Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SHAKE AND BLOW
World's biggest hurricane simulator aims to improve forecasts
By Kerry SHERIDAN
Miami (AFP) May 6, 2015


The world's largest hurricane simulator is now complete and experts hope it will improve forecasters' ability to predict how strong a storm will get, which has been a key weak spot for science until now.

The $15 million wind and wave machine at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science resembles a giant aquarium tank, without the fish.

When lead scientist Brian Haus switches on the 1,700 horsepower engine, a roaring sound fills the $47 million building that houses the tank, known formally as SUSTAIN (SUrge-STructure-Atmosphere INteraction Facility).

Paddles begin to roil the 38,000 gallons (144,000 liters) of fresh water, though salt water can also be used.

Aquamarine waves arc gracefully against the acrylic windows, then grow increasingly frenetic as a Category 5 wind blows over the top at a speed of 156 miles per hour (251 kph).

Soon, spray droplets scatter across the sides of the steel-framed tank, which measures 75 feet (23 meters) long, 20 feet wide and 6.5 feet deep.

A miniature model of a green-and-white house gets drenched by crashing waves that resemble a real-life storm surge assaulting a coastal property.

Haus, a self-described "wave-junkie," stares intently at the indoor storm he has helped create.

- How strong will it get? -

A "key component of SUSTAIN will be to improve hurricane intensity forecasting," he explains later in his office, since anything but shouted conversations are difficult to maintain near the tank.

"Over the last 20 years our track forecasts have been getting better and better. But the thing that hasn't gotten any better over the past 20 years is hurricane intensity forecasts."

Perhaps the best example of a storm that outwitted even the most seasoned forecasters was Hurricane Wilma in 2005. It exploded in strength over Mexico, rising from Category 2 to 5 in a matter of hours.

"That is the thing that really scares forecasters because it makes it hard for them to do their job," Haus says.

Wilma became the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, killing dozens of people and causing tens of billions of dollars in damage.

Living through Wilma and the far deadlier Hurricane Katrina, known for causing mass devastation in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico that same year, propelled Haus to find ways of better understanding the physics of storm strength, and how the warmth of the ocean can power a hurricane.

- Damage to buildings -

Researchers also hope to use SUSTAIN -- which is six times larger than any wind-water hurricane simulator ever built -- to explore how storms will damage homes and buildings along the coast.

"This is important because most of our building codes and models for how we build in coastal areas are not based on any real information about what happens in these conditions," says Haus.

Other groups, such as the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety in South Carolina, recreate high winds, hail storms and even wildfires using life-sized homes.

But even placing sensors on the miniature house inside the SUSTAIN tank to study how it is affected by a storm can help scientists, according to Paul Wilson, vice president of model development at RMS (Risk Management Solutions) in London.

"Understanding how buildings respond to extreme weather events, those are projects which we find incredibly useful. They just add to the body of knowledge on which our models are based."

- Encourage collaboration -

Miami is home to many storm researchers, including the National Hurricane Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hurricane Research Division, and Florida International University which houses a Wall of Wind that simulates Category 5 hurricane gusts.

NOAA and the US Air Force regularly send aircraft into the heart of hurricanes, where pilots drop parachute-lofted tubes, called sondes, to measure how the wind changes with height just above the sea surface.

Mark Powell, a former NOAA scientist who flew some of those missions into hurricanes and now heads a company called HWind Scientific, says SUSTAIN "has a lot of promise for research," and is hopeful that the enthusiasm will spread beyond the tank itself.

"When you have a big facility like the SUSTAIN facility, there is a tendency to focus on the facility and the type of work it can do, but there is a human element too," adds Powell.

"So what I hope will happen with that facility is that there is a much stronger interaction between all the talent in the Miami area. They need to interact to really make breakthroughs."


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SHAKE AND BLOW
"Isis" dropped from UN hurricane name list
Geneva (AFP) April 17, 2015
The UN weather agency announced Friday it was dropping "Isis" - the name of an ancient Egyptian goddess that also happens to be the acronym for the Islamic State jihadist group - from its stocklist of Pacific hurricane names. "Isis" was replaced with "Ivette" on an alphabetical list of hurricane names for the eastern north Pacific region next year, World Meteorogical Organisation (WMO) spo ... read more


SHAKE AND BLOW
Russia Invites China to Join in Creating Lunar Station

Japan to land first unmanned spacecraft on moon in 2018

Dating the moon-forming impact event with meteorites

Japan to land probe on the moon in 2018

SHAKE AND BLOW
Rover on the Lookout for Dust Devils

UAE opens space center to oversee mission to Mars

Robotic Arm Gets Busy on Rock Outcrop

Mars might have liquid water

SHAKE AND BLOW
NASA pushes back against proposal to slash climate budget

Hawaii Says 'Aloha' to NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator

Blue Origin first vehicle test deemed success

General Dynamics Integrates NASA's SGSS Infrastructure

SHAKE AND BLOW
Xinhua Insight: How China joins space club?

Chinese scientists mull power station in space

China completes second test on new carrier rocket's power system

China's Yutu rover reveals Moon's "complex" geological history

SHAKE AND BLOW
Progress Incident Not Threatening Orbital Station, Work of Crew

Russia loses control of unmanned spacecraft

Japanese astronaut to arrive in ISS in May

Liquid crystal bubbles experiment arrives at International Space Station

SHAKE AND BLOW
SpaceX to test 'eject-button' for astronauts

Arianespace to launch HellaSat-4/SGS-1 for Arabsat and KACST

Sentinel-2A payload processing begins for Vega launch in June

Ariane 5's first launch of 2015

SHAKE AND BLOW
Robotically discovering Earth's nearest neighbors

Astronomers join forces to speed discovery of habitable worlds

Titan's Atmosphere Useful In Study Of Hazy Exoplanets

Tau Ceti Probably not the next Earth

SHAKE AND BLOW
MIPT researchers grow cardiac tissue on 'spider silk' substrate

Seeing Stars Through The Cloud

Autonomous convergence and divergence of self-powered soft liquid metals

Space radiation may harm astronauts' brains: study




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.