Professor Stephen Salter - Hurricane Sandy Could Have Been Prevented With Car Tyres

The device consists of car tyres lashed together to form a giant 80-100 metre ring that is filled with a buoyant material, such as foamed concrete, to support giant plastic tubes which extend 100m deep into the ocean.

Wave action on the ocean surface would force warm surface water down into the deeper ocean. If non-return valves were used, he says, the result would be to mix the waters and cool the surface temperature of the ocean to under 26.5C, the critical temperature at which hurricanes form.

With the backing of Microsoft billionaires Bill Gates and Nathan Myhrvold's company Intellectual Ventures, he has patented the idea but says further funding is urgently needed to research the scheme.

Further information

Professor Stephen Salter
Professor Stephen Salter
Image of Salter's Sink
Image of Salter's Sink
Cross-section of Salter's Sink
Cross-section of Salter's Sink