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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Storm Warming"
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STORM WARNING; STORM WARMING... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. IN THE HURRICANE BREEDING-GROUNDS OF THE ATLANTIC AND THE PACIFIC, THE WATERS ARE GETTING WARMER--AND THAT'S HELPING TO GENERATE MORE-INTENSE STORMS. IT SEEMS THAT HUMANS ARE FUELING THE CYCLE. SCIENTISTS AT THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH, AND THE LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LAB--WORKING WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS--HAVE CONCLUDED THAT, OVER THE LAST CENTURY, GREENHOUSE GASES PRODUCED BY HUMAN ACTIVITY ARE CAUSING THE SEA-SURFACE TO WARM. WARMER SEA-SURFACE EQUALS FEISTIER HURRICANES. THE RECIPE FOR A HURRICANE USUALLY INCLUDES A DASH OF WIND-SHEAR, A GENEROUS SPRINKLING OF WATER VAPOR, AND A PINCH OF ATMOSPHERIC INSTABILITY. WARMER WATERS ARE NOT THE SOLE INGREDIENT THAT DETERMINES HURRICANE INTENSITY, BUT ARE LIKELY THE MAIN ONE. THE RESEARCHERS EXPECT SEA-SURFACE TEMPERATURES TO RISE EVEN MORE IN THE NEXT CENTURY. SO, WHEN IT COMES TO HURRICANE INTENSITY, WE COULD BE PUTTING OURSELVES IN A LITTLE HOT WATER. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
