Protecting The Big Apple: Design strategies to protect New
York City from hurricanes fueled by warming seas
Presentation Due Friday, March 14th
Report Due Thursday, March 20th
Introduction
Tropical cyclones are the most powerful storms on Earth. Referred
to by different names in different regions of the world, they form
over warm, tropical waters. In India and Australia, they are called
cyclones; in the western North Pacific and the Philippines, they are
called typhoons; and in the Atlantic, they are called hurricanes.
Regardless of the name they go by, these storms are defined by
their size and intensity and by the weather patterns that drive
them. They produce sustained winds of 120 to more than 240
kilometers per hour (74 to more than 150 miles per hour), can
dump more than 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) of rain per hour, and can
trigger sudden, unpredictable surges in ocean tides, all of which
can cause extensive property damage and loss of life.
Hurricanes originate over warm tropical oceans. In fact, the heat of
the water provides the energy needed for the storm to develop
and maintain itself. Water at temperatures below 26°C (80°F) does
not possess sufficient heat to generate and sustain a hurricane.
This is why hurricanes in the northern hemisphere develop in the
late summer or early autumn months, when Caribbean and Atlantic
Ocean temperatures are at their warmest.
A hurricane begins when winds blowing across the surface of the
warm ocean water converge to form clusters of strong
thunderstorms known as tropical disturbances or tropical waves.
The water fuels these thunderstorms, causing them to build. As
they do, more water evaporates from the ocean surface and enters
the air as water vapor. When the rising air cools, the water vapor
condenses to form clouds, a process that releases heat. This heat
warms the center, or eye, of the storm, which in turn causes more
water to evaporate. Meteorologists call this chain reaction a "heat
engine." The result is a reduction of air pressure at the water's
surface and — if the winds, moisture, and ocean temperature
continue to remain favorable — the formation of a hurricane.
There is a limit to the size and intensity a hurricane can reach, and
clearly none of these storms lasts forever. One of the longest
lasting was the North Pacific Hurricane Tina, which maintained
hurricane force winds for 24 days and traveled thousands of
kilometers before it dissipated. Most hurricanes survive less than a
week. When they pass over cooler ocean waters or over land, they
lose contact with the heat energy that sustains them and dissipate.
There is increasing evidence that global warming has increased the
severity of hurricanes. This makes sense based on what we have
learned so far about the water cycle: hotter temperatures put more
water vapor in the atmosphere both because of increased
evaporation and because the warmer air would allow greater
amounts of vapor to build up. When all that water finally
condenses, enormous clouds will form, releasing a tremendous
amount of heat that intensifies the storms. In general, big storms
are more likely than small storms to overwhelm the rate of
infiltration and the capacity of rivers and man-made structures
intended to hold the water or carry runoff. This results in massive
flooding. Also, global warming raises the sea level, both because
of melting land ice and liquid water expanding as its temperature
rises. So, storm surges created by hurricane winds can now reach
areas that used to be far enough inland or high enough above sea
level to escape flooding.
Your Assignment
1. Develop a strategy to protect New York City from hurricane
destruction in the face of warming and rising seas. You will
develop a model that demonstrates how your strategy works
and the level of storm damage it could handle. You will
present this during Engineering Open House on Friday,
March 14th.
2. You will prepare a 2-3 page report which includes a
description of how Hurricane Sandy formed and why it
caused so much destruction. Your report should include a
diagram of the anatomy of a hurricane as well as weather
maps detailing at least three of the following:
a. Temperature
b. Pressure
c. Wind speeds
d. Inundation
e. Hurricane position over time (tracking map)
Your report should explain why places like New York City
might face increasing hurricane damage in the future and a
description and sketch of your strategy for mitigating the
damage from future storms.
The following resources will be helpful as you work on this project
The problem:
1. Hurricane Sandy (from the National Weather Service):
http://www.weather.gov/okx/HurricaneSandy
2. Hurricane Sandy in pictures:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/11/01/us/sandy-PODindex.html?ref=nyregion
3. Hurricane Sandy: Assessing the damage (NY Times graphic):
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/10/30/nyregion/hurricane
-sandys-aftermath.html
4. Global warming and hurricanes:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/ocean-storms.html
5. New Jersey's Marsh Mistakes: http://www.livescience.com/40865sandy-damage-development-historic-marshes.html
6. Everything you ever wanted to know about hurricanes (courtesy
of the NASA Earth Observatory):
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Hurricanes
Possible solutions:
1. Storm Surges and New York City (short article):
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/storm-surges-cities.html
2. Judo with Nature (short video):
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/judo-nature.html
3. More on natural flood protection (short video):
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/nat-flood-protection.html
4. Storm barriers:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/nyregion/after-hurricanesandy-debating-costly-sea-barriers-in-new-yorkarea.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0