2008 Woodie Awards
Professor Blumberg researches pumping system
Brad Miller
Issue date: 8/22/06 Section: Campus News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Last year, Hurricane Katrina became the costliest natural disaster ever in the United States with an estimated $100 billion in damage. There may be a way to have the power to mitigate that destructive power, however. This ability may only be a decade away according to Dr. Alan Blumberg. Dr. Blumberg, along with Princeton University Professor George L. Mellor envision a system of pumps set offshore in the path of a hurricane to slightly lower the immediate ocean temperature, thereby significantly weakening the storm. If funding for their project is approved, they can begin testing small models of the pumps at Stevens.
The main focus of Dr. Blumberg's work is directed towards understanding and predicting the flow processes in rivers, lakes, estuaries and the ocean. This has led to his most recent project, proposing a Hurricane Intensity Reduction Effort to the United States National Science Foundation. The proposed collaboration between Princeton University and Stevens Institute of Technology could reduce the force of hurricanes by lowering the temperature of the surface seawater in the direct path of the storm. Hurricanes generate their power and energy through warm water. Inducing cold water to as proposed by Dr. Blumberg, could weaken a hurricane by at least one level on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The Hurricane Intensity Reduction Effort (HIRE), that Dr. Blumberg is proposing, would mitigate the force of a hurricane, and thereby reduce the potential damage it could cause. To due so, however, requires a massive undertaking. Hundreds of thousands of pumps would be needed to be mobilized to rapidly bring deep cold water to the surface to cool the water in the path of a hurricane eyewall. To stop an average hurricane, the proposed system requires utilization of 3,000 foot-deep pumps over an area more than double the size of New Jersey. Blumberg maintains, however, that while this would be a costly endeavor, its cost pales in comparison to the potential damage from a major hurricane. In 2005, the costliest hurricane season ever for the United States, combined damage from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma exceeded half a trillion dollars. Even at $1 billion, the HIRE system would be a mere fraction of that total.
The main focus of Dr. Blumberg's work is directed towards understanding and predicting the flow processes in rivers, lakes, estuaries and the ocean. This has led to his most recent project, proposing a Hurricane Intensity Reduction Effort to the United States National Science Foundation. The proposed collaboration between Princeton University and Stevens Institute of Technology could reduce the force of hurricanes by lowering the temperature of the surface seawater in the direct path of the storm. Hurricanes generate their power and energy through warm water. Inducing cold water to as proposed by Dr. Blumberg, could weaken a hurricane by at least one level on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The Hurricane Intensity Reduction Effort (HIRE), that Dr. Blumberg is proposing, would mitigate the force of a hurricane, and thereby reduce the potential damage it could cause. To due so, however, requires a massive undertaking. Hundreds of thousands of pumps would be needed to be mobilized to rapidly bring deep cold water to the surface to cool the water in the path of a hurricane eyewall. To stop an average hurricane, the proposed system requires utilization of 3,000 foot-deep pumps over an area more than double the size of New Jersey. Blumberg maintains, however, that while this would be a costly endeavor, its cost pales in comparison to the potential damage from a major hurricane. In 2005, the costliest hurricane season ever for the United States, combined damage from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma exceeded half a trillion dollars. Even at $1 billion, the HIRE system would be a mere fraction of that total.
Be the first to comment on this story