Tracking Desert Dust to Predict Hurricanes

The US is always finding ways towards improving their seasonal forecasts of hurricane and making them more accurate. A researcher, Amato Evan, offers that he can help through the use of a new forecasting instrument which uses a critical element – dust.

Each year, huge amounts of Saharan dust are carried by the wind over the North Atlantic. They are said to reflect solar heat into space which makes the temperature of the ocean surface cooler. Since the North Atlantic is regarded as the breeding ground for hurricanes that land in the US, Evan and his colleagues believe that a substantial decrease in atmospheric dust load can trigger the formation of hurricanes. However, some disagree with this proposal because there are a lot more dominant factors to consider other than dessert dust. No matter what, I guess what’s important is that they should try their best to reflect on all possibilities so that if the calamity strikes everybody would have the time to prepare beforehand.