Posts

Showing posts from December, 2018

Cyclones in the Ocean

Image
A hurricane naturally forms over the ocean where there is enough warm water to fuel it. Based on that fact alone, it is obvious that the first area that is greatly affected is none other than the surrounding area where a hurricane begins. As the warm water is tossed and mixes with the colder waters below, the crushing waves generated may extend deep below, damging marine life that are unfortunate enough to be caught in its wake. Species affected consists generally of slow moving fish and sea turtles which are decimated in large numbers since they can't sense the change in water temperature or salinity that comes with hurricane characteristics. Larger sea creatures such as sharks and whales have the ability to sense these subtle changes and therefore swim to calmer areas beforehand. Thus, larger marine life tend not to be extensively affected by hurricane conditions. Stationary species include the coral polyps. They are forced to take the full brunt of hurricanes and report...

Tracking hurricanes

Image
Back in the day (early 1900's) hurricanes came without warning. Storms will occur and eventually lead up to the formation of hurricanes which no one knew the intensity of. This proved to be highly inconvenient since the majority of persons lost their lives and suffered property damage. Not only this but no preparations could have been made in order to prevent such occurances. Luckily, with advancements in technology, weather forecasters are able to predict, to some extent, whether or not a hurricane is about to form.  The basic technology consists of specially equipped planes and sattelites (fairly outdated technology). These allow for observing patterns typical of a forming cyclone. However, to increase accuracy and mobility, drones and unmanned aircrafts have been added to the weather forecasting's arsenal. The above is an image depicting a satellite feed of hurricane Irma. Using that alone we can see where the cylcones path is headed and predict it's destination. ...

Cyclone devastation

The above is a short clip which gives a glimpse of how horrible the winds of a hurricane can be. As said before, winds can range from 74 km/h to 200 km/h. And with these raging winds come inevitable damages. Not only are communities and homes affected. We must keep in mind that estuaries and coastal areas become targeted as well as rainforests. Here, many animals reside and become subject to habitat loss. Such is the unfortunate circumstance they are put in. Not only this, but their population numbers become drastically affected due to many dying either directly from propelled debris and high winds or succumbing to injuries after the ordeal. The extensive damages may be a task in itself to repair but sometimes a hurricane may contribute to an improved structural change to a habitat. In turn, species which find their way into these areas make new homes and may displace previous species. Thus, diversity in species takes place and creates a whole new ecosystem. Even though cyclones...