GEOL/METR/OCN 405:
Planetary Climate Change
(Spring 2009) 		Reading Questions
(10 pts. Written responses due in class Thursday, April 23.) 		Dr. Dave Dempsey
Dr. Petra Dekens
Dept. of Geosciences, SFSU
Respond briefly in writing to each of the following "Reading Questions" about portions of the three articles above (provided in class). We will have a round-table discussion of the topic addressed by this reading in class Thursday, April 23. Completing this assignment in advance should help prepare you to participate actively. (Your response to the reading questions is worth 10 pts. Your participation in the discussion is worth 5 pts.)

"Warmer Oceans, Stronger Hurricanes"

  1. What is a hurricane? What conditions are necessary for hurricanes to form?

  2. Where on Earth do hurricanes tend to form? (See the figure, "Where Hurricanes Roam" on p. 46.)

  3. What is the basis for the hypothesis that global warming might increase the number, size, and/or intensity of hurricanes?

    4. Hotter Spawning Ground (pp. 46-49)

  4. Since when, and why, are scientists confident about the number of hurricanes that have occurred (a) worldwide; and (b) over the tropical North Atlantic Ocean?

  5. What is the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO)? According to Trenberth, can the AMO alone account for observed warming of the North Atlantic Ocean since the 1990s?

  6. What evidence does Trenberth cite that warmer sea surface temperature (SST) has led to stronger hurricanes worldwide?

    7. Why the Lull? (pp. 49-50)

  7. Why do El Niño conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean tend to suppress hurricane formation in the North Atlantic Ocean (as occurred in 2006, for example)?

    8. More Flooding, Too (pp. 50-51)

  8. According to Trenberth, why should higher SST's lead to higher rainfall in hurricanes?

    9. Trouble to Come (p. 51)

  9. Why might the number of hurricanes not increase as a result of global warming, even if their intensity might?

"Hurricane Climate Science"

    For some, a turnabout (pp. 676-677)

  1. What did the observational studies by Emanuel (2005) and Webster et al. (2005) suggest about the frequency and intensity of hurricanes since 1970? Did they expect the results they got? What evidence presented by Emanuel suggests a connection to SSTs?

    Stormier models (p. 677)

  2. What additional evidence supported the results of the observational studies of Emanuel (2005) and Webster (2005)?

    Even stormier objections (pp. 677-678)

  3. What alternative to anthropogenic (or even natural) global warming do some scientists argue could also account for the observations of trends in hurricane frequency and intensity since 1970? What problem with this explanation did Emanuel suggest?

  4. What reservation (putting it mildly) did William Gray express about one line of evidence in favor of a connection between recent hurricanes and global warming?

    5. A haphazard record (p. 678)

  5. What problem with hurricane observations did Chris Landsea point out that cast some doubt about possible connections between hurricanes and global warming in the recent past? According to Webster, is this problem enough to negate the results of Emanuel (2005) and Webster et al. (2005)?

"Climate Change 2007: The Physical Basis", Chapter 3, pp. 304-306

  1. What do the IPCC Working Group 1 authors say about changes in damage from landfalling hurricanes as a result of global warming vs. factors related to human behavior near coastlines? (See Box 3.5: Tropical Cyclones and Changes in Climate.)
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