@article {2970, title = {Oceanic passage of hurricanes across Cay Sal Bank in The Bahamas over the last 530~years}, journal = {Marine Geology}, volume = {443}, year = {2022}, month = {Jan-01-2022}, pages = {106653}, abstract = {Islands across the Bahamian Archipelago have been devastated by five major hurricanes from 2010 to 2020 CE, including Category 5 Hurricane Dorian in 2019 that inundated parts of Abaco and Grand Bahama with up to 4 m of surge, killing 84 people and leaving >245 others missing. Up to 1 m relative sea-level rise is estimated for The Bahamas by 2100 CE, which could enhance flooding from weaker storms (=Category 1 hurricanes passing within 115 km during the 170-year instrumental record (1850 CE-present) and may also document intense tropical or winter storms. Hine{\textquoteright}s Hole archives ~16 intense storms per century from 1850 to 2016 CE, but documents three periods from 1505 to 1530 CE, 1570 to 1620 CE, and ~ 1710 to 1875 CE with over twice as many intense storms per century. These active periods correspond to other high-resolution reconstructions from the Bahamian Archipelago and Florida Keys, but the magnitude of the increase is much higher given that Hine{\textquoteright}s Hole archives evidence of weaker and more distal storms. As such, this reconstruction provides unprecedented insight into changes in hurricane activity within the pre-industrial climate system and demonstrates that recurrence intervals based on the 170-year instrumental record can severely underestimate the threat hurricanes pose certain localities.}, issn = {00253227}, doi = {10.1016/j.margeo.2021.106653}, url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0025322721002358}, author = {Winkler, Tyler S. and van Hengstum, Peter J. and Donnelly, Jeffrey P. and Wallace, Elizabeth J. and D{\textquoteright}Entremont, Nicole and Hawkes, Andrea D. and Maio, Christopher V. and Sullivan, Richard M. and Woodruff, Jonathan D.} } @article {2734, title = {A fluvially derived flood deposit dating to the Kamikaze typhoons near Nagasaki, Japan}, journal = {Natural Hazards}, volume = {99}, year = {2019}, month = {Jan-11-2019}, pages = {827 - 841}, abstract = {Previous studies in western Kyushu revealed prominent marine-derived flood deposits that date to the late thirteenth-century and are interpreted to be a result of two legendary typhoons linked to the failed Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281. The regional persistence and prominence of sediments dating to these {\textquotedblleft}Kamikaze{\textquotedblright} typhoon events (meaning divine wind) raise questions about the origins of these late thirteenth-century deposits. This is due in part to uncertainty in distinguishing between tsunami and storm-induced deposition. To provide additional insight into the true cause of prominent late thirteenth-century flood deposits in western Kyushu, we present a detailed assessment of an additional event deposit dating to the late thirteenth-century from Lake Kawahara near Nagasaki, Japan. This particular deposit thickens landward towards the primary river flowing into Lake Kawahara and exhibits anomalously low Sr/Ti ratios that are consistent with a fluvial rather than a marine sediment source. When combined with previous flood reconstructions, results support the occurrence of an extreme, late thirteenth-century event that was associated with both intense marine- and river-derived flooding. Results therefore contribute to a growing line of evidence for the Kamikaze typhoons resulting in widespread flooding in the region, rather than the late thirteenth-century deposit being associated with a significant tsunami impact to western Kyushu.}, issn = {0921-030X}, doi = {10.1007/s11069-019-03777-z}, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-019-03777-z}, author = {Ladlow, Caroline and Woodruff, Jonathan D. and Cook, Timothy L. and Baranes, Hannah and Kanamaru, Kinuyo} } @article {2493, title = {Evidence for elevated coastal vulnerability following large-scale historical oyster bed harvesting}, journal = {Earth Surface Processes and Landforms}, volume = {41}, year = {2016}, month = {Jun-06-2018}, pages = {1136 - 1143}, abstract = {Living coastal barriers, such as coral reefs, tidal marshes, mangroves and shellfish beds are widely recognized for their potential role in mitigating flood risk. Limited data exists, however, for assessing the effectiveness of these natural defenses as forms of flood mitigation. In particular, very few mature shellfish beds exist today for modern study due to their destruction in the past few centuries. As an alternative method of study, we present here sedimentary reconstructions of storm overwash from coastal ponds internal to New York Harbor. We use these reconstructions to show that the initial degradation of oyster beds following European settlement of the area coincides with a significant increase in wave-derived overwash deposition at all three of our field sites. Numerical simulations of two flood events of record in the harbor (Hurricane Sandy and a severe winter storm in 1992) were run without and with oyster beds of varying heights (1 m above the seafloor-to-intertidal). Simulations show that the removal of these oyster beds increases wave energy directly off-shore of our field sites by between 30\% and 200\%. Sedimentary reconstructions and wave modeling experiments therefore both support oyster beds serving as a significant form of coastal protection prior to European disturbance. Copyright {\textcopyright} 2016 John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd.