August 2, 2007
Hurricane Science
New buoy helps scientists explain the driving force behind tropical storm development
VIRGINIA KEY, FLA. (August 2, 2007) -- Scientists have high hopes that a new buoy departing with Rosenstiel scientists aboard will provide new information about air and sea interaction in extreme wind conditions, thus illuminating what we know about hurricane intensity and what we can ultimately measure routinely to include in hurricane intensity predictions of the future. With relatively few examples of data recovered from extreme wind conditions, the researchers hope this unique new buoy’s rugged instrumentation and design will be able to weather the storms and help fill that gap with valuable data. The buoy, under development for several years, will be deployed in “hurricane alley” off Florida’s east coast. Researchers are aiming to garner the first-ever near-surface measurements of the heat transfer rates that allow hurricanes the necessary fuel they need to intensify.
The new buoy is based on a hull designed by the U.S. Navy and utilized by NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center for meteorological measurements in high wind and wave environments. To measure heat transfer rates in high winds, Rosenstiel School scientists have redesigned everything above the waterline incorporating the latest sensors, some with special modifications to survive the extreme conditions.
“We now know that hurricanes get their energy from the oceans. The higher the evaporation rates, the greater potential systems have to develop. This buoy will hopefully give us more distinct insight into how tropical storms grow and diminish,” said Dr. William Drennan, associate professor of applied marine physics and head researcher behind the buoy science.
During times of high winds, increased sea-spray concentrations can be found in the layer of atmosphere directly above the ocean. This layer has been thought to significantly affect evaporation rates and cyclone development, but, without significant data, scientists are still unsure.
Indeed, the effect of sea spray on storm intensity remains one of the key unanswered questions in hurricane science.
Data from a high-wind deployment will provide fundamental information to the modeling community and should improve forecasting for tropical storms and hurricanes. Broader impacts of this work include reduced forecast (track and intensity) uncertainties for storms such as the four
2005 hurricanes that made landfall on Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts.
“While the current mission for this platform is hurricane research, we have plans in place to use it for research in a variety of high sea state conditions around the world,” said Dr. Neil Williams, Rosenstiel School scientist and project co-investigator.
The buoy project was supported with almost $1,000,000 of funding from the National Science Foundation’s Ocean Technology and Interdisciplinary Coordination program. Next week’s deployment off Jacksonville, essentially a shake-down test, will last for several months. The buoy will operate autonomously for periods of up to one year in high wind and wave environments such as Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts.
NOTE TO REPORTERS: If you are interested in covering this buoy deployment, locally, contact Rosenstiel School Communications at 305/421-4704. Buoy is scheduled to be loaded onto the ship Monday, August 6, at the Rosenstiel School, and the ship will depart from Ft.
Pierce, FL around 7am on Wednesday, August 8th. Photos available upon request.
Rosenstiel School is part of the University of Miami and, since its founding in the 1940s, has grown into one of the world’s premier marine and atmospheric research institutions.
Media Contact:
Ivy Kupec, UM Rosenstiel School
305/421-4704
