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Rethinking Why Typhoons Are Necessary

I was watching this Tagalog video on YouTube. It made me think about the ecological role of typhoons. The Philippines is prone to typhoons the most, while Indonesia is prone to tsunamis. As I was looking at people who wish storms will never come, they never realize the ecological role that storms play. But first, let's look into the reason why typhoons are common in the Pacific Ocean.

THE PACIFIC IS WARMER

Sea surface temperatures (°C) around the world on July 14, 2016. Image credit: NOAA/ESRL/PSD

Warm sea surface water is the fuel that drives tropical cyclones. If you ignore large-scale anomalies like El Niño and La Niña, the waters in the Pacific Ocean are usually warmer than those of the Atlantic Ocean, and the temperatures stay pretty toasty through almost the entire year. If you were to take a swim in the water off the coast of the northern Philippines, it would feel like you dunked yourself into a freshly drawn bath, just as it would if you took a dip in the ocean at a beach in Florida. Though parts of the Atlantic get uncomfortably warm, the expanse of hot water is much larger in the Pacific than it is in the Atlantic. The larger pool of steamy water gives more disturbances the opportunity to spin-up into major storms.

The persistent warmth of the western Pacific allows the typhoon season there to last the entire year, unlike around North America where it starts in May in the eastern Pacific and June in the Atlantic, both stretching through November. In addition to ocean currents, which have a major impact on sea surface temperatures, another significant factor in the Atlantic’s relative coolness is its proximity to land.

When a storm forms, it absorbs the excess heat away from the ocean. It would be important to know that excess heat in the ocean. If the heat isn't removed, then you can tell that it will create a real problem for the ocean. That's why storms are necessary. In fact, The MIDORI Press gives this detail about the role of typhoons:

Not just with typhoons but in general, low pressures play an important role in water circulation on earth. If there is no low pressure, vapor will not be transported upward. As a result, it will not rain, and desertification will be accelerated in desert areas. Most notably, the East Asian monsoonal region receives a great amount of fluid replacement from the Tropics thanks to the occurrence of seasonal typhoons. Also, strong wind events strongly mix sediments as well as coastal areas or lakes, increasing oxygen availability. Anoxic sediments and deep waters are oxidized by storm events and new habitats will be created for living things. In addition, biological species living in upper reaches of streams are transported downstream, or seeds are transported to remote places by strong winds. These lead to enlarging the reproduction areas of living things. Typhoons bring us disasters, but they can be an external force for creating new living environments for other living things. Strong external forces such as typhoons are sometimes necessary to maintain healthy ecosystems.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gives this warning on the role of tropical cyclones, too:

There have sometimes been suggestions for mitigating tropical cyclones, such as "seeding" storms with chemicals to decrease their intensity or dropping water-absorbing material into the storm to soak up some of the moisture. Some have even suggested using nuclear weapons to disrupt the circulation, thereby decreasing the intensity.

While well meaning, these suggestions vastly underestimate the amount of energy generated and released by tropical cyclones.

Additionally, even if we could disrupt these storms, it would not be advisable. Since tropical cyclones help regulate the Earth's temperature, any decrease in tropical cyclone intensity would mean the oceans retain more heat.

Over time, the build-up of heat could possibly enhance subsequent storms and lead to more numerous and/or stronger events.

Instead of wishing for the storms to go away, readiness is key. We all play a part in the ecosystem. 

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