Among the main consequences of storms and hurricanes on the ecosystem, highlights the damage they cause to coral reefs, seagrass meadows, mangroves, beaches and coastal areas and wild vegetation. In turn, they generate environmental pollution due to spills of toxic industrial waste.
A storm is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs when two or more air masses that are at different temperatures collide or are very close to each other. This event produces atmospheric instability associated with winds, rain, thunder, lightning, lightning and sometimes hail. A hurricane is the most violent and extreme degree of a storm.
The term storm refers to violent atmospheric phenomena that include all forms of precipitation (rain, snowfall, hail), electrical effects (lightning, thunder, lightning) and very strong winds, capable of transporting particles (of dust, sand) and macroscopic objects. , including living things (trees, animals, people).
The system that generates a storm is characterized by a circulation of a low-temperature air mass around a low-pressure, high-temperature core or center. It originates over large areas of warm oceanic waters with high moisture content.
The condensation to a liquid state of the water vapor contained in humid air releases energy in the form of heat. This heat energy is transformed into kinetic or movement energy, supplying speed to the air molecules, which produces winds and rain. For this reason they are called hot core storm systems..
These storm systems occur almost exclusively in the tropical and intertropical areas of the Earth, and the air masses that originate them are loaded with water vapor from evaporation from the oceans. In the northern hemisphere, air masses rotate counterclockwise, and in the southern hemisphere they rotate clockwise.
Depending on the intensity and strength of the stormy event, it can be called a tropical depression, tropical storm, or hurricane. Depending on its location, it is called a typhoon (China, Japan, the Philippines) or a cyclone (Indian Sea).
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Tropical storms and hurricanes are considered the natural events with the highest frequency of occurrence and with the greatest environmental impact on coastal and marine ecosystems..
These extreme events have produced severe damage to ecosystems of coral reefs, coastal mangroves, meadows and seagrasses, coastal erosion, and even deaths of animals and humans..
Coral reefs are key ecosystems within the dynamics of marine life, since they constitute areas of refuge, feeding and reproduction of multiple species.
The strong winds alter the hydraulic dynamics in the sea, producing turbulence and very important increases in the frequency and intensity of the waves.
These altered water dynamics have caused huge losses in living coral covers, increased sedimentation and litter from mangroves, and negative effects on the growth and structuring of coral reefs..
After extreme hurricane events, generalized bleaching, column and branch fractures, and total detachment of corals are evident. Additionally, other sessile species such as sponges and octocorals, experience detachment, drag and death..
The so-called seagrass meadows are large extensions of seabed dominated by angiosperm plants that inhabit saline environments of the terrestrial oceans..
These plants have long, narrow leaves, most of the time green in color, that grow similarly to terrestrial grasses..
They live in the photic zone, as they require sunlight to carry out photosynthesis, through which they consume carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. They constitute very productive and diverse ecosystems, as they harbor fish, algae, mollusks, nematodes and polychaetes..
Seagrass leaves slow down water currents, providing mechanical protection against waves and increasing sedimentation; rhizomatous roots provide stability to the seabed soil. As a general balance, seagrass meadows support important ecosystems and increase fishing grounds..
Hurricanes shed the plants and algae that make up seagrasses and also cause erosion of the seabed floor, exposing rhizomatous roots. After the passage of the hurricanes, remains of these plants, algae, octocoral skeletons and bivalve molluscs remain on the beaches.
In conclusion, hurricanes cause biomass losses and the extent of seagrass meadows..
Mangroves are biomes or life zones made up of trees adapted to the salinity of the intertidal zone of river mouths in tropical and subtropical regions..
They harbor a great variety of terrestrial, aquatic and bird organisms, constituting a protective habitat for fish in juvenile stages, migratory birds, crustaceans and mollusks..
Mangroves also play important roles in protecting the coasts against erosion caused by waves and wind..
The strong winds of the hurricanes produce intense defoliation of the mangroves, whose leaves appear in the interior of the coastal areas and detachment of complete specimens.
The passage of strong winds and intense swells of storms and hurricanes, detaches the vegetation, leaving palm trees and large fallen trees.
This causes erosion of dunes and beaches with the death of crabs, mussels, oysters, clams and other bivalves that live in its interior. In addition, the extension of the beaches decreases appreciably.
The major negative impacts of the passage of hurricanes are evidenced in the destruction of coastal forests, with the felling and fracturing of trees and total loss of leaves..
Hurricanes with their intense storm surge flood rivers, lakes and coastal springs with saline seawater, severely affecting all freshwater organisms that cannot tolerate these concentrations of salts..
The high rate of defoliation of trees and shrubs causes a very large contribution of organic matter to nearby wetlands, whose decomposition causes a decrease in oxygen levels in the water and the death of fish..
Human dwellings suffer loss of roofs and damage to furniture, appliances and household goods as a result of the rains, floods and strong winds. There are also many human deaths.
Overflowing polluted waters cause serious effects on the health of all living beings, and contamination of groundwater by infiltration.
The salinization of soils due to the intense tidal waves and floods up to 50 km from the edge of the beach, negatively affects the development of crops and the regeneration of wild vegetation..
Additionally, the dragging of large amounts of sand from the beach changes the texture of the interior soils. The higher sand content makes these soils more permeable and have lower moisture retention capacity..
Dogs, cats, goats, chickens, sheep, horses, and other domestic animals, which depend on human care, are left homeless without food or water until their owners can return and care for them. Many do not survive floods, especially small rodent mammals in their flooded burrows..
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