WASHINGTON (AP) - It just takes one degree of warming in the waters of the Atlantic, to produce a big jump in hurricane activity.
Researchers find that with that one-degree of warming in the hurricane breeding grounds of the Atlantic, overall hurricane activity jumps by half.
Scientists have known for a while that hurricanes get their enormous energy from warm water. The warmer the water, the more fuel a storm can use to start up, or get stronger.
This research, though, calculated to what extent the frequency and strength of storms are the result of warmer sea water.
A professor of climate prediction at the University College London found a distinct numerical connection between the ups and downs of water temperatures and how nasty a hurricane season gets. Mark Saunders says it helps explain why hurricanes have been so much worse in the past dozen years.
The study appears in the journal Nature.
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