All Topics  
Hypercane

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Hypercane
 
 
  Topics Hypercane Topic Home

A hypercane, sometimes called a hyperhurricane, is a hypothetical class of extreme tropical cyclone
Tropical cyclone

A tropical cyclone is a storm characterized by a large low pressure system center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and flooding rain....
 that could form if ocean temperatures reached around , 15 °C higher than the warmest ocean temperature ever recorded— which could in turn be caused by a large asteroid
Asteroid

Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, smaller than planets but larger than meteoroids....
 or comet
Comet

A comet is a Small Solar System body that orbits the Sun and, when close enough to the Sun, exhibits a visible coma or a tail?both primarily from the effects of solar radiation upon the Comet nucleus....
 impact, a large volcanic
Volcano

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
 or supervolcanic
Supervolcano

A supervolcano or super volcanic eruption is a volcanic eruption which is substantially larger than any volcano in historic times . Supervolcanoes occur when magma in the Earth rises into the Crust from a Hotspot but is unable to break through the crust....
 eruption, or very extensive global warming
Global warming

Global warming is the increase in the Instrumental temperature record of the Earth's near-surface air and the oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation....
. There is some speculation that some dinosaur
Dinosaur

Dinosaurs were the dominant vertebrate animals of Landform ecosystems for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic Period until the end of the Cretaceous Period , when most of them became extinct in the Cretaceous?Tertiary extinction event....
s might have been killed off by a series of hypercanes, resulting from an asteroid or comet crashing into Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Hypercane'
Start a new discussion about 'Hypercane'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


A hypercane, sometimes called a hyperhurricane, is a hypothetical class of extreme tropical cyclone
Tropical cyclone

A tropical cyclone is a storm characterized by a large low pressure system center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and flooding rain....
 that could form if ocean temperatures reached around , 15 °C higher than the warmest ocean temperature ever recorded— which could in turn be caused by a large asteroid
Asteroid

Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, smaller than planets but larger than meteoroids....
 or comet
Comet

A comet is a Small Solar System body that orbits the Sun and, when close enough to the Sun, exhibits a visible coma or a tail?both primarily from the effects of solar radiation upon the Comet nucleus....
 impact, a large volcanic
Volcano

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
 or supervolcanic
Supervolcano

A supervolcano or super volcanic eruption is a volcanic eruption which is substantially larger than any volcano in historic times . Supervolcanoes occur when magma in the Earth rises into the Crust from a Hotspot but is unable to break through the crust....
 eruption, or very extensive global warming
Global warming

Global warming is the increase in the Instrumental temperature record of the Earth's near-surface air and the oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation....
. There is some speculation that some dinosaur
Dinosaur

Dinosaurs were the dominant vertebrate animals of Landform ecosystems for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic Period until the end of the Cretaceous Period , when most of them became extinct in the Cretaceous?Tertiary extinction event....
s might have been killed off by a series of hypercanes, resulting from an asteroid or comet crashing into Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
. The term was coined by atmospheric scientist Kerry Emanuel
Kerry Emanuel

Kerry Emanuel is an United States professor of meteorology currently working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. His work in atmospheric dynamics is well regarded among the meteorological community....
 in 1994, at MIT.

Physical description

Hypercanes would have wind speeds of over , and would also have a central pressure of less than , giving them an enormous lifespan. The extreme conditions needed to create such a storm could conceivably produce a system up to the size of North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
, creating storm surge
Storm surge

Storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure area weather system, typically a tropical cyclone. Storm surge is caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface....
s of and an eye nearly across. The waters could remain hot enough for weeks, allowing more hypercanes to be formed. A hypercane's clouds would reach into the stratosphere
Stratosphere

The stratosphere is the second major layer of Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere. It is stratified in temperature, with warmer layers higher up and cooler layers farther down....
. A hypercane would also damage the earth's ozone
Ozone

Ozone or trioxygen is a triatomic molecule, consisting of three oxygen atoms. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic O2....
. Water molecules in the stratosphere would react with ozone
Ozone

Ozone or trioxygen is a triatomic molecule, consisting of three oxygen atoms. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic O2....
 to accelerate decay into O2 and reduce absorption of ultraviolet light.

Other scientists have theorized that the system, compared to a normal hurricane, would be considerably smaller, about 10 miles in diameter. This would be more comparable to a tornado
Tornado

A tornado is a violent, rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud....
, which has been recorded at up to about 2.5 miles.