The calm before the storm: scientists have found the cause of this phenomenon

The expression "calm before the storm" did not arise by chance. Even sailors of ancient times noticed that before a strong hurricane, the sea for a while becomes surprisingly calm. Despite the growing wind, the surface of the water remains flat and smooth, and there is not the slightest fluctuation on it. Recently, Russian scientists from the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Nizhny Novgorod were able to explain the reason for such an unusual phenomenon.

The researchers modeled in the laboratory the stormy weather at sea, bringing the conditions as close as possible to reality. A jet of air at high speed was fed into the tank with water, and a special camera recorded everything that happened at a speed of several thousand frames per second. After processing the obtained data, physicists came to the conclusion that the reason for the strange behavior of the sea is precisely the increasing wind.

As it turned out, because of it, a large amount of foam is formed on the surface of the sea. These air bubbles suppress the propagation of short waves on the surface of the water, so the wind ripples, as well as water splashes, become smaller and the surface of the sea looks calm. A smoother and more even surface of the water, in turn, does not impede the spread of wind, so its speed is constantly increasing. But a similar phenomenon can be observed only under the condition that the wind speed is 21-22 m / s.

These studies are important for understanding the characteristics of stormy weather, as well as for improving the quality of meteorological forecasts over marine areas. In this regard, scientists do not intend to stop there and plan to model stormy weather in cold water, whose temperature is close to freezing.