Images & Animations
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Credit
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
Sea Surface Temperature and Hurricane Connections: TRMM - August 22, 1998 through September 3, 1998
For years scientists have known of the strong correlation between sea surface temperature and the intensity of hurricanes. But one of the major stumbling blocks for forecasters has been the precise measurement of those temperatures when a storm begins to form. Traditional techniques for sea surface temperature measurement can not see through clouds. Now researchers using the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite have developed a technique for looking through clouds that is likely to enhance forecasters' abilities to predict hurricane intensity before their massive energies fully develop. A hurricane gathers energy from warm waters found in tropical latitudes. As Hurricane Bonnie crosses the Atlantic, it leaves a cooler trail of water in its wake. As Hurricane Danielle crosses Bonnie's path, the wind speed of the second storm drops markedly, as available energy to fuel the storm's engine drops off. As Danielle crosses Bonnie's wake, however, winds speeds increase due to temperature increases in surface water around the storm.
An image of sea surface temperatures from TRMM in the Atlantic on August 28, 1998. This image shows the wake of cool water left by Hurricane Bonnie as it approached the East Coast of the United States. On this date, Bonnie is over Cape Hatteras.
Metadata
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Sensor
TRMM/TMI -
Animation ID
1068 -
Video ID
SVS2000-0001 -
Start Timecode
01:10:48:00 -
End Timecode
01:12:12:00 -
Animator
Tom Bridgman, Greg Shirah -
Studio
SVS -
Visualization Date
2000/05/03 -
Scientist
Chris Kummerow (NASA/GSFC) -
Datasets
Sea Surface Temperature -
Keywords
Hurricane -
DLESE Subject
Natural hazards, Agricultural science, Physical oceanography -
Data Date
1998/08/22-1998/09/03 -
Story URL
stories/hurricanes/index.html -
Animation Type
Regular
