Hurricane Fuel
By:Kennedi Rogers and Tre' Scott
INTRODUCTION
2005 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON
2005 had a breathtaking hurricane season, breaking the most records out of any season ever recorded. With 3 category 5 hurricanes,14 formed hurricanes, and 8 major hurricanes(category 3 or higher) formed you can say the hurricane season in 2005 was anything but ordinary.Introduction
HOW HURRICANES FORM
In warm water areas near the equator warm water creates warm air, when that warm air above the water rises "new" cold air from surrounding areas come and fill in where the warm air was. The warm air creates clouds, and and the cool air swirls, then the clouds(storm) start to swirl, fueled by the oceans warm moist air.As the system rotates faster and faster a eye forms in the center of the storm. The eye of the storm is very clear with high air pressure. When the winds reach 39mph it is called a tropical storm, when they reach 74mph it is called a tropical cyclone or a hurricane.Introduction
Hurricanes are categorized 1-5. 1 being the least severe and 5 being the most severe and dangerous.
Introduction
Purpose:
To examine authentic sea surface temperature data to explore how hurricanes extract heat energy from the ocean surface
What is the effect on the tempature in your line graph after the hurricane passed?
Before the hurricane hit (September 1st to the 23rd) the tempature of the ocean was around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), but on the day of hurricane the 24th of September the tempature dropped down to 26 degrees Celsius (78 degrees Fahrenheit). After the hurricane around the 27th or 28th the tempature increased to 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit). The reason why this happens is because when a hurricane passes over an area it sucks up the warm air and replaces it with cool air and makes a cool surface tempature on the ocean.
How long did it take the SST to the previous tempature?
On the line graph it shows that the tempature never gets back up to 30 degrees Celsius, and that is because after a hurricane passes through an area it takes away the warm air and replaces it with cold air. Another reason why the tempature never got back up was because the seasons. Around the end of September or the beginning of October is when the tempature a start getting cooler because we are exiting summer and really getting into fall and that is why the tempature never increased back up.
Is there Evidence of a change in SST?
Yes, in the data maps as the hurricane passes the surface temperature gets cooler. When the hurricane passes through it takes the warm moist air along with it, as well as the warm water.Over the days almost the whole Gulf of Mexico cools, not by much, but it does.
Describe the change between the hurricane passage and the effect on SST.
As the hurricane passes through the gulf, the area around it stays warm as the area around it cools, this is because as the hurricane moves along its path when it takes warm water with it the cool water below the surface rises to replace that warm water.
What conclusions can I make about how hurricanes extract heat energy from the ocean
From this investigation, I have learned about how a hurricane can extract heat energy from the oceans surface tempature. As long as the base of a weather system remains over warm water and its top is not sheared apart by high-altitude winds, the hurricane will strengthen and grow. More and more heat and the warm water will be pumped into the air. The pressure at the hurricanes core will drop further and further, sucking in wind at high speeds. Over several hours to days, the storm will intensify, finally reaching a hurricane status when the winds that swirl around it reach speeds of 74 miles per hour or more. The warm water that was extracted will be replaced with the cold water because of the vapor in the air that is left over. This is why warm water is extracted.