Paleotempestology

Paleotempestology , an emerging field of science (Liu , 2004a , 2004b ) is becoming extremely important , mainly due to the increasing need to understand the return periods of many recent , powerful storms , such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita . Paleotempestological data and results are extremely important to engineers , insurance companies , and policy-makers , to understand the frequency of hurricane activity during historic and prehistoric time periods to determine future risk . These data and results can best be analyzed and dissected if a proper modern analog is found . By finding a modern analog , logical interpretations can be

made concerning the strength and impacts of past storms . Remote sensing is a useful tool for studying the biophysical or environmental impacts of recent hurricanes . Specifically , Landsat 5 images can not only reveal how an intense storm alters the landscape , but can also allow the analyst to determine quantitatively the degree of change in certain land cover categories . Remote sensing can also be a useful tool to delineate patterns and boundaries of the storm surge inundation based on the degree of tree mortality . In to interpret the remote sensing data accurately , ground truthing must be performed at the study site , and vegetation plots were analyzed to receive a more thorough hands-on ' understanding of any underlying patterns associated with tree mortality

Chapter 2 : Literature Review

According to Emanuel (2005 , hurricanes have been discussed and interpreted in contrasting fashions for the past few centuries . Spanish explorers actually coined the term hurricane (initially called Huracbn Hunraken , or Jurakan ) when they visited the New World . These three names were associated with tales of a god full of sinister actions , and even the potential to inflict harm on others . Caribbean peoples were so afraid of these gods that they often partook in out-of-character mannerisms , involving constant drum tapping or even ceremonies to save themselves from the potential winds and rain . The term cyclone was invented from a Greek word implicating coil of a snake ' by Henry Piddington , a curator at the Calcutta Museum in 1848 . A cyclone is a word that is synonymous throughout the scientific world for a

Nonfrontal synoptic-scale (200-2 ,000 km in diameter ) low-pressure system originating over tropical or subtropical waters with organized convection (i .e , rain shower or thunderstorm activity ) and definite cyclonic surface wind circulation (Emanuel , 2005 : Pg . 21

A hurricane is the term used for a tropical cyclone located in the South Pacific (east of 160 , Northeast Pacific (east of International Date Line , and the North Atlantic (Emanuel , 2005 . A hurricane 's formal definition is : A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained surface winds of at least 33 m /s (74 mph (Emanuel , 2005 : Pg . 21

Hurricane Formation

A hurricane is a truly complex storm system , which should be understood in terms of its internal structure and characteristics upon landfall in to comprehend the damage it can inflict . According to Simpson and Riehl (1981 , a hurricane forms when a rain system ' hovers over an ocean with a surface temperature at or over 26-27 ? Celsius , with an absence...