Can we affect hurricanes?

[cheyita]

My DH brought up a point that I don't have nearly enough information on to answer. We see hurricanes building and coming fairly far in advance of landfall. Do you think there is technology in development that can disrupt a building hurricane? For instance, something we can drop into the middle to change its force? I heard that going over a patch of colder water can lessen its strength, so could we use that information to affect it?

I realize one of the problems with this is that whatever we do is bound to also affect the ecosystem and sea life that live in the ocean. However, I would assume the hurricane itself has quite an effect on that also.

Any thoughts?

 

[Marseeya]

For the life of me I can't remember where I saw this, but I either read or saw something on television that talked about technology to at least slow down hurricanes at their source. It starts on a ship and sends either heat or cold up into the air.

Sorry I don't remember more.

 

[wdw4us2]

There was also talk of a chemical that someone had found that you could drop into the storm from above that would lessen the severity (winds) of the hurricane. I read about it a few years ago, but the US government did not want to fund further research into this, as I recall.

 

[hiwaygal]

I heard of something like that too...but I think the technology is not there yet. I think it had something to do with lowering the temps as well...but it's been awhile since I've seen that program.

 

[Boo'sMom]

"It's not nice to fool Mother Nature"

 

[Miss Jasmine]

There have been studies throughout the years and I think sometime in the 60s the governement even had a program where they seeded hurricanes with whatever that was supposed to dry them up. The problem is how do you know if it helped control the hurricane. It's not very likely to just dry up and disappear. Any changes can affect its path and intensity. The program was dropped because they could not measure the results. How do you know it wouldn't have just done the same thing without the seeding?

In addition, hurricanes are actually needed to bring rain to replenish the aquifers and water tables. Yes they are destructive but without them there would be many dry areas with no water for people.

I don't believe messing with mother nature is a good thing.

 

[bsnyder]

There have been a number of projects over the years - Dynogel, Dynomat, and even talk of trying to tow an iceberg into the water to try to cool it down. I don't know that there's any serious government work going on these days though.

I don't think you can change a force of nature this large. At least not with any technology we have today. But the resourceful nature of mankind will always keep trying. And who knows, maybe one day they will develop something that helps.

 

[phillybeth]

I don't think you can change a force of nature this large. At least not with any technology we have today.

ITA. People really underestimate the size and power of these storms. It would take the power of a nuclear blast to disrupt a hurricane.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Someone was working on technology--but I don't personally think any force of mother nature should physically be prevented.

 

[cheyita]

Thanks for the insight everyone. I, too, worry about messing with Mother Nature. But considering all the amazing things humans have been able to do to improve life over the past one or two hundred years, I thought maybe we could come up with a safe way to ease such situations.

 

[cardaway]

Like so many other things, to eliminate hurricanes would likely just bring on another equally bad problem.

Just another piece of balance. An extreme piece, but a piece none the less.

 

[Tiggeroo]

hurricanes also act to bring balance to the ocean temps. They redistribute the water. I would imagine this is needed to keep fish and sea creatures healthy.

 

[Disney Doll]

It would seem to me that, even though we don't like them, and even though we are now seeing the huge devasatation that come from them, they are a part of nature's balance. I do have first hand knowledge of what benefit a hurricane offers, but it seems to me that they are a part of the "circle of life".

 

[Kermit]

As others have mentioned, the US government has tried to in the past. Mexico complained that it altered the water temperatures and caused them drought. Cuba had a complaint, too, but I don't remember what it was.

Katrina caused wide-spread devestation, but I think that hurricanes are a natural part of the ecosystem, and there's just no good way to stop them. We don't even know what would happen if we were to prevent or lessen the intensity of one. Sometimes bad things are necessary.

 

[diznygirl]

Nice idea to try to control the weather, but as others have said, it's necessary. Resources would be better spent on infrastructure to better cope with natural disasters.

 

[ADisneygirl]

There have been a number of projects over the years - Dynogel, Dynomat, and even talk of trying to tow an iceberg into the water to try to cool it down. I don't know that there's any serious government work going on these days though.

I don't think you can change a force of nature this large. At least not with any technology we have today. But the resourceful nature of mankind will always keep trying. And who knows, maybe one day they will develop something that helps.

I often have thought about this since moving to Florida. It seems logical to me that cooling off the water temps somehow would certainly lessen the tragic, often catastophic damage that occurs from these storms. How about trying to cool the waters a little off the coast of Africa? This seems to be where most of these disturbances start. The weathermen here are always talking about "this little wave", "this little disturbance" coming off the coast of Africa that they need to keep an eye on. If the waters were cooled at that point, the hurricanes couldn't form. Seems like an easier answer than trying to cool water down in front of a cat 4 hurricane.

Although I am usually in favor of leaving mother nature alone, the effects these deadly storms are having on the citizens of my country have me in tears nightly. I would lean toward trying something to weaken/eradicate them.