Anti-Typhoon Technology: Submarines

Similar to the Atlantic Hurricane season, the Western Pacific is under constant threat of devastating typhoon’s nearly year-round.  This threat has lead a Japanese company to develop a new technology that, in theory, will reduce the impact of typhoons on coastal communities and shorelines.  Popular Science has the details:

Under the plan, a fleet of about 20 subs would dive some 100 feet below the surface just in front of an approaching storm. Each submarine would be fitted with eight pumps capable of quickly dumping more than 500 tons of chilled water per minute into the water above. According to Ise Kogyo, the company behind the idea, 20 submarines could quickly lower the temperature of more than 600,000 square feet of water to the point that a storm’s strength would be diminished. Read Article

If you’ve followed this blog long enough, you may remember a similar technology presented by Bill Gates that, instead of submarines, uses a barge system to pump cold water up from the bottom of the ocean and warm water down from the surface.  The theory?  Cool the surface temperature of the ocean = reduce the intesity of an incoming hurricane.

Let us know what you think.  Could this technology potentionally work or are the risk factors associated with tampering with mother nature just too high?  Join the ongoing discussion in the gCaptain forum HERE.

[Image: US Navy via Popular Science, Shout-out to Dudek]

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