the future.
The findings were made through detailed measurements of the 2017 Category 5 storm Hurricane Maria, taken from a suite of subsurface oceanographic instruments. The analysis revealed interactions between ocean islands and the hurricane that fed the storm with more and more energy.
Researchers estimate that Hurricane Maria gained up to 65 percent more potential intensity because of the sloping shelf patterns of the island shorelines, which produced currents that strengthened and stabilized the different bands of temperature in the ocean.
The
research, published in the journal
Science Advances, reveals how the interaction between ocean islands and extreme storms can generate underwater currents that make the storms more powerful. The results are applicable to the thousands of islands in the world’s tropical oceans subject to these types of weather systems.
“We were surprised to find that the direction of the approaching hurricane winds relative to the coastline kept the ocean surface layer distinctly warmer compared to the colder waters below,” said USGS oceanographer Olivia Cheriton, lead author of the paper. “This is important because warmer sea surface temperatures provided more energy for the storm.”