storms

Extreme sea-level events are an ever-growing threat to coastal communities across our planet due to rising seas. NOC scientists are at the cutting edge of research into why our sea-levels are rising, the likelihood of resulting extreme events and cutting-edge solutions to protect our coastlines.

Freshwater in the ocean leads to extreme cold patches in the North Atlantic, which has major implications for weather over the surrounding land-masses.

Talking to the BBC about the recent hurricanes, NOC’s Professor Judith Wolf, said “This year’s hurricane season is worse than usual, at least the worst since 2005 when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. We cannot attribute this directly to climate change – there are large changes in the number and severity of storms from year to year.

A project has ‘kicked-off’ in London that will create artificial storms to help predict worst-case scenarios for coastal flooding. Using computer models to make real storms more extreme, this National Oceanography Centre (NOC) led project will help inform the planning of coastal defences and emergency response.

Autumn storms help the ocean absorb atmospheric CO₂ and stimulate marine life by ‘stirring-up’ the nutrients that feed blooms of tiny marine plants.