Ice-age hurricanes and tropical storms

We compare Pleistocene tropical cyclones with present-day storms in this study through the use of a three-dimensional numerical model simulating hurricane development and processes1. The characteristics of Atlantic ice-age tropical storms are derived from reconstructions of the 18,000 BP climate (the Last Glacial Maximum or LGM) and the GISS (Goddard Institute of Space Studies) General Circulation Model's LGM simulation2,3. The simulation results indicate that although the structure of the ice-age atmosphere was colder and more stable, it had the potential to support development of tropical cyclones. Such storms, however, would be substantially weaker than contemporary storms. This investigation demonstrates the value of integrating numerical models of varying spatial scales in climatic research.

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