MIAMI: Researchers trying to figure out what makes some hurricanes strengthen into catastrophic monsters have a new lab that allows them to generate tropical storm conditions with the flip of a switch.
The lab is at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. It’s known as the Surge-Structure-Atmosphere Interaction, or SUSTAIN.
The lab features a clear acrylic tank about 75 feet long and 6.5 feet high. Inside, 38,000 gallons of seawater can be whipped into white-capped waves by a 1,700-horsepower fan that can create Category 5 conditions, with winds topping 157 mph.
Satellite sensors have been mounted on the lab’s high ceilings to look down at hurricane conditions churning in the tank. This will help fine-tune satellites watching real storms, said lab director Brian Haus.
“The satellites, even though they see a really big area, they tend to be sensitive to really small things on the surface. We don’t really know, when you get into extreme conditions, what the satellite is seeing — whether there’s a spot reflecting off sea spray or bubbles or short waves,” Haus said.
During a recent test-run, Haus stood atop the tank, his shoes dry and his clothes unruffled while frothy, sea-green waves raced beneath him. He also stood underneath the tank and along its sides, watching sea spray blast bubbles and water droplets down the tank.
By studying the way hurricane-force winds interact with spray coming off the surface of seawater, researchers aim to improve real-time tropical storm observations made by satellites, ocean buoys and drones and other sensors launched from “hurricane hunter” aircraft.
http://staugustine.com/news/2015-05-29/new-miami-lab-can-create-hurricane-conditions-demand#.VWlV7dKqpHw
