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Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering B 7 (2018) 291-297 doi:10.17265/2162-5263/2018.08.002 D DAVID PUBLISHING

Formation and Prevention of Hurricanes, and

Cuixiang Zhong Department of Physics, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China

Abstract: Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the most destructive weather systems. In order to mitigate the disasters caused by these , it is necessary to clarify the cause and activity rule of these storms. However, the formation of hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones as well as the cause of their path and strength changes still remains the major unsolved problems in today’s world. Fortunately, the author has recently studied the formation and activity of polar vortices, therefore can reveal the formation and current driving warm core structure of hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones, which plays an important guiding role in preventing major disasters caused by them. The author finds that all hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are formed by polar vortices pulled by the moon. In order to prevent hurricanes from raging along the east coast of the United States or cyclones from setting wildfires in western United States, the potentially dangerous genesises near and those over northeastern should be monitored and weakened in the month before they prevail; in order to prevent typhoons from ravaging the Northwest Pacific or South China Sea, the potentially dangerous vortex genesises over northeastern Siberia should be monitored and weakened in the month before they prevail; in order to prevent cyclones from raging over the South Indian Ocean or the Bay of Bengal, the potentially dangerous vortex genesises in should be monitored and weakened in the month before they prevail; in order to avoid abnormal cold in late winter or early spring in the Northern Hemisphere, the potentially dangerous cold vortex genesises near Baffin Island and those over northeastern Siberia should be monitored and weakened in the month before they prevail.

Key words: Polar vortex, hurricanes, typhoons , cyclones, formation, prevention, .

1. Introduction In order to mitigate the disasters caused by these storms, it is necessary to give correct predictions of these Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are considered storms. Despite significant progress in understanding to be violent storms occurring in tropical oceans. Such hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones in the recent 100 storms occur mainly in the Northeast Atlantic (including years of research, the formation of hurricanes, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico), the Northwest typhoons and cyclones as well as the cause of their Pacific (including the South China Sea) and Bay of path and strength changes still remains the major Bengal. A tropical occurring in the Atlantic unsolved problems in today’s world [3]. Fortunately, Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean is referred to a the author has recently studied the formation and hurricane, and a occurring in the movement of polar vortices [4, 5], therefore can reveal northwestern Pacific Ocean is referred to a ; the formation mechanism and change rule of while a tropical cyclone occurring in the South Pacific hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones, which plays an or Indian Ocean is referred to a cyclone [1]. Such important guiding role in preventing major disasters tropical cyclones usually form strong winds and caused by hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones. torrential rains, seriously threatening people’s lives and property. It is the most destructive weather system 2. Existing Theories on the Formation of in the geophysical environment [2]. Tropical Cyclones

The formation of tropical cyclones is the topic of Corresponding author: Cuixiang Zhong, Ph.D., main research field: geophysics and environmental science. extensive ongoing research and is still not fully

292 Formation and Prevention of Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones understood. While six factors appear to be generally 0.6-0.65 °C/hm, hence most disturbances can not necessary, tropical cyclones may occasionally form develop into tropical cyclones. without meeting all of the following conditions [6]: 3. New Discoveries on the Formation and (1) In most situations, water temperatures of at least Activity of Tropical Cyclone 26.5 °C (79.7 °F) are needed down to a depth of at least 50 m (160 ft); waters of this temperature cause Since the probability of tropical cyclone generation the overlying atmosphere to be unstable enough to by water vapor motion and condensation disturbance sustain and thunderstorms. alone is very low, the current research tends to believe (2) Another factor is rapid cooling with height, that tropical cyclones are more likely to be generated which allows the release of the heat of condensation by MCVs (Mesoscale Convective Vortices) [7]. that powers a tropical cyclone. Observations and studies also show that MCVs are (3) High humidity is needed, especially in the probably generated by convective systems, and such lower-to-mid ; when there is a great deal convective systems were found in the north of 40 of moisture in the atmosphere, conditions are more degrees north latitude or the south of 40 degrees south favorable for disturbances to develop. latitude. In addition, the tropical cyclone in the (4) Low amounts of wind shear are needed, as high northern hemisphere is counterclockwise, which is shear is disruptive to the ’s circulation. consistent with the rotation direction of the arctic (5) Tropical cyclones generally need to form vortex, while the tropical cyclone in the southern five degrees of latitude away from the equator, hemisphere is clockwise rotation, which is consistent allowing the Coriolis effect to deflect winds blowing with the rotation direction of the Antarctic vortex. towards the low pressure center and creating a This makes it natural to infer that the tropical cyclones circulation. in the northern hemisphere are generated from the (6) Lastly, a formative tropical cyclone needs a arctic vortices, while the tropical cyclones in the preexisting system of disturbed weather. are generated from the Antarctic According to statistics, most of these tropical vortices. cyclones form between 10 and 30 degrees of the It is well known that Earth has a dense atmosphere. equator, where is exposed to intense sunlight all year Due to the effect of centrifugal force, the rotation of round, causing high temperature and large evaporation earth around its axis has caused it to bulge around the of sea water. Since these hot and humid water vapors Equator, making the earth become an oblate spheroid have a small proportion, they easily expand up to high with the radius of the two poles of the earth being less altitude to cool into clouds and cause rain, and release than the radius of the equator and other places, while a lot of heat energy during the condensation process, the gravitational force is inversely proportional to the increasing the heat of the air, therefore making the air square of the distance. When the earth rotates quickly， rise faster, finally forming a low-pressure center, then the rotation will produce strong centrifugal force, the cooler air around it quickly flows to it, under the making the clouds over the equator and low latitudes deflection force of the earth’s rotation, causing a tend to move away from their orbits to the South pole disturbance in a region several times larger than the or the . Because the gravitational attraction condensation region. Although such a disturbance has of the polar position is greater than that of other some vortex characteristics, it suffers the harassing of locations, when clouds move above the polar regions, prevailing side-wind and the vertical temperature they are easily attracted by the gravitational pull of the gradient is very small, with an average gradient of polar regions, after inhaling cold air, they condense

