Every summer, communities across northern Australia brace for the tropical cyclone season. Tropical cyclones draw their power from the warm seas, extracting heat and moisture from ocean water.

To improve cyclone forecasting – and better protect lives and property – we enlisted an unlikely ally: deep-diving sea turtles equipped with oceanographic sensors on their shells.

At times these turtles have encountered powerful tropical cyclones, allowing their sensors to gather and can gather critical information on how the temperature in the water changes as the storm passes overhead.

How oceans affect cyclones

Tropical cyclones are fuelled by warm tropical seas. Higher sea surface temperatures usually generate more powerful storms.

As a cyclone passes over the ocean, its powerful winds and waves churn the water around like a blender. This action mixes warm surface water with cooler water from deeper down, leaving behind a “cool wake” – colder ocean water left behind on the sea surface. This cooling reduces the heat available to the storm, which can in turn can limit its strength.

Traditionally, cyclone forecasters have focused on sea surface temperatures, but the ocean depths also matter. If cooler water sits just below the surface, a storm can rapidly cool........

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