}, doi = {10.1002/esp.v41.810.1002/esp.3931}, url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/esp.v41.8http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/esp.3931https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002\%2Fesp.3931}, author = {Brandon, Christine M. and Woodruff, Jonathan D. and Orton, Philip M. and Donnelly, Jeffrey P.} } @article { ISI:000358139000002, title = {Climate forcing of unprecedented intense-hurricane activity in the last 2000 years}, journal = {EARTHS FUTURE}, volume = {3}, number = {{2}}, year = {2015}, month = {FEB}, pages = {49-65}, type = {Article}, abstract = {How climate controls hurricane variability has critical implications for society is not well understood. In part, our understanding is hampered by the short and incomplete observational hurricane record. Here we present a synthesis of intense-hurricane activity from the western North Atlantic over the past two millennia, which is supported by a new, exceptionally well-resolved record from Salt Pond, Massachusetts (USA). At Salt Pond, three coarse grained event beds deposited in the historical interval are consistent with severe hurricanes in 1991 (Bob), 1675, and 1635 C.E., and provide modern analogs for 32 other prehistoric event beds. Two intervals of heightened frequency of event bed deposition between 1400 and 1675 C.E. (10 events) and 150 and 1150 C.E. (23 events), represent the local expression of coherent regional patterns in intense-hurricane-induced event beds. Our synthesis indicates that much of the western North Atlantic appears to have been active between 250 and 1150 C.E., with high levels of activity persisting in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico until 1400 C.E. This interval was one with relatively warm sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the main development region (MDR). A shift in activity to the North American east coast occurred ca. 1400 C.E., with more frequent severe hurricane strikes recorded from The Bahamas to New England between 1400 and 1675 C.E. A warm SST anomaly along the western North Atlantic, rather than within the MDR, likely contributed to the later active interval being restricted to the east coast.}, keywords = {Climate change, common era, Holocene, sea surface temperature, tropical cyclones}, issn = {2328-4277}, doi = {10.1002/2014EF000274}, author = {Donnelly, Jeffrey P. and Hawkes, Andrea D. and Lane, Philip and MacDonald, Dana and Shuman, Bryan N. and Toomey, Michael R. and van Hengstum, Peter J. and Woodruff, Jonathan D.} } @article {2496, title = {How Unique was Hurricane Sandy? Sedimentary Reconstructions of Extreme Flooding from New York Harbor}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {4}, year = {2015}, month = {Jan-05-2015}, abstract = {The magnitude of flooding in New York City by Hurricane Sandy is commonly believed to be extremely rare, with estimated return periods near or greater than 1000 years. However, the brevity of tide gauge records result in significant uncertainties when estimating the uniqueness of such an event. Here we compare resultant deposition by Hurricane Sandy to earlier storm-induced flood layers in order to extend records of flooding to the city beyond the instrumental dataset. Inversely modeled storm conditions from grain size trends show that a more compact yet more intense hurricane in 1821 CE probably resulted in a similar storm tide and a significantly larger storm surge. Our results indicate the occurrence of additional flood events like Hurricane Sandy in recent centuries, and highlight the inadequacies of the instrumental record in estimating current flood risk by such extreme events.}, keywords = {Environmental sciences, Geomorphology, Palaeoclimate, sedimentology}, doi = {10.1038/srep07366}, url = {http://www.nature.com/articles/srep07366http://www.nature.com/articles/srep07366.pdfhttp://www.nature.com/articles/srep07366.pdfhttp://www.nature.com/articles/srep07366}, author = {Brandon, Christine M. and Woodruff, Jonathan D. and Donnelly, Jeffrey P. and Sullivan, Richard M.} } @article {2502, title = {Reconstructing mid-late Holocene cyclone variability in the Central Pacific using sedimentary records from Tahaa, French Polynesia}, journal = {Quaternary Science Reviews}, volume = {77}, year = {2013}, month = {Jan-10-2013}, pages = {181 - 189}, abstract = {We lack an understanding of the geographic and temporal controls on South Pacific cyclone activity. Overwash records from backbarrier salt marshes and coastal ponds have been used to reconstruct tropical cyclone strikes in the North Atlantic basin. However, these specific backbarrier environments are scarce in the South Pacific, with cyclone records limited primarily to the period of modern observation. This instrumental record suggests a correlation with the El Ni{\~n}o{\textendash}Southern Oscillation (ENSO), but longer records are necessary to test this relationship over geologic timescales and explore other potential climate drivers of tropical cyclone variability. Deep lagoons behind coral reefs are widespread in the Pacific and provide an alternative setting for developing long-term sedimentary