Free Essay

Short Essay on Hurricanes

In: Science

Submitted By buckmaster997
Words 776
Pages 4
Short Essay on Hurricanes

Terry Sims

Physical Science 210-B12 LUO
Professor Megan Taylor
February 24, 2014

Short Essay on Hurricanes Introduction: A devastating event that forms over water where the heat from the water fuels the intensity of the storm is called a hurricane, a tropical storm, a cyclone, or low pressure storm. These storms form over the oceans of the world and are fed off the heat that rises from the warmer waters of the world. They all have a very distinct shape, and it appears like a cloudy white donut. The tighter the circle, the more clearly the eye is defined and easily shows the power and intensity of the storm. General Overview: A hurricane is a storm system that is defined as, “a tropical storm with winds that have reached a constant speed of 74 miles per hour or more.” (Louisiana Homeland Security) These storms are dangerous in several ways. Hurricanes have torrential rains, dangerous winds, raging storm surges, and many tornadoes directly associated with the power of the hurricanes. A hurricane is also directed by the steering currents from the jet stream. They can last for weeks to a month depending on the speed and how fast they make landfall. The mountainous terrain is a hurricane killer and will prevent a storm from strengthening. A hurricane starts as a tropical storm or tropical depression. These systems are almost exclusively in tropical parts of the world, and the formation predominantly travels over oceans and warmer water temperatures which produce tropical air and evaporation thereby feeding the system. Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by names such as hurricane, typhoon, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, and tropical depression. Heavy rains from a tropical system can produce significant flooding inland, and storm surges can produce extensive coastal flooding up to 40 kilometers (25 mi) from the coastline. Therefore a tropical system is defined and categorized by low pressure, warm ocean temperature, rain amounts, and wind strength.
Methods of Study and Tools Used: Scientists use a wide range of tools to study hurricanes. Scientists use reconnaissance air planes to travel into the storm to study and document the many different aspects of a hurricane. Scientists also use weather satellites to track the storm from space to get the movement and size of the storm. The main way scientists study a hurricane is with a weather computer. These computers get valuable information from radars. They can watch a hurricane move in real time, and the computer calculates a multitude of valuable data from the hurricane. These readings can tell scientists whether the hurricane is getting weaker or stronger.
New Discoveries:

Lisa-Joy Zgorski with the National Science Foundation wrote, “The Prediction Intensity Interval model for Hurricanes (PIIH) algorithm seeks to mitigate damage by the ‘evil god of winds and destruction.’” (Ferrante, 2011) This is a newer way of using previous research and hurricane data to predict the movement of new storms. Based on the movement, intensity, and atmospheric data, researchers claim to be able to predict a storm and its movement for up to five days.

Unanswered Questions:

Two important questions regarding hurricanes are predicting intensity and predicting the formation of future storms. Scientists have fallen short of solid research showing how a storm develops, and the internal multifaceted parts of a hurricane. When a storm has formed and is moving over the ocean, what causes the rate of intensification? As with much of science, there are always unanswered questions. Over the years, science has made substantial headway in the research and documentation of hurricanes, and this will continue to lead to better predictions and forecasting a storms movements. Conclusion: Over the years scientists have developed technology to help predict how a storm will intensify and what a depression looks like at the beginning stages of the hurricane. This research will save countless lives and could help prevent much destruction with the proper planning prior to a storm’s landfall. Dr. Jeff Masters wrote, “Hurricanes get a lot of attention because of the billions in damage they cost, and the lives they disrupt.” (Masters, 2012) All the monies and countless man hours help us to learn more about these unpredictable storms that have previously devastated our country’s coasts.

