More severe storms and heavy summer rains can be expected in Taiwan over the next 10 years, a team of researchers from National Taiwan University (NTU) said yesterday, citing a recent study they conducted in the South Pacific Ocean. The study found a correlation between rising temperatures in the vast ocean and increasing summer rainfall in Taiwan, said one of the team leaders, Shen Chuan-chou (沈川洲), a professor at NTU’s Department of Geosciences.
The Pacific Ocean is the largest in the world and plays an important role in climate change, he said.
In the study, the researchers analyzed strontium and calcium ratios in coral reef skeletons and used uranium-thorium dating methods on coral reef cores to reconstruct 350 years of sea surface temperature data in the Pacific dating from 1649 to 1999, Shen said. It was found that as temperatures in the South Pacific increased, it prevented cold air from settling, which weakened an atmospheric circulation system known as the Hadley cell in the southern hemisphere, Shen said. With a weakened Hadley cell, water vapor tends to shift north causing an increase in summer rainfall in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines, he said.
Photo courtesy of Shen Chuan-chou
After analyzing data, the research team determined that the sea surface temperature in the South Pacific has a cycle of between 14 and 19 years. The researchers concluded that if the climate change model does not change in the next 10 years, the ocean’s temperature will continue to rise. This would result in stronger storms and a greater likelihood of their occurrence in Taiwan, Shen said.
In addition, it is expected that over the next 10 years, seasonal summer rains in the region will become markedly more severe, he added. Shen suggested the Taiwan government should sek to implement disaster prevention policies and measures as soon as possible.
The research team’s findings and suggestions were published on June 24 in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS