MIAMI, April 18 (UPI) -- A U.S. climate model simulation suggests anticipated increased wind shear over the tropical Atlantic Ocean might inhibit hurricane development.
The study by scientists at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami suggests a robust increase in wind shear will develop over that area due to global warming. The researchers say that might reduce hurricane development and intensification.
While other research has linked global warming to an increase in hurricane intensity, the study is believed the first to identify changes in wind shear that could counteract such effects.
However, the study did identify other regions, such as the western tropical Pacific, where global warming might cause the environment to become more favorable for hurricanes.
The study -- conducted in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J. -- is reported in the current issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
