Hurricanes: a giant simulator to better predict their power – Le Figaro

VIDEO – To better study the ferocity of hurricanes and thus improve safety, the University of Miami is launching a new simulator of waves and wind, the largest in the world

The biggest hurricane simulator in the world has just opened at the University of Miami, Florida. It should allow meteorologists to improve their ability to predict the intensity of cyclones and storms.

Six times larger than the previous wave and wind simulators, “Sustain” resembles a giant aquarium with its 23 meters long and 6 meters wide and nearly 2 meters deep. A 1,700 horsepower motor drives paddles that agitate the 144,000 liters of water in the simulator, creating waves that grow gradually while a blower reproduces winds 251 km / h, the same as those of a Category 5 hurricane (maximum category). To simulate damage to buildings along the coast, a miniature house with sensors is struck by the huge waves. The total represents an investment of $ 15 million, which must be added $ 47 million for the building that houses it, including all financed by the government.

Predicting the power

The promoters hope it will sustain simulator real progress in the knowledge of these devastating weather events: “Over the last twenty years, our forecasts have continued to improve, with the exception of those on the power of hurricanes, “says Brian Haus, chief scientific officer of the program.

Having lived in 2005, Katrina and Wilma, which had surprised everyone by the way, in a few hours of Category 2 to Category 5, the researcher had vowed to find ways to better predict the strength of hurricanes. With Sustain (“The Surge Atmosphere Structure Interaction”), scientists can better study the physics and dynamics of hurricanes, their impact associated with wind and storm-driven waves, and how the heat accumulated in the oceans could power the energy storms.

Dangerous and expensive

“Especially feared, cyclones are real machines of incredible force. Linked to depression, these vortex phenomena are on average 500 to 1000 km in diameter, “says Meteo France. Wind, storm surges and flooding entails the cyclone are real dangers that the United States is increasingly vulnerable. The scientific community will therefore conducts many research on the subject, including NHC (National Hurricane Center) and NOAA (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency) in Miami.

In addition to being a threat deadly, these events are very expensive with extremely damaged buildings and infrastructure. However, adds Brian Haus, “most construction standards and use computer models are not based on data corresponding to what happens in reality when a hurricane.”. For Paul Wilson, head of the modeling firm Risk Management Solutions, this type of project is very useful to understand how buildings react to extreme weather events.