Formation and Prevention of Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones 293 into thick clouds and sink gradually. Many also the transfer of charge, as is shown in Figs. 1 and polar-plunging clouds form a strong circulation 2. Hence, this kind of cloud path is a good circuit with around the pole as the Earth rotates, that is polar excellent electrical conductivity. Since the clouds vortex, as is shown in Fig. 1. The earth has two groups involved in polar vortex are numerous and revolve of vortices, located at the South pole and the North rapidly, it is easy to have violent frictions and pole respectively, which can span troposphere and collisions among clouds, making the filled . This kind of vortex structures exists with positive ions and negative ions. Water droplets in throughout the four seasons, reaching maximum the cloud must first absorb negative ions in the strength in winter. When the Arctic is in summer and atmosphere, causing the droplets to be negatively its vortex structure becomes weaker than in winter, the charged, and the larger cloud droplet falls toward the Antarctic is in winter and its vortex becomes stronger lower part of the cloud or even the lower portion of than in summer, and vice versa. So these two vortex the vortex along a spiral cloud path, while the lighter structures have complementary advantages [7]. positive ions are gradually brought up by the updraft Since the clouds involved in polar vortex are to the upper part of the cloud or even the upper numerous and revolve downward rapidly in a spiral portion of the vortex along the spiral cloud path, manner, a series of parallel thick spiral cloud paths forming a current from the lower portion of the vortex can be formed, which facilitate not only the downward to the upper portion of the vortex along the spiral flow of heavier negatively charged water droplets but cloud path, as is shown in Fig. 2. In addition, since the clouds along the spiral cloud path are numerous and revolve rapidly, it is easy to have violent frictions and collisions among clouds, producing frequent electrical discharge or thunderstorms. Each electrical discharge or thunderstorm acts as an electrostatic motor, which can send currents to the upper portion of the vortex and the lower portion of the vortex, forming a series of electrical circuits along the spiral cloud paths. Because of the frequent flow of currents in these cloud path circuits, huge amounts of heat are generated, therefore the warm-core structure of the vortex is Fig. 1 Earth’s polar vortex. formed. Consequently, the air of the warm-core expands and rises; when the warm vapor rises to the condensation section of the eye-wall, it condenses into droplets, enhancing the conductivity of spiral cloud paths and increasing the intensity of current, therefore the rising speed of air in the warm-core is further accelerated and the condensation of rising water vapor becomes more and more intense. When water vapor condenses into droplets, its volume decreases by more than 1,000 times, therefore a low-pressure center is formed, and the cooler air around it flows rapidly to it, Fig. 2 Earth’s polar spiral currents. forming a violent atmospheric vortex [4, 8].

