This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington have created a mathematical model to identify and analyze vortices, the rotating structures at the heart of hurricanes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is now using the model to monitor hurricane development worldwide.
Chaoqun Liu, professor of mathematics, has spent more than 36 years developing Liutex, a mathematical method for identifying vortices. A better understanding of hurricane structure and behavior could eventually improve hurricane forecasting, he said. "There are no other vortex identification methods in the world comparable to Liutex," Liu said.
The fundamental difference between it and traditional methods is that Liutex separates pure rotation from nonrotational shear in vortices. "In many cases, most of the vorticity is actually shear rather than rotation," Liu said. "If you use vorticity to identify a vortex, it is like trying to identify an apple by looking at an orange." He described the inclusion of Liutex on NOAA's website as a milestone that demonstrates the method's growing recognition within the atmospheric science community.
Still, he said he welcomes challenges to Liutex. "Everybody is welcome to challenge my idea and my concept. But unfortunately, I haven't received any challenges so far," Liu said, smiling.
He believes a better understanding of vortices could also help researchers understand how hurricanes form and strengthen. "We want to understand the mechanisms of hurricane formation and development. Why are hurricanes so powerful?
Where does that energy come from? We believe vortices are a key part of the answer," Liu said. "Our simulations show that within a hurricane there are hundreds, thousands or even millions of small vortices that combine and interact.
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