Article in The Economist on hurricane suppression

[Novacane]

I came across this in the most recent Technology Quarterly section of the Economist (June 11 I think), and was wondering if any of the experts on this board thought about this. Might it be viable, or is this just another Dynostorm fairy dust theory? I Googled this guy and he has had some other -- let's call them unusual -- ideas involving managing the weather. For example, he was a proponent of spreading oil on the ocean surface to retard storm development/intensification. On the other hand, I have to believe that a magazine as serious and thorough as this one probably vetted this story some before publishing.

What do you folks think? Story below:

"How can you slow down a hurricane? Moshe Alamaro, a scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has a plan. Just as setting small, controlled fires can stop forest fires by robbing them of fuel, he proposes the creation of small, man-made tropical cyclones to cool the ocean and rob big, natural hurricanes of their source of energy. His scheme, devised with German and Russian weather scientists and presented at a weather-modification conference in April, involves a chain of offshore barges adorned with upward-facing jet engines. Each barge creates an updraft, causing water to evaporate from the ocean's surface and reducing its temperature. The resulting tropical storms travel towards the shore but dissipate harmlessly. Dr Alamaro reckons that protecting Central America and the southern United States from hurricanes would cost less than $1 billion a year. Most of the cost would be fuel: large jet engines, he observes, are abundant in the graveyards of American and Soviet long-range bombers. "

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

This has got to be a nightmare.

That would never ever be allowed in the first place. Remember some times controled fires get out of hand. In also it would never work.

[Normandy]

..... worst idea ever ....

[gatorcane]

I am adamantly AGAINST this suggestion or any suggestion to stop hurricanes. They are phenomena of mother nature that we must live with.
Brush fires serve a purpose - one purpose is to burn the shrubbery close to the ground to allow new trees to form. Hurricanes remove latent heat in the atmosphere. This specific suggestion would have serious ramifications on global weather patterns and sea/marine life.

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

That is a bad idea LMAO


Why is some bone head come up with an idea like this every hurricane season


Hybridstorm_November2001

[donsutherland1]

Novacane,

That's not any more sound nor viable than the "giant fan" idea. The updrafts from such engines would be almost infinitesmal in its impact. Has math become a lost art that elementary calculations are now seemingly impossible?

[cyclonaut]

I want to know what Moshe Alamaro smoked!

[CentralFlGal]

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

Yeah there is nut casts in this world. I would not be suprized to wake up tomarrow an see T.Rex looking through my window at me.

[beenthru6]

Good grief, what some people come up with!

[dhweather]

The ignorance of some people to actually think they can dramatically influence mother nature on an instant basis - that is absurd!!!!

[HurryKane]

The ignorance of some people to actually think they can dramatically influence mother nature on an instant basis - that is absurd!!!!

Well, there is that whole "butterfly effect" chaos theory

[BayouVenteux]

His scheme, devised with German and Russian weather scientists and presented at a weather-modification conference in April, involves a chain of offshore barges adorned with upward-facing jet engines. Each barge creates an updraft, causing water to evaporate from the ocean's surface and reducing its temperature. The resulting tropical storms travel towards the shore but dissipate harmlessly. Dr Alamaro reckons that protecting Central America and the southern United States from hurricanes would cost less than $1 billion a year. Most of the cost would be fuel: large jet engines, he observes, are abundant in the graveyards of American and Soviet long-range bombers."

"Sir! I have a plan!"

[dhweather]

His scheme, devised with German and Russian weather scientists and presented at a weather-modification conference in April, involves a chain of offshore barges adorned with upward-facing jet engines. Each barge creates an updraft, causing water to evaporate from the ocean's surface and reducing its temperature. The resulting tropical storms travel towards the shore but dissipate harmlessly. Dr Alamaro reckons that protecting Central America and the southern United States from hurricanes would cost less than $1 billion a year. Most of the cost would be fuel: large jet engines, he observes, are abundant in the graveyards of American and Soviet long-range bombers."

"Sir! I have a plan!"

That is one of my all-time favorite movies!

It's a communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids!

Wing attack plan R, R for Robert


ahhhh, I might have to watch that one tonight.

[SouthernWx]

And this guy is a scientist at MIT?
Lord help us....

My opinion? One of these days, some educated idiot like this guy is going to recieve funding for his ridiculous project, he's going to get a TON of publicity, be "live" on CNN....and when his "miraculous project" flops, he'll be the laughing stock of the century...

Of course, there is the slim possibility is someone will actually succeed in dissipating all hurricanes...and within two years the unchecked, unbridled heat buildup in the tropics will cause an cataslysmic atmospheric event 100 times worse than the worst hurricane...and a large part of the human race will cease to exist

Hurricanes serve a purpose in nature...transferring heat from Equator to the poles. Take away hurricanes, that heat will build up...and IMO cause something far worse than hurricanes ever dared to be. Playing God with mother nature is very dangerous.....as I once saw "Jeanne" tell her master on "I Dream of Jeanne"...."you have to be very careful with my powers master; you stop one war, your liable to start ten more"....."try to bring rain to a parched valley, and end up flooding the Sahara".

It was just a 60's tv sitcom....but in all honesty, what she said was true. If you somehow manage to stop hurricanes....how do you then stop the beast unleashed because of it??

PW

[kevin]

Has anyone analyzed the numerics? We should always be skeptical about things, but I sense an 'impossibility' wall here. Rest assured, tropical cyclones can be destroyed by man. Whether we should or not is besides the point. I'm skeptical but don't automatically discount the possibility.

[kevin]

Of course, there is the slim possibility is someone will actually succeed in dissipating all hurricanes...and within two years the unchecked, unbridled heat buildup in the tropics will cause an cataslysmic atmospheric event 100 times worse than the worst hurricane...and a large part of the human race will cease to exist Surprised

Wait a second. I might need some clarification.

Hurricanes are large beasts of storms, but just because hurricanes might be stopped doesn't mean that heat exchange between the poles and the equator would be decreased. I think hurricanes are a byproduct of the heat exchange and not a necessity for it to exist. If I'm erring in this I'd like for meteorologists to correct me...

[Derek Ortt]

to create smaller cyclones (which I'd need to see data to prove this is possible) is a way that would enable TC's to be safely reduced. However, one is going to need a lot more than a jet engine, that's for sure since every minute, a TC produces more energy than the H bomb. We'd need something fusion powered to produce the energy necessary to create these man made cyclones

[sweetpea]

You have got to be kidding me!!!!!!

[SouthernWx]

Of course, there is the slim possibility is someone will actually succeed in dissipating all hurricanes...and within two years the unchecked, unbridled heat buildup in the tropics will cause an cataslysmic atmospheric event 100 times worse than the worst hurricane...and a large part of the human race will cease to exist Surprised

Wait a second. I might need some clarification.

Hurricanes are large beasts of storms, but just because hurricanes might be stopped doesn't mean that heat exchange between the poles and the equator would be decreased. I think hurricanes are a byproduct of the heat exchange and not a necessity for it to exist. If I'm erring in this I'd like for meteorologists to correct me...

Q: Are there any benefits to having a hurricane?

A: Believe it or not, yes. Hurricanes are play a very important role in preserving the heat balance that the earth maintains by transferring heat from the tropics to the poles. They also can be very helpful to areas affected by drought with their torrential rains

Link (and there are dozens with the same info online).
http://www.hurricaneville.com/faq.html

PW