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Hurricane Impacts

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It is a well-known fact that where there is a hurricane there is damage, whether it is to property, living organisms, or habitats. Hurricanes can not only have catastrophic consequences for humans but for numerous marine organisms, from microscopic plankton to sharks and everything in between. Every organism responds to the situation differently, such as sharks and larger pelagic fish that detect the oncoming storm and head to deeper waters or leave the area all together (McNoldy 2012). Hurricanes impact marine ecosystems by doing more than harming animals, however. Once you understand what creates a hurricane and the hazards associated with it, you can then see how it could have both positive and negative effects on water quality, benthic …show more content…

There are a few necessary components required in order for a hurricane to develop. These components consist of warm tropical water (typically 27°C/80°F), low air pressure, and winds that do not change speed or direction. All it takes is a slight change in a wind current to tear apart a hurricane. As warm tropical water evaporates and condenses in the atmosphere thunderstorms will develop; this phase is called a tropical disturbance. The constant evaporation of water and rising of warm air will lead to an area of very low air pressure, which will later become the eye of the hurricane (NASA 2014). Surface winds will spin around the area of low pressure due to the Coriolis Effect, which is the apparent deflection of wind currents due to the rotation of the solid Earth moving separately from the atmosphere (Britt 2005). When the winds cause the thunderstorms to rotate at a speed below 38 mph it is a …show more content…

The coral that comprise the reef are not able to simply move when abiotic conditions become unfavorable, such as the lowered salinity of the water due to the fresh water rain brought by thunderstorms. Also, the reefs are prone to break due to wave action. This is especially true if the coral is branched wide and thin. Even if a coral is not broken off from the reef due to wave action, the debris from corals that have been broken off can crash into other corals and cause serious damage. Another hazard that corals face as a result from hurricanes is sedimentation. Sediment churned up from the benthic region of washing into the ocean due to the flooding of rivers could coat the coral. This process has detrimental consequences such as stopping the corals’ symbiotic bacteria from undergoing photosynthesis, creating an unstable substrate for new coral to attach and grow to, and prevent the coral from respiring and filter feeding (University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography 2015). There are a few outcomes of hurricanes that are beneficial to coral reefs. One of them being that the removal of microalgae from wave action exposes hard substrates, such as rocks like limestone, and makes them available for coral to attach to. Also, hurricanes can help reduce thermal stress during hot summer months. Depending on the strength of the hurricane

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