At Sea
A mature tropical cyclone can release heat at a rate upwards of 6x1014 watts. Tropical cyclones on the open sea cause large waves, heavy rain, and high winds, disrupting international shipping and, at times, causing shipwrecks. Generally, after its passage, a tropical cyclone stirs up ocean water, lowering sea surface temperatures behind it. This cool wake can cause the region to be less favorable for a subsequent tropical cyclone. On rare occasions, tropical cyclones may actually do the opposite. 2005's Hurricane Dennis blew warm water behind it, contributing to the unprecedented intensity of Hurricane Emily, which followed it closely. Hurricanes help to maintain the global heat balance by moving warm, moist tropical air to the mid-latitudes and polar regions. Were it not for the movement of heat poleward (through other means as well as hurricanes), the tropical regions would be unbearably hot.
Read more about this topic: Effects Of Tropical Cyclones
Famous quotes containing the word sea:
“The sea curling,
Star-climbed, wind-combed, cumbered with itself still
As at first it was, is the hand no yet contented
Of the Creator. And he waits for the world to begin.”
—William Stanley Merwin (b. 1927)
“Ere long, not only these banks, but on every hill and plain and in every hollow, the frost comes out of the ground like a dormant quadruped from its burrow, and seeks the sea with music, or migrates to other climes in clouds.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)