Each one was a growing live coral, bred to withstand the perils of the planet’s hot future. ![]() ![]() The findings have changed hurricane forecast models regarding how quickly hurricanes can build strength and speed - important factors in determining when a storm will hit, and how deadly it might be.Īcross the hall at the Coral Reef Futures Lab, senior research associate Liv Williamson walked the attendees into a room full of shallow tanks lined with rows of what could be mistaken for underwater cookies. The tank revealed that once wind gets over a certain speed, water drag levels off and stops slowing the storm. “Friction from the ocean does not slow down wind as much as previously thought,” he said. He said one of the most crucial findings has to do with water friction. Rosenstiel School The University of Miami Rosenstiel School’s SUSTAIN Lab on Virginia Key is a wind-wave-storm simulator that can create Category-5 hurricane forces so researchers can study the interplay of wind, water and shoreline. When Haus turned on the wind and waves for Aspen Idea participants visiting the facility, the tank rippled violently with 3-foot waves that would equal 30-foot swells in real life. They can create scale models of shoreline and infrastructure and blast it with storm forces to watch surge reactions, or they can blast life-size reef or mangrove structures with storm forces and determine their protective value. The facility, a wind-wave-storm simulator, lets them study the way wind, sea and shorelines interact. Haus and his team at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science SUSTAIN Lab on Virginia Key get to play with every day. That’s essentially what professor Brian K. The pool is see-through for optimal study, and has a sloping bottom that can be shaped to emulate various shorelines - relatively steep, like Florida’s east coast, or gradual, the state’s west coast. Imagine a wind tunnel that can create Category-5 wind velocity, then put a 25-yard-long pool inside. Here are some of the key takeaways from the conference. The four-day event, which ended Thursday, gathered 300 speakers, including Vice President Kamala Harris, to the Miami Beach Convention Center and the New World Center along with business leaders, conservationists and journalists. A new solar housing development that withstands hurricanes - without losing power or internet. Weird concrete hexagonal tubes that might actually save South Florida cities from storm surge. ![]() So the state took center stage during the second annual Aspen Ideas: Climate conference, where science and design leaders called attention to some of the latest advancements: Wind and wave simulators that help make crucial findings about storms. ![]() The Sunshine State, with its low elevation and 825 miles of shoreline, make it one of the planet’s most vulnerable locations for both sea-level rise and intensified weather events. Some of the most pivotal climate-change questions - and potential solutions - focus on Florida.
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