Geological Society of America

45 Floods: Past, Present, and Future

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
New Hampshire Room

HURRICANE FREQUENCY NEAR CHESAPEAKE BAY DURING THE PAST MILLENNIUM

Paper number: 45-8
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 10:05 AM – 10:25 AM

Authors

Michael Toomey Presenting Author
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA
Nicole D'Entremont
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA
Emma Armstrong
Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Thomas Cronin
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA
Jeffrey Donnelly
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA

Abstract

Model simulations project hurricane potential intensity across much of the North Atlantic will increase by the end of this century; however, the short length (~70 yrs) of robust instrumental records and the stochastic nature of storm landfalls greatly limits our ability to identify shifts in storm regime from unforced, natural, variability. Evidence of prehistoric storm activity has previously been identified in back-barrier marshes, tree rings, stalagmites and other sedimentary archives allowing us to greatly extend historic observations—but key spatial gaps persist. In particular, few hurricane reconstructions exist along the highly developed mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. Here we use a suite of well-dated (¹⁴C, ²¹⁰Pb, pollen) sediment cores collected from Pocomoke Sound, Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, to address the following questions: (1) are coarse-grained sediments deposited at this site during intense hurricane strikes and, if so, (2) what has been the frequency of storm landfalls at this site over the last millennium? (3) Which environmental drivers may have contributed to increased storm activity near Chesapeake Bay and, possibly, along the U.S. East Coast?

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 51, No. 1

doi: 10.1130/abs/2019NE-328312

© Copyright 2019 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.