Earth  ID: 20048

Hurricane Heat Engine

Animations by Susan Twardy Released on March 11, 2005
TRMM provides a closer look at hurricanes using a unique combination of passive and active microwave instruments designed to peer inside cloud systems and measure rainfall. TRMM allows scientists to study the combustion process in the hurricane engine and relate this process to intensification or weakening.Hurricane Energy Process - As water vapor is evaporated from the warm ocean surface, it is forced upward in towering convective clouds in the eyewall and rain band regions of the storm. As the water vapor changes from a gas to a liquid (cloud water), latent heat is released.
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This is the standard definition version of the Hurricane Heat Engine - Molecular View animation MPEG.

Animation Credits

Susan Twardy (HTSI): Lead Animator
J. Marshall Shepherd (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20048

Goddard TV Tape:
G1999-045

Keywords:
SVS >> Gonnelli
GCMD >> Earth Science
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Atmospheric Phenomena >> Hurricanes
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Atmospheric Water Vapor >> Water Vapor
NASA Science >> Earth

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0