Ocean Depth and Active Thunderstorm Zone Could Hinder Salvage Efforts

The part of the Atlantic Ocean where debris has been confirmed as that fromthe Air France Jet that disappeared on Monday, averages over 9,000 feet. Thecombination of ocean depth, rough seas and thunderstorms on a daily basis mayhinder salvage efforts. It could take years for the full recovery efforts to becompleted. To put things in perspective, the Titanic lies at a depth of 12,600feet, a depth that requires special submarines to reach it.While the heavier parts of a plane wreckage sink to the bottom of the ocean,the lighter parts will drift with the prevailing ocean currents. The currentsin the area where the plane went down go from west to east and will take thedebris field toward the African coast. The typical speed of the ocean currentis about 5 mph. At that speed, it will take about a week before any debriswould reach the African coast.

Now that the debris of the Air France Jet has been found, the salvageefforts will likely be hampered by heavy thunderstorms and high seas. Thesethunderstorms will develop on a daily basis as the Intertropical ConvergenceZone, or ITCZ, becomes more active over the next several months. Thus salvageexperts will likely have to fight heavy storms and rough seas almost dailywhile trying to reach the remains of the airplane.

In addition, large clusters of thunderstorms will roll off the African coastabout every few days. If conditions are right, the thunderstorms can form intotropical depressions or tropical storms.

According to Brazil's defense minister, The debris located in the AtlanticOcean off the coast of Brazil is officially that of the wreckage from the AirFrance jet that disappeared Monday. The debris includes plane seats, metallicobjects and jet fuel stains in the water. The plane took off from Rio deJaneiro Sunday en route to Paris, France and went missing Sunday evening.