Bibliography Ferrante, Ellen. (2011, December 5). “New Forecasting Algorithm Helps Predict Hurricane Intensity and Wind Speed”. National Science Foundation [Online] Available: http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=122439 Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, “Definition of a Hurricane.” [Online] Available: http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov Masters, Jeff. (2012, August 31). Dr. Jeff Masters’ WunderBlog. [Online] Available: http://www.wunderground.com/blog/Jeff

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Dssd

...California also has Hollywood and Disneyland,which are world-famous centres of entertainment.California is a popular place to live,so many peolple move there every year.Indeed California has it all: deserts, beaches, and farms. Exercise 2 In the following paragraph, choose an appropriate transition signal from those listed after each blank. Have you ever wondered how those big ocean storms called hurricanes or typhoons get their name? Who decides to name a hurricane “Anne” or “Barbara” or “Bill”? The way hurricane and typhoons are named has changed over the years, and it is an interesting story. Originally, weather forecasters described them by their position in degrees of latitude and longitude 1. (In addition, For example, Since) typhoons might be called “21.20 north, 157.52 west”. 2. (Then, However ,Moreover) this method was confusing, because storms do not stay in the same place 3.(thus ,therefore ,in brief) people developed other ways to identify them. In the Caribbean Sea, hurricanes were named after the Catholic saint’s days 4.(thus, for example, moreover) a hurricane...

Words: 739 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Acedemic

...skiing,snowboarding,and snowshoeing.It has deserts where temperatures can reach 110°F (43°C) in the summer.It has beaches where you can surf,swim and fish.It has forests where the world’s tallest trees grow.Finally,it has farmlands where a lot of the nation’s fruits and vegetables grow.California also has Hollywood and Disneyland,which are world-famous centres of entertainment.California is a popular place to live,so many peolple move there every year.Indeed California has it all: deserts, beaches, and farms. Exercise 2 In the following paragraph, choose an appropriate transition signal from those listed after each blank. Have you ever wondered how those big ocean storms called hurricanes or typhoons get their name? Who decides to name a hurricane “Anne” or “Barbara” or “Bill”? The way hurricane and typhoons are named has...

Words: 814 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Summary Of Beyond The Wall: Essays From The Outside By Edward Abbey

...In the essay “Beyond The Wall: Essays from the Outside” by Edward Abbey, Abbey says “The domination of nature leads to the domination of human nature”. This quote can be considered in a numerous amount of ways that relate to personal philosophy, science, and many other topics. The topics being discussed in this essay are prior course, personal philosophy, and published sources in order to consider the quote at hand. Honors Biodiversity has taught that the world is being harmed to a point where humans are taking it for granted rather than treasuring it for the numerous amount of resources which it harnesses. For instance, biodiversity hotpots, which are spots on the planet where there are an extremely diverse amount of species compared to...

Words: 1390 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Economic Profile on the Oil and Gas Industry

...Economic Profile on the Oil and Gas Industry The oil and gas industry is one of the most talked about industries today, at least in my town it is. Everywhere I go I hear people talking about the rise or fall in gas prices or how the cost of a barrel of crude oil has just gone up or down .10 cents. I also hear about how the current hurricane season could pose a threat to the oil industry, as it did last year with hurricane Katrina, putting oil refineries under water or causing extreme damage to them. In this essay I am going to discuss the shifts and price elasticity of supply and demand in the oil and gas industry. I am also going to discuss the oil and gas industry’s positive and negative externalities, wage inequality, and monetary and fiscal policies. Lastly, I will discuss the economic affects and influence on the oil and gas industry. Shifts and Price Elasticity of Supply and Demand The price elasticity is the affect of the price for a good on the demand of that good. If consumers are not affected by the change in price then this good would be referred to as inelastic. If consumers are affected by the change in price then this good would be referred to as elastic. The oil and gas industry is inelastic when the prices rise because, although consumers slightly reduce their consumption of oil and gas, consumers still purchase oil and gas. With gasoline prices in the U.S. approaching an average $3 a gallon, Americans are moaning about the rising cost, but so far they are...

