Hurricanes and Global Warming...
More evidence challenging the link between global warming and hurricanes.
Studies that link global warming to an increase in hurricane ferocity might be full of hot air, according to a research paper that will be published today in a major scientific journal.
The paper, co-written by Chris Landsea of the U.S. National Hurricane Center, challenges earlier findings that hurricanes have grown more powerful in the last 30 years.
It says those studies failed to account for technological improvements that now produce more accurate -- and often higher -- estimates of a storm's power than were available in the past.
"If you say, 'Hey, the number of Category 4 and 5 storms has doubled since 1970,' you have to ask where is that coming from and can we accept that as true," said Dr. Landsea, one of the nation's leading hurricane researchers, who now serves as science and operations officer at the hurricane centre.
His answer: Probably not, because the databases used for historical studies are so skewed.
Set for publication in today's edition of the journal Science, the study extends a multifaceted scientific debate that grows more heated every few months.
On one side are scientists who say they have found statistical evidence that the accumulated power of hurricanes around the world has dramatically increased in the past 30 years, largely because of global warming.
On the other side are Dr. Landsea and other scientists who say, yes, global warming is real, but its effect on hurricanes is not at all clear.
"It's the data sets that are faulty," Dr. Landsea said.
posted by GayandRight @ 4:16 PM
2 Comments:
Blaming 'global warming' for every negative event on the planet is just getting a little ridiulous. It's gotten to the point that we might as well say that Zeus is angry with us - because 'scientists' and others are making the initial scare mongering announcements on nothing more than their faith in this fear.
In one sense, I agree with you, in that I think that global warming has become a convenient explanation for any noted weather anomaly. However, having recently debated this topic extensively at my blog, there is a big difference between questioning the existence and direct effects of global warming and using it to explain secondary effects like increased hurricane count and strength.
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