Hypercane

A hypercane is a hypothetical class of extreme tropical cyclone that could form if ocean temperatures reached around Template:Convert/°C —15° higher than the warmest ocean temperature ever recorded— which could in turn be caused by a large asteroid or comet impact, a large volcanic or supervolcanic eruption, or very extensive global warming. There is some speculation that some dinosaurs might have been killed off by a series of hypercanes, resulting from an asteroid or comet crashing into Earth. The term was coined by atmospheric scientist Kerry Emanuel in 1994, at MIT.

Physical description

Hypercanes would have wind speeds of over Template:Convert/km/h, and would also have a central pressure of less than Template:Convert/hPa, giving them an enormous lifespan. The extreme conditions needed to create such a storm could conceivably produce a system up to the size of North America, creating storm surges of 18 metres ({{rnd/cTemplate:Rnd/b|59|(1−1)|0}} ft) and an eye nearly 300 kilometres ({{rnd/cTemplate:Rnd/b|190|(1−2)|0}} mi) across. The waters could remain hot enough for weeks, allowing more hypercanes to be formed. A hypercane's clouds would reach 30 kilometres ({{rnd/cTemplate:Rnd/b|19|(1−1)|0}} mi) into the stratosphere. A hypercane would also damage the earth's ozone. The reason for this is the water molecules sent up into the ozone layer merge with the ultraviolet light repelling particles and disintegrate the particles, creating a hole in the vicinity. Other scientists have theorized that the system, compared to a normal hurricane, would be considerably smaller, about 10 miles in diameter. This would more comparable to a tornado, which can top out to about a mile and a half in diameter.

Controversy

As many theories circulate about the demise of the dinosaurs, only one holds true. The most popular, however, is that a meteor, spanning the size of North America, struck mid land pre continental drift. The impact drove debris and dust particles into the atmosphere, causing a blackout. The lack of sun lead to the decay of most, if not all, of the earth’s biomass. Any prehistoric beings that had not died during the initial impact, soon gave way to starvation, and lung cancer.

The discovery of meteorites off the coast of Africa disputes this. With the newly found evidence, it is now believed that the meteor instead struck the ocean. The dramatic rise in temperature set forth optimal conditions for the creation of the only known hypercane in existence. As the hypercane tore through the continents, the debris it pulled into the atmosphere caused a blackout effect. Most of the worlds biomass, and living inhabitants fell prey to the hypercane itself, and not the ensuing ice age, which prevented life from inhabiting our planet for quite some time.

References

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