Newsroom

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Is global warming really causing more hurricanes? Is the intensity of hurricanes increasing over time, and what can the United States do to take advantage of increased scientific understanding of them?

These are the kinds of questions for which researcher Kerry Emanuel has answers and the professor of earth, atmospheric and planetary science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will share his insights in a public lecture at Oregon State University on Tuesday, April 11.

Emanuel's talk, "Hurricanes and Climate Change," begins at 7:30 p.m. in LaSells Stewart Center's Construction and Engineering Auditorium.

Emanuel has received a good deal of public attention since his article in the journal Nature outlining the increasing destructiveness of tropical cyclones over the past 30 years. That article appeared last August - just before Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf region.

Also last year, Oxford University Press published Emanuel's book, "Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes," which has received wide acclaim. Discover magazine rated it one of "the top 20 science books of the year," while readers from newsman Dan Rather to the director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield, praised the book for its science, history and dramatic illustrations.

Emanuel's OSU appearance is through the John Byrne Lecture Series, sponsored by Oregon Sea Grant and the OSU College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences.

"I will present evidence from theory, models and observations that suggests that the intensity and duration of tropical cyclones has been increasing substantially over the past 30-50 years in concert with tropical ocean temperatures, and that the rise in ocean temperature is largely a consequence of anthropogenic (human-caused) warming of the planet," said Emanuel.

His talk overlaps with another one in the LaSells Stewart Center by Martin Luther King III, which is expected to draw a large audience. Those coming to the Emanuel lecture are advised to anticipate parking needs and the possibility of a slight delay in the start of his lecture.