294 Formation and Prevention of Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones

The distribution of Arctic vortices has two centers: northeastern Siberia or Baffin Island, driven by the one is located at Baffin Island in , another is Moon, enter the Atlantic Ocean, and soon are able to over northeastern Siberia [9]. Polar vortices are reach over the southeastern waters of USA, which is persistent, large-scale cyclones that originate in the located at about 20 degrees north latitude. Since in the Earth’s polar regions, and are generally located in the autumn equinox season the sea surface temperature in middle and upper troposphere and the stratosphere. In southeastern waters is above 26.5 °C, when the summer and autumn, the oceans are exposed to strong vortices encounter high-temperature currents on the solar radiation, a large amount of sea water evaporates sea surface, they immediately intensify into and rises to high altitude or even to the polar regions, super-strong hurricanes [11, 12]. Every November, contributing to the growth of polar vortices. some vortices from northeastern Siberia often move Especially when the autumn comes in August and southward. But, due to the low temperature in winter, September, the direct sunlight is moving from north to there is a lack of water vapor along the way, when the south, causing cooling at high latitudes and warming vortex moves to the Central Valley of California, USA, up in low latitudes, which helps the growth of Arctic it immediately absorbs a large amount of water vapor vortices and its activity. Just as the Moon can cause evaporated from the valley and is reinforced into a fire ocean tides, the Moon can also pull the vortices . But now because the moon is far away from floating in the air. As the Moon moves southward the fire tornado, there is no other power to lift the fire over the Arctic, it can pull polar vortices southward, tornado up and move it away, so it can only move causing the position of polar vortex to change, making around the deep valley, and finally hits a cliff and falls polar vortices exist in the polar region for no more into a forest to set off a big wildfire, such as Camp than one month [10]. The trajectory of the Moon is Fire (2018), which is the most destructive wildfire in shown in Fig. 3. California history to date [13, 14]. Because the airflow velocity in the upper In late winter (December) or early spring (January troposphere can reach 50 m/s, a vortex floating in the and February)，whenever the moon passes over the upper troposphere, driven by the Moon at 1,020 m/s, Arctic Pole to go down South, the polar vortex is can move southward at a speed no less than 50 m/s. In separated into several vortices by the gravitational August and September every year, some vortices in force of the Moon, then the Moon pulls southward the

Fig. 3 The trajectory of the Moon around the Earth.

Formation and Prevention of Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones 295

vortices floating on the upper troposphere, leading to a 4. Prevention of Tropical Cyclones sharp drop in temperature in the middle and low Cyclones are weak and easy to disperse in the early latitudes, even an extremely cold weather. Due to the stage of its formation, but when they mature on the opening of the Arctic Channel and the exploration ocean surface, they are huge, powerful and difficult to and exploitation of oil and gas, Arctic sea ice control. Hence, they should be controlled on the eve dwindles quickly, Arctic ice cover and permanent of their prevailing, for example, dispersing or permafrost fall obviously, and the edge of polar basin weakening their genesises in polar regions. subsides gradually, making the obstruction of the For hurricanes that may rage along the eastern coast vortices moving down to the South be reduced and the of the United States or cyclones that may cause eye walls of the vortices be cut less, therefore the wildfires in the western United States, the potentially vortices become more violent, which has led to dangerous vortex genesises in northeastern Siberia and unusual cold weather in North America in recent years Baffin Island should be monitored and weakened in [15, 16]. the month before they prevail. Every year in June and July, some Arctic vortices, For typhoons that may rage in the Northwest born in northeastern Siberia, cross the Eurasian Continent to the South with the pull of the Moon, but Pacific or South China Sea, the potentially dangerous because of the lack of water vapor over land, when the vortex genesises in northeastern Siberia should be vortices drifted over the Northwest Pacific, they are monitored and weakened in the month before they reduced to small cyclones. Later, however, the prevail. high-temperature airflow over the Northwest Pacific For cyclones that may rage in the South Indian Ocean turns them into strong typhoons [17]. Ocean or the Bay of Bengal, the potentially dangerous Antarctic polar vortices are more pronounced and vortex genesises in Antarctic should be monitored and last longer than Arctic polar vortices. When the weakened in the month before they prevail. Moon travels northward over the Antarctic, it can Similarly, in order to avoid abnormal cold in late pull the Antarctic polar vortices northward. When winter or early spring in the Northern Hemisphere, the the vortices drift to the South Indian Ocean or the potentially dangerous Arctic cold vortex genesises in Bay of Bengal, due to the influence of high Baffin Island and northeastern Siberia should be temperature airflow over the ocean surface, they monitored and weakened in the month before they become cyclones sweeping thousands of miles in an prevail, weakening the vortices that may be pulled out instant, making the neighboring area suffer terrible by the moon, thus avoiding the extremely bad weather disaster [18]. in the south. According to the route of moon’s movement, it can In addition, to prevent global warming or the be seen that when the moon moves northward from recurrence of unusually cold weather in North the Antarctic, the Antarctic vortices pulled by the America, the embankments along the Arctic Channel Moon are blocked by the African continent and should be strengthened to prevent glacier loss; to the Eurasian continent, only when these vortices fall prevent the fall of the Arctic ice cap and permafrost, in the southern tip of Africa, the Indian Ocean, the the exploration and mining holes should be solid with Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea or the Mediterranean stone, silt or vegetation; to prevent the subsidence of Sea can they become terrible cyclones. Hence, the the edge of the polar basin, which causes the moon to South Atlantic Ocean rarely experiences tropical draw easily the polar vortices away from the polar cyclones. basin, people should measure the usual paths of the

