NATURAL OCEAN DISASTERS

Natural Ocean Disasters

Jeffrey Caeton, Hugo Flores, Sharon Floyd, Ashton Schalk, Ashley Young
University of Phoenix
SCI/209
Barbara Shoemaker
November 3, 2014

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2
Natural Ocean Disasters

On the evening of October 29, 2012 struck one of the most destructive hurricanes ever to
hit North America. Hurricane Sandy, also known as super storm sandy, took 117 lives in the
United States and many others in Canada and in the Caribbean. Hurricanes produce tropical seas,
killer waves, strong destructive winds, and flooding rains. Hurricanes form during a certain time
of the year known as Hurricane Season where the sun heats a vast amount of tropical ocean
surface water. The relationship between the ocean and the atmosphere is very important in the
creation of oceanic disasters such as hurricanes.
The Cause of Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy also known, as Frankenstorm is a storm that should not have been as
powerful as it was. Generally when storms created in the warmer waters move into colder and
less energized areas they lose strength. In this case low pressure built in from the Artic and gave
the storm fuel and ability to grow. The storm covered nearly all of the eastern state of the US
with winds speeds up to 85 mph. As high pressure built to the north, it forced the storm towards
land thus creating superstorm Sandy (Pappas, 2012).
Do the Effects of the Hurricane Differ at Different Tides?
High tide played a major role in the storm surge and destruction from Hurricane Sandy.
There was a full moon as the storm moved onto shore creating a 20% higher tide than what is
normal. Its as if there was a perfect storm where the moon, sun, and Earth were all aligned. The
gravitational pull becomes more intense creating higher tides. The normal tide may have
produced 6-7 foot waves but due to the timing of the full moon the waves were as high as 11 feet
(Vergano, 2012).

Hurricanes and Change in Wave Action

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When a hurricane begins, the waves become bigger and stronger into what is known as a
storm surge. The storm surge is the bulge of water that washes onto shore during a hurricane,
and is driven by the wind and inverse barometric effects of low atmospheric pressure. The winds
generated by a hurricane create greater waves in the ocean. As the waves move into shallow
water, wave heights increase due to shoaling. The wave heights eventually break as they
increase and impart their momentum to the water. The break of their momentum causes the
onshore flow near the surface and offshore undertow near the bottom, and causes an overall
elevation in water level at the coast (University of Rhode Island, 2010-2013).
Ocean Currents That Pass Near or Through The Disaster Impact Area
During Hurricane Sandy it was said to have started as a tropical wave on October 11,
which moved off Africa and into the Atlantic Ocean with wide spread thunderstorms. On October
18, an increased convergence shortly hindered it's development, convective activity formed by the
center of disturbance, with extended low pressure conditions favorable for the (NHC) to tag the
storm as a tropical cyclone. With wind shear being low and sea surface temperatures warm, it
caused conductive strengthening with rapid deepening. While the outflow increased, the
Hurricane was upgraded to Tropical Storm Sandy. On the October 29, Sandy transitioned into an
extra tropical storm, western periphery in circulation with the interacting of a cold front. It
maintained deep convection, causing the hurricane to intensify diminishing when it accelerated
toward the coast of New Jersey. (Reference)?
Does Surface or Deep Ocean Currents affect the Disaster?
Surface ocean currents are created by global wind systems. The global wind systems get
their energy from the sun. The Gulf Stream is warm and originates from the Caribbean. This is
what helps keep higher temperatures in Europe, and differences in surface currents can help with
predicting hurricanes. Changes in water density, salinity and temperature can cause deep ocean

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currents ("Ocean Currents", n.d.). The Stevens Institute measured surface currents up until the
height of the Hurricane Sandy until they were no longer able to get readings. The Stevens
Institute was measuring the surface currents surrounding New York. The normal surface current
readings are approximately .5 m/s. The data gathered during Hurricane Sandy showed surface
currents were moving at almost double that rate. This is what contributed to flooding during
Hurricane Sandy. ("Stevens Institute Measures Hurricane Sandy Currents", n.d.).
Ocean-Atmosphere Relationship Influence on Weather and Climate
The NOAA National Ocean Service (2012) website shows that the atmosphere is
separated into several levels to better understand the area between earths surface and space. The
ocean covers 70% of the earths surface. Having such a widespread surface, the ocean is a great
conductor of heat that is emitted by the sun. Heat, naturally will travel to any area at a cooler
temperature until all temperatures are equal. Since the sun heats the oceans surface, evaporation
occurs. The evaporated water goes through the process of condensation making clouds full of
rainwater. Regarding Hurricane Sandy, opposing winds that pushed upward formed the clouds.
Then the wind is pushed outward at the top of the tropical system. Outward winds then push the
tropical system in the direction of the strongest wind current. The ocean can affect climate
change in the atmosphere as well. As explained before, the ocean conducts heat. So when wind
currents pass over the heated surface the cooler air is heated because of the natural direction of
heat (Ocean Atmosphere System, n.d.).

Summaries and Conclusion

In conclusion, hurricanes like Hurricane Sandy are caused by global winds, a change in
ocean salinity, density and temperature. The effects of Hurricane Sandy depended on the high tide

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and would have been less devastating if the tide was low. When a hurricane happens, the wave
action becomes bigger and stronger causing a storm surge that washes up on shore. The surface
currents caused severe flooding from Hurricane Sandy because they were moving at double their
rate. The ocean-atmosphere relationship has a great influence on weather and climate, which can
bring on hurricanes due to heat and wind that is produced. Many factors have the ability to create
hurricanes that can be devastating or have minimal effect.

References
NOAA's National Ocean Service. (2012). Retrieved from
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/pd/oceans_weather_climate/energy_oceans_atmos
phere/trsfr_energy_4students.html
Ocean Atmosphere System. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/Natural_Disasters/oceanatmos.htm

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Ocean Currents. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.education.noaa.gov/Ocean_and_Coasts/Ocean_Currents.html
Pappas, S. (2012). Weather or Climate: What Caused Hurricane Sandy. Retrieved from
http://www.livescience.com/24377-weather-climate-hurricane-sandy.html
Stevens Institute Measures Hurricane Sandy Currents. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.nortekusa.com/usa/news/stevens-institute-measures-hurricane-sandy-currents
University of Rhode Island. (2010-2013). Hurricane Impacts Due to Storm Surge, Wave, and
Coastal Flooding. Retrieved from
http://www.hurricanescience.org/society/impacts/stormsurge/
Vergano, D. (2012). Astronomy links full moon to Hurricane Sandy high tide. Retrieved from
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/sciencefair/2012/10/29/sandy-full-moontide/1666479/

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