RESEARCH

Ocean Acoustic Hurricane Classification

With Prof. Nicholas Makris, I am studying the generation of sound by hurricanes and how that sound may be used to determine a hurricane's destructive potential.

Hurricanes are the most devastating natural disasters known to man both in terms of monetary expense and loss of life. Minimizing these fatalities and costs depends on accurate measurements of the hurricane's power. Current satellite measurements are inaccurate and aircraft measurements are too expensive for most countries.

In a paper submitted to the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, we have shown that sonar arrays, similar to those on many oceanographic research vessels and Navy warships, can be used to detect and accurately measure a hurricane at ranges up to 600 km.