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Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Hurricanes the Power of Nature
For the longest amount of time I never knew how hurricanes worked. People explained it to me; I saw shows on it on the television; but I could never wrap my head around it. Finally, one day I saw a show in my ninth grade science class about how hurricanes are started. That was the beginning of me trying to get a basic understanding of hurricanes for myself. This page explains how hurricanes are created in a way I hope everybody can understand.
Hurricanes begin when the water temperature is eighty degrees Fahrenheit or more. Hurricanes start as thunder storms, normally off the coast of Africa. The thunderstorms are areas of low pressure so the warm air off of the ocean rises up. Air rises in low pressure systems because in low pressure systems there is space for molecules to move, and molecules move to places where there is more room, in this case up. As the warm air off the ocean rises up into the area of lower pressure it condenses as it cools joining together into clouds and precipitation, such as rain. As the moisture condenses it releases heat. This warms the cooler air above the now warm air causing it to rise. The column of air that was below the cool air that released heat to warm it becomes cool. warm rising air molecules rise to take the cool rising air's place warming the previously cool air as it condenses, repeating the process. As the air rises it creates the strong wind found in hurricanes. Winds at higher altitudes blow the rising warm air from the top of the hurricane stopping air from collecting right above the hurricane and allowing new warm air to take it's place allowing the air to repeat it's upward cycle. Winds coming from opposite directions near the surface of the water help to scoop the warm air upwards faster than if it were to rise by it's self, strengthening the hurricane.
Why don't hurricanes reach a limiting point for power? As we know warm air rises upward to take the place of rising air above it. As the air rises it creates wind. This winds may not sound strong but the rising air is part of the winds humans feel when a hurricane makes landfall. Air rising to condense at higher altitudes creates wind near the surface of the water. The wind moving against the water creates friction, slowing down the wind. This effect of friction slowing down wind stops hurricanes from becoming ever stronger and stronger forces. The second thing that stops hurricanes from becoming stronger is that hurricanes normally make land fall. When a hurricane makes land fall it has no warm air coming from the surface of the water, eventually stopping the cycle of rising air. The third and last thing that stops a hurricane is that a hurricane will eventually come to cooler water. This gets rid of warm air that rises to condense, once again stopping the cycle of rising air from powering the hurricane.
I hope you have learned once and for all how a hurricane is started. Hurricanes begin as storms over water, near the coast of Africa. Hurricanes are powered by the process of moist air rising from the warm ocean cooling, releasing heat and so warming the air above it. This now warm air rises and is carried off by winds above the hurricane. New air at the surface of the water rises to fill up the empty space as air continues to rise. This continuing cycle of rising air creates the winds, heat, and precipitation powering a hurricane. I hope your hunger for information has know been satisfied and if you didn't understand the information above, you hopefully understood the condensed form.
Bibliography:
Clemmitt, Marcia. "Climate Change." CQ Researcher Beta 16 (2006). Nclive. Greensboro Public, Greensboro. 7 Dec. 2007. Keyword: Climate Change.
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: From Air Pollution to Climate Change. New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1998. 7 Dec. 2007.
"Climate." EncyclopæDia Britannica Online. Nclive. Greensboro Public, Greensboro. 7 Dec. 2007. Keyword: Ozone Depletion.
Cooper, Mary H. "Ozone Depletion." CQ Researcher Beta (1992). Nclive. Greensboro Public, Greensboro. 7 Dec. 2007. Keyword: Ozone Depletion.
"Greenhouse Effect." EncyclopæDia Britannica Online. Nclive. Greensboro Public, Greensboro. 7 Dec. 2007. Keyword: Greenhouse Effect.
Hurricanes begin when the water temperature is eighty degrees Fahrenheit or more. Hurricanes start as thunder storms, normally off the coast of Africa. The thunderstorms are areas of low pressure so the warm air off of the ocean rises up. Air rises in low pressure systems because in low pressure systems there is space for molecules to move, and molecules move to places where there is more room, in this case up. As the warm air off the ocean rises up into the area of lower pressure it condenses as it cools joining together into clouds and precipitation, such as rain. As the moisture condenses it releases heat. This warms the cooler air above the now warm air causing it to rise. The column of air that was below the cool air that released heat to warm it becomes cool. warm rising air molecules rise to take the cool rising air's place warming the previously cool air as it condenses, repeating the process. As the air rises it creates the strong wind found in hurricanes. Winds at higher altitudes blow the rising warm air from the top of the hurricane stopping air from collecting right above the hurricane and allowing new warm air to take it's place allowing the air to repeat it's upward cycle. Winds coming from opposite directions near the surface of the water help to scoop the warm air upwards faster than if it were to rise by it's self, strengthening the hurricane.
Why don't hurricanes reach a limiting point for power? As we know warm air rises upward to take the place of rising air above it. As the air rises it creates wind. This winds may not sound strong but the rising air is part of the winds humans feel when a hurricane makes landfall. Air rising to condense at higher altitudes creates wind near the surface of the water. The wind moving against the water creates friction, slowing down the wind. This effect of friction slowing down wind stops hurricanes from becoming ever stronger and stronger forces. The second thing that stops hurricanes from becoming stronger is that hurricanes normally make land fall. When a hurricane makes land fall it has no warm air coming from the surface of the water, eventually stopping the cycle of rising air. The third and last thing that stops a hurricane is that a hurricane will eventually come to cooler water. This gets rid of warm air that rises to condense, once again stopping the cycle of rising air from powering the hurricane.
I hope you have learned once and for all how a hurricane is started. Hurricanes begin as storms over water, near the coast of Africa. Hurricanes are powered by the process of moist air rising from the warm ocean cooling, releasing heat and so warming the air above it. This now warm air rises and is carried off by winds above the hurricane. New air at the surface of the water rises to fill up the empty space as air continues to rise. This continuing cycle of rising air creates the winds, heat, and precipitation powering a hurricane. I hope your hunger for information has know been satisfied and if you didn't understand the information above, you hopefully understood the condensed form.
Bibliography:
http://www.whrc.org/resources/online_publications/warming_earth/scientific_evidence.htm
http://www.ecobridge.org/content/g_evd.htm#graph
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/page.cfm?tagID=1011
"Turning Up the Heat." Consumer Reports 61 (1996): 38(6). Nclive. Greensboro Public, Greensboro. 13 Oct.-Nov. 2007. Keyword: Global Warming Evidence.
"Weather." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Nclive. Greensboro Public, Greensboro. 7 Nov.-Dec. 2007. Keyword: About Weather.
"Carbon Cycle." EncyclopæDia Britannica Online. Nclive. Greensboro Public, Greensboro. 6 Dec.-Jan. 2007. Keyword: Carbon Cycle.
Clemmitt, Marcia. "Climate Change." CQ Researcher Beta 16 (2006). Nclive. Greensboro Public, Greensboro. 7 Dec. 2007. Keyword: Climate Change.
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: From Air Pollution to Climate Change. New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1998. 7 Dec. 2007.
"Climate." EncyclopæDia Britannica Online. Nclive. Greensboro Public, Greensboro. 7 Dec. 2007. Keyword: Ozone Depletion.
Cooper, Mary H. "Ozone Depletion." CQ Researcher Beta (1992). Nclive. Greensboro Public, Greensboro. 7 Dec. 2007. Keyword: Ozone Depletion.
"Greenhouse Effect." EncyclopæDia Britannica Online. Nclive. Greensboro Public, Greensboro. 7 Dec. 2007. Keyword: Greenhouse Effect.
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