Tempers flare at hurricane meeting

摘要

Hurricanes may be becoming more intense because of global warming, but so is research on the topic. Last week, meteorologists gathered in Monterey, California - the meeting was to have been held in New Orleans - to hear new evidence supporting the proposed link between rising sea surface temperatures and more-powerful hurricanes. The fresh crop of research was triggered by two papers arguing for that connection, published by coincidence during the height of the devastating Atlantic hurricane season of 2005 (K. Emanuel Nature 436, 686-688; 2005; P. Webster et al. Science 309, 1844-1846; 2005).