Rising ocean temperatures have stoked the growing fury of hurricanes,
according to a study made public today that intensifies a debate over the link
between global warming and the ferocity of storms.
Of all the factors that drive a major storm — such as humidity, wind shear or
broad air circulation patterns — only the steady increase in sea surface
temperatures over the last 35 years can account for the rising strength of
tempests in six ocean basins around the world, including the North Atlantic,
Pacific and Indian oceans, scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology
reported.
"This firms up the link between sea surface temperatures and hurricane
intensity," said senior study author Judith Curry, an expert in climate
variability who is head of Georgia Tech's School of Earth and Atmospheric
Sciences. "It is an important piece of the global warming debate."
Their research revealed that the ...