Words: 1816 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Business Economic

...Teedra Jones Business Economics GM 545 Fall B Term teedrajones@yahoo.com Essay 1. There are many factors that go into determining the price of a gallon of gas. The cost to crude oil refineries, refinery processing costs, distribution and tax all account for the high prices consumers are paying. Tax alone can makes up about 19 percent of the cost. While the price does fluctuate, it is steadily increasing. Between 2004 and 2005 the price of crude oil per barrel rose from $36.98 to $50.23 as reported by the Energy Information Administration. Fluctuation in price can be brought on by oil supply disruptions, such disruptions can stem from events from around the world. Disruption of production at refineries can raise the cost of gas. (Davis, 2007) In Atlanta, gas averaged less than 90 cents a gallon in early 2002, then rose steadily through the next several years, cresting at $3.15 after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But prices moderated, falling to less than $2 a gallon in early 2007. Falling oil prices dampened gasoline’s cost this summer — until the hurricanes hit the Gulf. (Kanell, 2008) Such a disruption occurred after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding areas, where a number of refineries are located. The further you are from the gulf area, the more likely you are to find yourself paying more at the pump. It is a common occurrence to be driving down the road and to see that gas prices vary significantly from station to station. Competition...

Words: 1302 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Compare/Contrast Criminal Movie

...1 2 Lets Go to the Movies: Crime is big on the silver screen and the tube as well. Here you need to choose two criminal justice –related movies, which you have seen to compare and contrast them both: In this essay I will compare the similarities and contrast the differences between two crime film openings. I will be comparing The Next Three Days' and 'The Hurricane'. I will analyze the two film openings and see how they establish their own crime film genre. Genre is a way of categorizing a film. From genre, producers are able to market their films to a target audience. With some films it is difficult to categorize them as a certain genre as they may contain more than one genre. A hybrid genre is a film, which contains more than one genre. An example of a hybrid genre is 'All about the Benjamin’s' the genres in this film are comedy, romance, crime and also drama. Most films nowadays are hybrid genre as they appeal to a larger audience. These films contain both genre of drama, romance, crime, suspense, and “wrongly accusations”. A glimpse of each movie: (1) The Next Three Days: This movie stars “just to name a few” Russell Crowe as John Brennan, Elizabeth Banks as Lara Brennan, Brian Dennehy as George Brennan, and Lennie James as Lieutenant Nabulsi. This movie is about a women by the name of Lara Brennan (Banks) which is convicted of murdering her boss after an altercation at work and after a trial is sentenced to life...

Words: 2549 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Short Essay

...Short Essay Craig L. Weng The University of Redlands BUSB300 Ethical and Legal Environment of Business [ March 20, 2013 ] Prof. Jeffery D. Smith Ethics in business is in fact about following the law. If a business from the top down believes that ethics is a matter of following the law then, that's what needs to be stated in its Standards of Conduct, Bylaws, Governing documents etc..., so that everyone involved or that wants to be involved has a clear and concise understanding as to how the business intends to conduct its day to day activities from the board members to the janitorial staff. With that, there comes a certain feeling of commitment. A commitment not only to keeping your companies' profit margin up, but a commitment to the employees who got your company to that bottom line and beyond, to the community that allowed your company to root itself with the hopes of hiring it's residents and boosting their economy as well as the shareholders and senior managements bottom line. I believe that ethics in business is more than just following the law. It's about caring how you conduct your business and caring more about the business a whole vice just the financial aspect. Ethics: the moral values and principles used to make evaluative judgments about individual conduct and the social arrangements of a community, usually reinforced through cultural norms and social institutions (e.g., family, religion, civil associations, schools, political parties). Aaron Feuerstein...

Words: 894 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Joojijij

...1 ESSAYS ON SUSTAINABILITY Thirteen Challenging Essays for Earthlings By Peter E. Black, 2008 Wheels and Water .......................................................page 1 Water and Humans on Planet Earth ................................... 2 Climate, Weather, and Global Warming ............................. 3 A Catastrophic Loss of Species ......................................... 4 The Naked Truth................................................................... 5 Asymmetrical Resource Distribution ................................. 6 Stormwater and Groundwater Runoff ................................ 7 Economy, Energy, Environment ......................................... 8 Drill in the ANWR? No Way! ............................................... 9 The Wonder of Water ......................................................... 10 Buffering Sands of Time.................................................... 11 Ecology and Civilization .................................................... 12 With a Bang, not a Whimper.............................................. 13 © 2008 Peter E. Black, PhD (US Copyright Registration TXu 1-580-484, July 13, 2008 as “Conservation is the Cornerstone of Sustainability”) Distinguished Teaching Professor of Water and Related Land Resources, Emeritus, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210 peblack@esf.edu and www.watershedhydrology.com Essays on Sustainability Thirteen Challenging...

