Could We Cool The Oceans To Snuff Out Storms?

Ever used a straw to blow bubbles in a drink? One company is scaling up that idea in the hopes of stopping hurricanes in their tracks

Of the many problems climate change poses, rising sea temperatures have the potential to be the most catastrophic. Warmer oceans mean rising sea levels, melting ice caps and more extreme weather events, including hurricanes. But a Norwegian company claims to have a way to mitigate that last one.

OceanTherm, founded by Olav Hollingsaeter, a former naval officer, is developing a system that uses bubbles to cool the sea’s surface by drawing up cold water from the depths.

Hurricanes are created when hot and cold air meet over warm ocean waters of 26.5°C or above. The warmer the water, the more powerful a hurricane can become. But water below 26.5°C has neither the heat nor sufficient levels of evaporation to feed a hurricane, and so will reduce its strength.