If a hurricane encounters the oil slick now covering parts of the Gulf of Mexico, the result could be devastating, scientists say. Not only could any
hurricane increase the damage that oil does to coastal wetlands, but the presence of oil could lead to a more powerful hurricane, they say. Nobody
knows for sure, though, because there's no record of a hurricane ever crossing paths with a large oil spill.
The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1, and forecasters expect it to be busier than usual. Meanwhile, oil continues to gush into the Gulf of
Mexico from the site where the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20 and sank two days later in 5,000 feet of water.
"You have this black surface, and it's doing two things," Emanuel says. "First of all it's absorbing sunlight. And secondly, it is curtailing
evaporation from the Gulf." Evaporation normally helps cool the Gulf waters, Emanuel says. "So theoretically, the Gulf underneath this oil slick
should be getting hotter than it normally would be." And hotter water helps create more powerful hurricanes. It's hard to know if the water is
actually getting hotter, though, because oil prevents satellites from taking accurate temperature readings.
Ok so we have been having strong hurricanes recently i cant imagine how strong they will be once it hits the oil spill!
Impact On The Environment
environmental scientists are already predicting that oil from the spill will damage the vegetation in coastal marshes. And the damage could be worse
if a hurricane pushed oil deep into a wetland, or into currents that would carry it down Florida's west coast.
The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1, and scientists are predicting 15 named storms and eight full-blown hurricanes
Source
Source
What do you think ATS?
[edit on 27-5-2010 by pavelivanov22]