Words: 10599 - Pages: 43

Premium Essay

Bcp Planning and Development

...Company Virtual Solutions Inc. Foundations of Business Continuity Management Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 5 About Company Virtual Solutions 6 The Current Status of Business Continuity Planning 6 Historical Context 6 The New Plan 8 Using Recovery Planner 8 Configuration for TPT 9 Presentation 9 Compliance 10 Comprehensive Planning 10 Leadership Approval 12 The Plan Strategy 12 Team Structure 12 Figure 1: The Business Continuity Plan Team Organizational Chart 13 Emergency Management Team 13 Business Continuity Team 14 Business Unit Teams 15 Fly Out Teams 16 Fire Teams 16 The Four Phases of the Plan 16 Figure 2: The four phases of the Plan 16 Phase I - Appraisal 17 Phase II – Recovery Coordination 18 Phase III - Production 18 Phase IV – Site Restoration 19 Business Unit Plan Structure 20 Alternative Sites 21 Planning Refinement Recommendations 22 Risk Assessment 22 Business Impact Analysis 22 Emergency Response 23 Disaster Recovery 23 Testing and Restoration 24 Future State 25 Comprehensive Business Planning 25 ACP Workflow Planning 26 Awareness and Training 27 Maintaining Support 27 Projected Timeline 28 Figure 3: Projected Timeline 29 Tasks 29 Conclusion 30 Sources 31 Appendix...

Words: 6761 - Pages: 28

Premium Essay

Research Paper On Princess Yorkenia

...Princess Yorkenia and her journey to writing…. Once upon a time… Yorkenia a 17 years old adolescent in her way to college, was waiting for the train as her daily routine was of two hours to get to class… It was freezing that she thought that she was in the process of becoming Elsa… But, that wasn’t the only thoughts she had. She also, was thinking of an essay she must write for her class of creative writing which was “ Course goals.” Although it may seem an easy essay to write, she had a hard time writing it. She started the essay earlier to avoid procrastination, nothing came to her mind to write… Her mind was like a hurricane in the most arduous tropical times, taking all her time and energy thinking of her past. Searching how to write poetic, reading essays, reading articles but nothing worked. That day when the essay was due, that day when she was in the process of becoming Elsa, she had an idea of what creativity for her may be and what to write in her essay....

Words: 985 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Discuss the Impacts of Storm Events in the British Isles and Evaluate the Response to Them

...north where the Polar Jet Stream will often cross over bringing these unpredictable weather systems. Depressions are areas of low atmospheric pressure which produce cloudy, windy and stormy weather. This essay will be using the largest storms in the last 30 years including The Great Storm, 1987 and the Burns Day Storm, 1990 to relate the impacts which these storms create in social, economic and environmental terms and how the British Isles have responded to such events. The Great Strom in 1987 was famously known for being undetected until it hit during the night and caused huge devastation to the British Isles, France, Spain, Belgium and Norway. It hit the South West & South East of England with a maximum gust of 122 mph in Norfolk. In addition the highest hourly mean wind speed was 85 mph at Shoreham-by-Sea and was sustained for 20 minutes. The social damage was huge; 19 people were killed, mainly from collapsing buildings and structures or falling debris. However had this storm been during the day time the death toll would have been much higher as we saw in the Burns Day Storm in 1990 where 97 were killed, due to trees and more people being outdoors. The Great Storm also left hundreds of thousands homes without electricity. The National Grid faced heavy damage from short circuits and overheating, as a result, all of London’s power was turned off. There were also many blocked roads and railways which prevented people from working for the next few days. This meant the London...