reconstructions of tropical cyclone occurrence. Coarse-grained event deposits within the sediments of a back-reef lagoon surrounding Tahaa reveal a 5000-year record of cyclone occurrences. Timing of recent high-energy deposits matches well with observed tropical cyclone strikes and indicates coarse deposits are storm derived. Longer records show tropical cyclone activity was higher from 5000 to 3800 and 2900 to 500 yrs BP. Comparison to records from the North Pacific (out-of-phase) and North Atlantic (in phase) suggests a coordinated pattern of storm activity across tropical cyclone basins over the mid-late Holocene. The changes in tropical cyclone activity we observe in the South Pacific and across other basins may be related to ENSO as well as precession driven changes in ocean-atmosphere thermal gradients.}, keywords = {enso, Precession, South Pacific, tropical cyclones}, issn = {02773791}, doi = {10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.07.019}, url = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379113002849http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0277379113002849?httpAccept=text/xmlhttp://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0277379113002849?httpAccept=text/plain}, author = {Toomey, Michael R. and Donnelly, Jeffrey P. and Woodruff, Jonathan D.} } @article {76, title = {Reconstructing mid-late Holocene cyclone variability in the Central Pacific using sedimentary records from Tahaa, French Polynesia}, journal = {Quaternary Science Reviews}, volume = {77}, year = {2013}, pages = {181-189}, abstract = {We lack an understanding of the geographic and temporal controls on South Pacific cyclone activity. Overwash records from backbarrier salt marshes and coastal ponds have been used to reconstruct tropical cyclone strikes in the North Atlantic basin. However, these specific backbarrier environments are scarce in the South Pacific, with cyclone records limited primarily to the period of modern observation. This instrumental record suggests a correlation with the El Ni{\~n}o{\textendash}Southern Oscillation (ENSO), but longer records are necessary to test this relationship over geologic timescales and explore other potential climate drivers of tropical cyclone variability. Deep lagoons behind coral reefs are widespread in the Pacific and provide an alternative setting for developing long-term sedimentary reconstructions of tropical cyclone occurrence. Coarse-grained event deposits within the sediments of a back-reef lagoon surrounding Tahaa reveal a 5000-year record of cyclone occurrences. Timing of recent high-energy deposits matches well with observed tropical cyclone strikes and indicates coarse deposits are storm derived. Longer records show tropical cyclone activity was higher from 5000 to 3800 and 2900 to 500 yrs BP. Comparison to records from the North Pacific (out-of-phase) and North Atlantic (in phase) suggests a coordinated pattern of storm activity across tropical cyclone basins over the mid-late Holocene. The changes in tropical cyclone activity we observe in the South Pacific and across other basins may be related to ENSO as well as precession driven changes in ocean-atmosphere thermal gradients.}, issn = {0277-3791}, doi = {10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.07.019}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379113002849}, author = {Toomey, Michael R. and Donnelly, Jeffrey P. and Woodruff, Jonathan D.} } @article {2501, title = {Tropical cyclone wind speed constraints from resultant storm surge deposition: A 2500 year reconstruction of hurricane activity from St. Marks, FL}, journal = {Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems}, volume = {14}, year = {2013}, month = {Jan-08-2013}, pages = {2993 - 3008}, abstract = {[1] Recent work suggests that the patterns of intense (>=category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale) hurricane strikes over the last few millennia might differ from that of overall hurricane activity during this period. Prior studies typically rely on assigning a threshold storm intensity required to produce a sedimentological overwash signal at a particular coastal site based on historical analogs. Here, we improve on this approach by presenting a new inverse-model technique that constrains the most likely wind speeds required to transport the maximum grain size within resultant storm deposits. As a case study, the technique is applied to event layers observed in sediments collected from a coastal sinkhole in northwestern Florida. We find that (1) simulated wind speeds for modern deposits are consistent with the intensities for historical hurricanes affecting the site, (2) all deposits throughout the \~{}2500 year record are capable of being produced by hurricanes, and (3) a period of increased intense hurricane frequency is observed between \~{}1700 and \~{}600 years B.P. and decreased intense storm frequency is observed from \~{}2500 to \~{}1700 and \~{}600 years B.P. to the present. This is consistent with prior reconstructions from nearby sites. Changes in the frequency of intense hurricane strikes may be related to the degree of penetration of the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico.}, doi = {10.1002/ggge.20217}, url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/ggge.20217https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002\%2Fggge.20217}, author = {Brandon, Christine M. and Woodruff, Jonathan D. and Lane, D. Phil and Donnelly, Jeffrey P.