Ocean colour affects wind

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A change in the colour of the ocean could dramatically impact on the number and intensity of hurricanes, according to United States researchers.

A team of researchers with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US ran computer simulations of such a change in the North Pacific, a region that accounts for more than half the world's hurricane-force winds.

The main factor is the green tint ocean water takes when there are large concentrations of chlorophyll, a pigment that helps tiny organisms known as phytoplankton convert sunlight into food for the rest of the marine ecosystem.