• 4 days ago
Did you know storms and earthquakes can team up? Scientists have discovered something wild called stormquakes, where powerful storms create vibrations in the ocean that act like small earthquakes. These vibrations can travel through the Earth and even be felt miles away! It’s not dangerous in the same way as real quakes, but it’s still kind of eerie. Imagine a hurricane stirring up enough energy to rattle the planet a bit! Researchers are still figuring out all the details, but it’s just another reminder of how connected—and unpredictable—our world really is. Animation is created by Bright Side.
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Transcript
00:00Hurricanes can be a lot scarier than we often realize, especially since they can actually
00:05trigger earthquakes.
00:07This surprising and frightening phenomenon, known as storm quakes, was discovered completely
00:12by accident not too long ago.
00:15It started with scientists trying to find out more about low-frequency earthquakes.
00:19We're talking about those earthquakes that are so weak that we can't actually feel
00:23the tremor.
00:24See, beneath our feet, the Earth is constantly vibrating in subtle, unceasing ways that we
00:29can't hear or see without the right equipment.
00:32This geologic hum, so to speak, is driven by the movement of oceans, which covers about
00:3870% of our planet's surface.
00:41Scientists have found that this hum may actually provide useful records of environmental happenings.
00:47To figure out where it's coming from, experts used equipment known as seismometers.
00:52You can think of these devices as little ears pressed to the ground.
00:55They can pick up all sorts of vibrations, like fans jumping up and down at their idol's
01:00concert, airplanes flying by, or even super-distant earthquakes shaking the ground.
01:06Very low-frequency earthquakes are hard to track over long distances because the signals
01:11they produce can look different on different measuring devices.
01:15To solve this problem, experts came up with a way to track these signals by combining
01:20readings from smaller areas, kind of like putting together a puzzle.
01:24While doing this, they stumbled upon a strange set of events that looked a bit like the earthquakes
01:30they were studying, but were not exactly the same.
01:35The first weird thing they noticed was that this specific phenomenon was seasonal.
01:40It never happened between May and August, for example.
01:43That is completely different from earthquakes, which can pretty much happen any time of the
01:47year.
01:49The second strange thing is that earthquakes usually occur more in the western part of
01:54the United States, where the ground moves along cracks in the surface.
01:58But these new strange vibrations spread not just along the west coast of North America,
02:03but also over to the east side.
02:06So what could be triggering this new phenomenon?
02:10What they surprisingly discovered is that many of these tremors coincided with the same
02:15time that massive storms hit North America.
02:18So we are essentially talking about a chain reaction.
02:21What happens is that during a specific season, hurricanes or heavy storms can transfer energy
02:27into the oceans, creating very strong waves.
02:30These waves then interact with the solid Earth, producing intense seismic activity.
02:36These bursts of energy that are born from massive storms can radiate thousands of miles
02:40across continents, leading to what we now call storm quakes.
02:47It is believed that this phenomenon can trigger earthquakes at a magnitude of up to 3.5 on
02:52the Richter scale.
02:53This means it can be felt by many people, but normally doesn't cause any damage.
02:59But that doesn't mean we can all be relaxed now, as ocean waters can indeed increase the
03:04intensity of hurricanes.
03:06Just like what happened with the frightening Hurricane Milton, which recently left a path
03:10of destruction across Florida.
03:13The blue-purplish zone you're looking at is Hurricane Milton, seen from a satellite
03:17perspective.
03:18On October 9th, this hurricane sustained winds of 155 mph and lashed the region with heavy
03:25rainfall, damaging winds, and life-threatening storm surges.
03:29Estimates show that the losses could be up to $34 billion, which could make it one of
03:34the costliest storms in United States history.
03:39What happened with Hurricane Milton was pretty tricky.
03:41It all started with some record hot water in the Gulf of Mexico.
03:45That warm water acted like a power-up, giving this hurricane the energy it needed to grow.
03:50And then, there was also this process called eyewall replacement that helped it get bigger
03:55too.
