CONSEQUENCES OF STORMS AND HURRICANES ON THE ECOSYSTEM - ENVIRONMENT - 2025

Among the main consequences of storms and hurricanes on the ecosystem, the damage they cause to coral reefs, seagrass meadows, mangroves, beaches and coastal areas and wild vegetation stands out. 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.

Figure 1. Satellite image of a Hurricane. Source: Scott Kelly, via Wikimedia Commons

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 beings (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 zones 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).

Consequences on ecosystems

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.

Effects on coral reefs

Coral reefs are key ecosystems within the dynamics of marine life, since they constitute areas of refuge, feeding and reproduction of multiple species.

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 enormous 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, widespread 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.

Damage to seagrass beds

The so-called seagrass meadows are large areas 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 similar to terrestrial grass 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 decelerate water currents, providing mechanical protection against waves and increasing sedimentation; the rhizomatous roots provide stability to the soil of the seabed. As a general balance, seagrass meadows support important ecosystems and increase fishing grounds.

Figure 2. Passage of a hurricane along the coast. Source: Pixabay.com

Hurricanes shed the plants and algae that make up seagrasses and also cause erosion of the seabed soil, exposing rhizomatous roots. After the passage of hurricanes, remains of these plants, algae, octocoral skeletons and bivalve mollusks remain on the beaches.

In conclusion, hurricanes cause loss of biomass and extension of seagrass beds.

Negative impact on mangroves

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.

Ecological damage to beaches and coastal areas

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 inside. In addition, the extension of the beaches is significantly reduced.

Effects on terrestrial vegetation

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.

Effects on rivers, lakes and coastal springs

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 defoliation rate 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.

Damage to homes and human facilities

Human dwellings suffer loss of roofs and damage to furniture, appliances and fixtures due to the effect of rains, floods and strong winds. There are also many human deaths.

Spills of industrial waste, toxic chemicals, oil, gasoline, urban wastewater, among others

The overflowing polluted waters cause serious effects on the health of all living beings, and contamination of groundwater by infiltration.

Salinization and change of texture of coastal soils

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 has a lower moisture retention capacity.

Damage to domestic animals

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 the small rodent mammals in their flooded burrows.

References

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