the breeze
it seems like an innocuous detail but
according to meteorologist joe merchant
it's a vital piece of evidence when
analyzing shark attacks
i've been a meteorologist for eight
years for the national weather service
and i recently started studying sharks
and
in their behavior as it applies to
weather
merchants research revolves around a
familiar meteorological phenomenon
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the sea breeze whether it's
in the bahamas or off of the coast of
australia
every day across the globe there's a sea
breeze
a sea breeze occurs when the heat from
the sun bears down on the coast
causing a difference in air pressure
resulting in a localized wind that blows
from the ocean
towards the land
when this breeze blows it displaces the
surface of the ocean
causing the water at the bottom to move
up to replace it
in turn dragging nutrients like
phytoplankton to the surface
this process is called upwelling
when the phytoplankton reach the surface
fish
come to eat it and then the sharks come
to feed on the fish
this process can happen on any coastline
in the world
provided there's enough heat from the
sun hitting the surface of the earth
however merchant contends that if
there's a sudden increase in surface
temperatures
this creates a more intense sea breeze
that supercharges the upwelling process
bringing in more fish and more sharks
increasing the chance of an encounter
with humans
so could a sudden an intense sea breeze
have resulted in sharks being lured to
the attack sites
during the summer of 2019
to explore the possibility joe examines
weather data from the day of jordan
lindsay's attack
i'm going to be looking for changes in
the wind direction
that's a that's a real strong indicator
of a sea breeze
a sudden shift in the direction of the
wind is a telltale sign that a strong
sea breeze has occurred
because the sea breeze itself disrupts
other winds blowing through the region
and what joe discovers is disturbing
on the day of jordan lindsay's attack
the winds were pretty steady
out of the east they shifted to
east southeast just before the attack
and so that would be indicative of a sea
breeze front crossing that location
and unfortunately she was there at that
time
and that sea breeze front likely played
a role
in her attack and when he analyzes the
weather data from the other incidents
merchant has yet more revelations when i
looked at the attacks in the bahamas
this past summer the conditions are
right for a sea breeze front
and the conditions are right for uh for
sharks to come closer to shore
the sudden occurrence of strong sea
breezes seems highly likely to have
played a role in the spike in attacks
a piece of the puzzle has fallen into
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place
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you