Platinum is being used in a new development that could allow scientists to predict the intensity of hurricanes.

The strength of a hurricane, and how it will intensify or dissipate, derives from heat in the oceans.

One method of evaluating this process is by measuring salt levels in the air, because a hurricane sucks up sea spray that lower velocity winds would not normally capture.

However, due to the obvious difficulties for scientists attempting to measure such a factor, it has been previously impossible to gain the data necessary to make accurate judgments concerning any storm.

Now geoscientists at the University of Houston say they have designed an indirect experiment that can tell how much sea spray is occurring, how big the water droplets are and what mass of ocean water is being sucked up into the atmosphere.

Lead scientist James Lawrence says he will use an instrument mounted on the front of an airplane wing, which will measure the difference in electricity flow between two platinum wires.

A computer in the plane will then calculate the salinity based on the current measurements, with scientist then able to infer what's happening at the sea surface.

It is hoped the method, which is part of several studies in the 'Sea Blast' experiment, will help scientists to gauge, understand, and ultimately predict hurricanes more accurately.