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Re: [Phys-l] Entrainment of oil in Hurricane?



Moisture (water vapor) gets into a hurricane by first evaporating into the air near the ocean surface and then rising because because of the buoyancy of the warm surface air. It also is drawn into the organized lower pressure near the center of the hurricane system and then follows the overall rising flow just outside the eye of the storm. When this moisture reaches an altitude where the temperature has dropped to the parcel's dew point - condensation occurs - feeding sensible energy into the storm system.

You could loosely call that entrainment - air from outside the storm system moves in toward the central low and surface air joins it.

Liquid water is not entrained directly into the storm - except for the droplets sprayed upward from waves.

Oil is often spread on the sea during storms to reduce wave height (Benjamin Franklin was one of the early experimenters with this). It would be interesting to see if the oil from the leak reduced the severity of a Gulf hurricane.

Bob at PC

-----Original Message-----
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu [mailto:phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of Peter Schoch
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2010 5:53 PM
To: Forum for Physics Educators
Subject: [Phys-l] Entrainment of oil in Hurricane?


I was engaged in a discussion about the oil spill in the gulf with a local meteorologist, and we discussed the possible storm surge effects of oil being pushed up rivers, etc. He then asked me if it was possible that oil could be 'sucked into the storm' and then rain out over the inland regions.

I object to his terminology of 'sucked into', I prefer entrained. However, the possibility is intriguing. With lower pressure, shouldn't the top layers of the gulf (and thus the oil) be entrained into the hurricane and thus be 'rained out' over the inland regions causing an even greater ecological problem?!

My fluid dynamics is a bit rusty, so I'd like anyone else's input.

Thanks,
Peter
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