In a meteorological sense, tropical cyclones have a job. The Earth is heated unevenly. This is apparent to almost everyone; the poles (Antarctica and the Arctic) are colder than the tropics. What people don't always realize is that nature always tries to erase gradients. This is loosely related to the second law of thermodynamics, if you will humor me. So Earth is always trying to spread extra tropical heat to the poles, where there are heat deficits.
The way this is done is mainly through ocean currents. Large gyre systems slowly transport heat poleward through steady strong currents, allowing both latent (evaporation and condensation) and sensible (temperature radiation) heat exchange with the much smaller, in terms of energy, atmosphere. During the height of high temperature gradients, for a few months after the solstice, these ocean currents aren't enough. Heat is building up, and the gradient is getting stronger.
That's where hurricanes come in. They are violent transfers of heat from the tropics to the poles. They represent hyper exchange of energy from the ocean
... Show more...In a meteorological sense, tropical cyclones have a job. The Earth is heated unevenly. This is apparent to almost everyone; the poles (Antarctica and the Arctic) are colder than the tropics. What people don't always realize is that nature always tries to erase gradients. This is loosely related to the second law of thermodynamics, if you will humor me. So Earth is always trying to spread extra tropical heat to the poles, where there are heat deficits.
The way this is done is mainly through ocean currents. Large gyre systems slowly transport heat poleward through steady strong currents, allowing both latent (evaporation and condensation) and sensible (temperature radiation) heat exchange with the much smaller, in terms of energy, atmosphere. During the height of high temperature gradients, for a few months after the solstice, these ocean currents aren't enough. Heat is building up, and the gradient is getting stronger.
That's where hurricanes come in. They are violent transfers of heat from the tropics to the poles. They represent hyper exchange of energy from the oceans to the atmosphere, and eventual poleward movement. The evaporation and mixing while the hurricane is formed takes up ocean energy at the poles. The intense rain events at higher latitudes (like in North Carolina this year after Hurricane Helene) release that tropical heat to the higher latitudes. That is their job.
The more excess heat we store in tropical oceans, and the less currents can transport heat poleward, the more tropical cyclones we should expect. Nature hates gradients.
en.osm.town/@seav/113486289077…
#hurricanes
#TropicalWX
#ClimateChange
#AMOC
#HeatTransport
“The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that it was the first time since records began in 1951 that so many storms co-existed in the Pacific basin in November.”
https://earthobservatory.nasa.
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