The NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association) experts have thrown “cold water” on hurricane control schemes. Including the schemes actually using cold water. This article will have a look at the “Proverbial Pipe Dream” of Hurricane Control and propose a practical solution. At present there many different various hurricane control proposals.

Hurricane control in the current context really methods to weaken the hurricane force winds. The destructive damage a hurricane inflicts is proportional to the square in the wind speed. Hurricanes are windstorms within the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific. In the Western North Pacific along with the Philippines the windstorms are called Typhoons. Cyclones are windstorms in the Indian and South Pacific Ocean. When the ocean temperature is about 80 degrees F (26 C) or maybe more a hurricane may appear. The hurricanes operate by drawing warm ocean air up from the eye with the hurricane. This is a convection process with hot air which is less dense rising. Current hurricane control methods try and disrupt this convection process.

First lets consider “cloud seeding”. Cloud seeding is performed to increase precipitation by introducing small particles of numerous chemicals in to the air from your ground or by air. These particles are introduced in the eyewall of the hurricane to disrupt the upward flow of moist air. Another method proposed is always to cool the waters of the ocean where hurricanes will probably develop with long vertical tubes. These wave actuated pumps brings warm surface water for the bottom and force cool water up. Again this would disrupt the convection process. Giant sized fans have even been proposed to blow the hurricane back into the Atlantic ocean. Animated “cartoon like” procedures, although well meaning, aren’t effective for the following reasons. The enormous size and power of an hurricane make these type of schemes unlikely to operate. Information from your NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meterological Laboratory gives some insight in to the power of a hurricane.

An example is Hurricane Andrew which hit South Florida in 1992. The area of destruction was 20 miles wide. The heat energy on this hurricane eye was “5000 times” heat and electricity generation in the Turkey Point nuclear power plant over which a persons vision past. The kinetic energy with the wind at any instant was similar to that released by way of a nuclear warhead. A realistic hurricane control system will have to be ready to enter into operation within one day. Only about 10% from the tropical systems that form grow into hurricanes. Trying to attack them early would be a wasted effort. The hurricane control system can be put into operation in the event the hurricane is at least a category 1 which is heading toward a populated area.

I am proposing a modification of the fairly popular and tested approach to decreasing a hurricanes destructive power. The method I am talking about is Space Solar Power. Solar panels in earth orbit can convert solar technology into a microwave beam. This microwave beam will then be directed at a hurricane eyewall to heat it and obstruct the hurricanes convection process. A government project called HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) has demonstrated that microwave energy might be directed at the ionosphere and also heat it.

Space solar power projects to manipulate hurricanes involve launching a satellite into orbit. Until this process is fully proven. A more economical approach is always to save the cost from the launch as well as the satellite and mount the microwave equipment on a ship. The microwave ionospheric heaters could possibly be powered by off the shelf electric car batteries and the ship could re-charge much more port. This ship could possibly be under the supervision of an state government and called into service through the governor of the potentially affected state. The ship could stay back from your hurricane eyewall and aim its microwave antennas with a 45 degree or lesser angle. This ship could be called into action within 4 hours notice. If this plan works another ship could be built and sold to a new state or foreign country to get a profit.