Words: 530 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Ticking Time Bomb

...Ticking Time Bomb Think for just a moment on how we are taught to read and write in college. Okay, now take a look at how Susan Griffin has written “Our Secret”. For example, the flow of this story is short, choppy, and with fragments in places where we as the readers would have problems following this style of writing. The standard level of teaching to write is to really know and understand the importance of proper punctuation, sentence structure, flow and organization where all readers can understand a story which was written. Whereas Griffins work in “Our Secret” really defines in such a way where a new style can bring a revitalized pleasure to reading without the “normal” style of writing, leaving the reader in suspense to thread the sets stories and fragments together. Although the fragments are within the set stories, and seem to be out of text or flow; at the end there is a tread of connection. In the world we live, is the time in which the English language itself has become obscured in such a way that society does not know what the norm is. Now, the idea of having fragments in between paragraphs at the time would seem ridiculous. But once you starting to read a little into the story you realize the importance of such fragments help connect the story. I have chosen two such fragments. The first fragment is, “The missile is guided by a programmed mechanism. There is no electronic that can be jammed. Once it is fired it cannot stop.” (p. 336, A. P. David Bartholomae)...

Words: 884 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Global Metldown

...John Finken February 29, 2012 Informative Essay – Draft 1 Humans Contribution to Climate Change Over the past 50 years scientific research has shown the ways in which human activity has caused or contributed to climate change. Research all over the world points to the ways humans have caused climate change: the emission of excessive greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide from human industrial, residential and transportation sources into the earth’s atmosphere, exploding population causing a greater need for ever scarcer resources, and finally producing deforestation, pollution and a catastrophic loss of biodiversity of plants and animals. “We are dumping so much carbon dioxide into the Earth’s environment that we have literally changed the relationship between the Earth and the Sun.” (Gore, p.10) Scientific studies measuring the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have been taken on a daily basis beginning in 1958 over the island of Hawaii. After a relatively short amount of time the scientists could see that the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was going up at an alarming rate. The pattern has shown that the levels of CO2 have been steadily rising year after year for 50 years. “The pre-industrial concentration of CO2 was 280 parts per million. In 2005, that level, measured high above Mauna Loa, was 381 parts per million.” (Gore, p.37) The level of CO2 is higher than it has ever been in 650,000 years. Scientists have proven that the increased level...

Words: 2297 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Naked

... 2014 Assignment 2 Global Warming: Get Used to It Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International argues in his 2007 essay “Global Warming: Get Used To It” there is no stopping global warming; it is going to happen regardless of human activity, so adaptation and mitigation are essential. Zakaria cites reliable sources, including the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Frances Cairncross, and their policies for adaptation programs like developing new crops, constructing flood defenses, and making different building codes to prevent building close to sea level. His main purpose is to inform us about the rapid negative effects of global warming in order to persuade his audience to start acting by reducing fuel consumption methods and carbon dioxide pollution. Zakaria stresses the importance of early planning for the inevitable impact of climate change, and although the initial cost might be high, it is worth in the long run. Zakaria is effective because he utilizes rational and emotional evidence to support his claim. Zakaria shows good use of rational evidence when he provided facts and expert opinions to support his position about climate change, mitigation, and adaptation. For instance, he states, “Of the 12 hottest years on record, 11 have occurred since 1995.” This example indicates the rapid growth of global warming in a short span of time and how it will only continue to get worse. Zakaria emphases that by adapting to using hybrid cars and clean coal...

Words: 604 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

An Analysis of Global Warming

...An analysis of two of the main environmental impacts of global warming and an evaluation of two recent solutions to this problem. Contents page Introduction- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 Causes of global warming- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4 Environment impacts- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5 Increasing cyclones and flood risks- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5 Changing marine biodiversity- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -6 Other impacts- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -10 Latest solutions- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -10 CO2 absorption- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10 Renewable energies- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11 Other solutions- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -12 Evaluate the two latest solutions- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 13 Summary- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -13 Reference list- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15 Introduction Global warming has become one of the most challenging problems in the world today. This is the observed...

Words: 2585 - Pages: 11