Imágenes
Igor's wake seen in ocean temperature data
Autor
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Resumen
Educação Superior::Ciências Exatas e da Terra::Oceanografia Ensino Médio::Geografia Hurricane Igor, the 4th Atlantic hurricane of the 2010 season, took the characteristic path of Cape Verde storms, heading on a course towards Bermuda and then north through the Western Atlantic. Reaching Category 4 intensity with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph, Igor also became the second largest storm in overall area ever observed in the Atlantic. This combination of size and strength left a wake of cool water behind the storm, which is visible in the sea surface temperature anomaly data from September 20, 2010. This dataset compares the sea surface temperatures observed on that particular day to the historical average of that day from 1971-2000. Areas that are cooler than normal are colored blue, areas warmer than normal are red. As hurricanes move across the ocean basins, heat energy is extracted from the water to fuel the storm, resulting in cooler temperatures after the storm passes through the area. In addition, the strong winds and waves associated with tropical cyclones mix up the water column, bringing cool, deep water to the surface. Also visible in this image are the relatively hot waters of the Southern Caribbean, in part due to the relative lack of cyclonic activity in this region so far