} } @article {2505, title = {A decadally-resolved paleohurricane record archived in the late Holocene sediments of a Florida sinkhole}, journal = {Marine Geology}, volume = {287}, year = {2011}, month = {Jan-09-2011}, pages = {14 - 30}, abstract = {A 4500-year record of hurricane-induced storm surges is developed from sediment cores collected from a coastal sinkhole near Apalachee Bay, Florida. Recent deposition of sand layers in the upper sediments of the pond was found to be contemporaneous with significant, historic storm surges at the site modeled using SLOSH and the Best Track, post-1851 A.D. dataset. Using the historic portion of the record for calibration, paleohurricane deposits were identified by sand content and dated using radiocarbon-based age models. Marine-indicative foraminifera, some originating at least 5 km offshore, were present in several modern and ancient storm deposits. The presence and long-term preservation of offshore foraminifera suggest that this site and others like it may yield promising microfossil-based paleohurricane reconstructions in the future. Due to the sub-decadal (~ 7 years) resolution of the record and the site{\textquoteright}s high susceptibility to hurricane-generated storm surges, the average, local frequency of recorded events, approximately 3.9 storms per century, is greater than that of previously published paleohurricane records from the region. The high incidence of recorded events permitted a time series of local hurricane frequency during the last five millennia to be constructed. Variability in the frequency of the largest storm layers was found to be greater than what would likely occur by chance alone, with intervals of both anomalously high and low storm frequency identified. However, the rate at which smaller layers were deposited was relatively constant over the last five millennia. This may suggest that significant variability in hurricane frequency has occurred only in the highest magnitude events. The frequency of high magnitude events peaked near 6 storms per century between 2800 and 2300 years ago. High magnitude events were relatively rare with about 0{\textendash}3 storms per century occurring between 1900 and 1600 years ago and between 400 and 150 years ago. A marked decline in the number of large storm deposits, which began around 600 years ago, has persisted through present with below average frequency over the last 150 years when compared to the preceding five millennia.}, keywords = {Apalachee Bay, Gulf of Mexico, Holocene, hurricane, paleohurricane, Paleotempestology, sinkhole, SLOSH, storm surge, tropical cyclone}, issn = {00253227}, doi = {10.1016/j.margeo.2011.07.001}, url = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0025322711001472http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0025322711001472?httpAccept=text/xmlhttp://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0025322711001472?httpAccept=text/plain}, author = {Lane, Philip and Donnelly, Jeffrey P. and Woodruff, Jonathan D. and Hawkes, Andrea D.} } @article {2506, title = {Calibrating a sedimentary record of overwash from Southeastern New England using modeled historic hurricane surges}, journal = {Marine Geology}, volume = {275}, year = {2010}, month = {Jan-09-2010}, pages = {127 - 139}, abstract = {We present a 2000-year record of overwash deposits preserved in a backbarrier salt marsh from southeastern New England. The timing of recent deposits matches well with large hurricane-induced storm surge events documented by local tide gauges in 1991, 1960, 1954, and 1938. Storm surge modeling is used to evaluate the flooding history at the site as well as to assess the pre-instrumental historical record. Storms in 1815, 1727, and 1635 likely caused significant surge that overtopped the barrier, with the timing of coarse-grained overwash deposition correlating well with these events. We infer that twenty-three prehistoric layers mapped across the site were likely also deposited by landfalling hurricanes. Additional records from the area will help to evaluate whether or not temporal trends at the site are a robust representation of hurricane activity for the region. The frequency of overwash at Mattapoisett Marsh, on average 1.5 events per century, is significantly higher than many other overwash-based reconstructions from the western North Atlantic. Further, the Mattapoisett Marsh record does not contain significant multi-centennial gaps in overwash layers. This initial comparison of the data from Mattapoisett marsh with other reconstructions from the western North Atlantic may point toward relatively constant tropical cyclone frequency over the last 2000 years with significant variation in the number of intense tropical cyclones.}, keywords = {Holocene, hurricane, Paleotempestology, Salt marsh, storm surge, tropical cyclone}, issn = {00253227}, doi = {10.1016/j.margeo.2010.05.002}, url = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0025322710001702http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0025322710001702?httpAccept=text/xmlhttp://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0025322710001702?httpAccept=text/plain}, author = {Boldt, Katherine V. and Lane, Philip and Woodruff, Jonathan D. and Donnelly, Jeffrey P.} }