Tropical cyclones (TCs) not only whip up air masses in the atmosphere, they also churn up water masses in the areas of the ocean that are in their path. When two cyclones collide and merge, these interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere can intensify considerably, as Prof. Dr. Oliver Wurl and Dr Jens Meyerjürgens from the University of Oldenburg report in a paper published in the journal Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography.
The two researchers analysed the encounter between two relatively weak tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean in 2021, TC Seroja and TC Odette, and found that effects occurred that have otherwise only been observed with much stronger cyclones. Since the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones is increasing as a result of global warming, this type of convergence – and the resulting extreme interactions between air and sea – could become more frequent in the future, the study concludes.
No comments:
Post a Comment