03:56We'll get to that in a moment.
03:58So as Hurricane Milton approached the coast, something unusual happened.
04:03It crossed paths with a fast-moving air current called the jet stream, which flows high up
04:07in the atmosphere.
04:08Normally, the winds in the northern and northwest parts of a hurricane are not as strong as
04:14those in other areas.
04:15But because of this interaction with the jet stream, the winds in these parts of the storm
04:20became much stronger than expected.
04:24At nearly every turn, Hurricane Milton surprised everyone and intensified faster than we have
04:29seen in ages.
04:30It threatened to slam both Florida's west and east coasts with a dangerous surge of
04:35water, putting the bustling area of Tampa Bay, which is home to over 3 million people,
04:40at serious risk.
04:43So how did Milton become such a major problem?
04:46Well, the problem started in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
04:49Usually, hurricanes follow a fairly predictable path, spinning off of Africa's coast, sailing
04:55across the Atlantic, and gaining strength in the warm Caribbean waters.
04:59But Milton had a twist in its origin story.
05:02It began as the remnants of a tropical depression that crossed over the Yucatan Peninsula and
05:07met a stalled front in the Gulf.
05:10Once Milton got going, it didn't hold back.
05:13But when it hit those record-high ocean temperatures, it was like giving it an energy drink.
05:19The warm water and humid air were the perfect ingredients for a hurricane on the rise.
05:23Quickly, Milton's wind speeds increased by 92 mph, so it went from a tropical storm to
05:30a Category 5 hurricane in less than two days, which is basically insane and off the charts.
05:38And if that wasn't enough, Hurricane Milton also went through this thing called eyewall
05:43replacement.
05:44Hurricanes spin around a mostly clear eye in the center.
05:47But overnight, Milton started forming new bands of rain on its outer edges, creating
05:52a second ring around its eye.
05:54This process helped Milton grow even bigger, spreading out the wind speeds and giving it
05:59a larger footprint.
06:00It's kind of like shedding its skin and getting ready to become even more powerful.
06:06Hurricane Milton also had this little wobble in its back, which changed where it was heading.
06:11You can think of it like a spinning top that gets nudged and wobbles a bit before finding
06:15its balance again.
06:17That wobble meant some areas could get either hit hard or be spared from the worst of the
06:22storm.
06:23Thankfully, Hurricane Milton weakened a bit because of some tricky wind changes up in
06:28the atmosphere until it finally made landfall.
06:32After that, it moved across the peninsula and headed out to sea, quickly losing strength
06:36as it pulled away from the warmer waters.
06:40Even though the damage was significant, the good news – if you can call it that – is
06:45that experts were honestly expecting things to be way, way worse.
06:49Still, it raises a question.
06:51How close was Milton's wind speed to the maximum?
06:54Or in other words, is there a limit to how strong a hurricane can get?
06:59The answer is yes, there is a speed limit for hurricane winds.
07:03But it's not a set number.
07:05Right now, the strongest a storm can get is around 200 mph.
07:10But that maximum speed can change depending on many factors, like the heat in the ocean.
07:15Think of the ocean as the fuel for hurricanes.
07:18The warmer the water, the more fuel these storms have to work with.
07:23Experts believe that as the oceans continue to warm, they can ramp up the wind speeds
07:28and the impacts of hurricanes, making them a lot stronger.
07:32But other things can also help figure out how intense a hurricane can get.
07:36For example, the heat in the air and the temperature at the top of the clouds matter, as they also
07:41affect how fast heat moves from the ocean's surface to the top of the storm.
07:47Some estimates suggest that maximum wind speeds could reach closer to 220 mph until the end
07:53of the century, so it's definitely something that experts need to keep an eye on to help
07:58prevent future disasters.
08:00As we move forward, it's essential to keep researching and studying these storms.
08:04The more we understand them, the better we can protect ourselves and our communities.
08:09That's it for today!
08:11So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
08:15friends!
08:16Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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