(Via Slashdot) Scientific American is running this article that isn’t exactly a surprise:
Since the 1970s, ocean surface temperatures around the globe have been on the rise–from one half to one degree Fahrenheit, depending on the region. Last summer, two studies linked this temperature rise to stronger and more frequent hurricanes. Skeptics called other factors into account, such as natural variability, but a new statistical analysis shows that only this sea surface temperature increase explains this trend.[...]
The link between rising ocean temperatures and overall climate change remains murky because of the overlap between natural cycles and any global warming. [...] [The researchers] will now focus on clarifying the mechanisms at work in the North Atlantic by separating out the 75-year natural cycle and climate change. “The last peak was in 1950, the next is in 2025,” she adds. “We’re only halfway up [the cycle] and we’re already 50 percent worse [in terms of storms]. To me, that’s a compelling issue that needs to be confronted.”
I don’t know whether to be happy (because I’m a storm-lover) or worried (because I’m in property insurance). Probably both.
Maybe I need to talk my boss into moving back north. Florida didn’t have as much of a hurricane problem before he moved down there.