296 Formation and Prevention of Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones moon carrying the polar vortices, then along these near Baffin Island and vortex genesises over paths lay multiple high walls to stop the slipping northeastern Siberia should be monitored and vortices or cut off the eye wall of the slipping vortices; weakened in the month before they prevail. additionally, people’s blind activities (such as blind References exploitation of oil and gas as well as unnecessary tourism) in the polar regions should be reduced to [1] Henderson-Sellers, A. 1998. “Tropical Cyclones and Global Climate Change: A Post-IPCC Assessment.” prevent the fall of the Arctic ice cap and permafrost or Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 79: to thicken the Arctic ice cap and permafrost, then 19-38. arctic vortices can be strengthened in summer, and the [2] Emanuel, K. 2005. “Increasing Destructiveness of separated vortices carried by Moon can also be Tropical Cyclones over the Past 30 Years.” Nature 436 (7051): 686-8. strengthened, which will reduce global temperature [3] Landsea, C. 2005. “Why doesn’t the South Atlantic and solve the problem of global warming. Ocean Experience Tropical Cyclones?” Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorlogical Laboratory. National 5. Conclusions Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. [4] Zhong, C. X. 2018. “The Origin of Geomagnetic Fields Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the most and the Cause of Its Reversal.” International Journal of destructive weather systems. In order to mitigate the Geophysics and Geochemistry 5 (2): 53-7. disasters caused by these storms, it is necessary to [5] Zhong, C. X. 2018. “Formation and Evolution of Pulsars & Accretion and Jets of Black Holes.” American Journal clarify the causes and activity rule of these storms, and of Astronomy and Astrophysics 6 (3): 91-6. to monitor, disperse or weaken the corresponding [6] Kikuchi, K., Wang, B., and Fudeyasu, H. 2009. “Genesis polar vortex genesises in the month before they of Tropical Cyclone Nargis Revealed by Multiple Satellite Observations.” Geophysical Research Letters 36 prevail. In order to prevent hurricanes from raging (6): L06811. along the east coast of the United States, the [7] Diana, L., Bartels, J. M., and Brown, E. I. 1995. potentially dangerous vortex genesises near Baffin “Tollerud Structure of a Midtropospheric Vortex Induced Island should be monitored and weakened in the by a Mesoscale Convective System.” Monthly Weather Review 125: 193-211. month before they prevail; In order to prevent [8] Cavallo, S., and Hakim, G. J. 2013. “Physical cyclones from setting wildfires in western United Mechanisms of Polar Vortex Intensity States, the potentially dangerous vortex genesises near Change.” Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70 (11): Baffin Island and vortex genesises over northeastern 3359-73. [9] Li, L., Li, C., and Pan, Y. 2012. “On the Differences and Siberia should be monitored and weakened in the Climate Impacts of Early and Late Stratospheric Polar month before they prevail; in order to prevent Vortex Breakup.” Advances in Atmospheric Sciences 29 typhoons from ravaging the Northwest Pacific or (5): 1119-28. [10] Seviour, W. J. M. 2017. “Weakening and Shift of the South China Sea, the potentially dangerous vortex Arctic Stratospheric Polar Vortex: Internal Variability or genesises over northeastern Siberia should be Forced Response?” Geophysical Research Letters 44 (7): monitored and weakened in the month before they 3365-73. prevail; in order to prevent cyclones from raging over [11] Landsea, C., et al. 2006. “Can We Detect Trends in Extreme Tropical Cyclones?” Science 313 (5786): 452-4. the South Indian Ocean or the Bay of Bengal, the [12] Vecchi, G. A., and Knutson, T. R. 2008. “On Estimates potentially dangerous vortex genesises in Antarctic of Historical North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Activity.” should be monitored and weakened in the month Journal of Climate 21 (14): 3580-600. before they prevail; in order to avoid abnormal cold in [13] Masters, J. “America’s Deadliest Wildfire in 100 Years: 56 Dead in Paradise, California.” Weather Underground. late winter or early spring in the Northern Hemisphere, [14] Rice, D. 2019. “USA Had World’s 3 Costliest Natural the potentially dangerous Arctic cold vortex genesises Disasters in 2018, and Camp Fire Was the Worst.” USA

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