@article {145, title = {A sedimentary-based history of hurricane strikes on the southern Caribbean coast of Nicaragua}, journal = {Quaternary Research}, volume = {78}, year = {2012}, note = {id: 2327}, pages = {454-464}, abstract = {Multi-millennial hurricane landfall records from the western North Atlantic indicate that landfall frequency has varied dramatically over time, punctuated by multi-centennial to millennial scale periods of hyperactivity. We extend the record geographically by presenting a paleostrike record inferred from a four-core transect from a marsh on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. Fossil pollen indicates that the site was a highly organic wetland from ~ 5400{\textendash}4900 cal yr BP, at which time it became a shallow marine lagoon until ~ 2800 cal yr BP when it transitioned back into swamp/marsh, freshening over time, with the present fresh-to-brackish Typha marsh developing over the very recent past. Hurricane Joan, 1988, is recorded as a distinctive light-colored sand{\textendash}silt{\textendash}clay layer across the top of the transect, identifiable by abrupt shifts in color from the dark marsh deposits, increased grain size, and two upward-fining sequences, which are interpreted as representing the storm{\textquoteright}s traction and suspension loads. The six layers identified as hurricane-generated display temporal clustering, featuring a marked increase in landfall frequency ~ 800 cal yr BP. This pattern is anti-phase with the activity pattern previously identified from the northern Caribbean and the Atlantic coast of North America, thereby opposing the view that hyperactivity occurs simultaneously across the entire basin.}, issn = {0033-5894}, doi = {10.1016/j.yqres.2012.07.003}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003358941200083X}, author = {McCloskey, Terrence Allen and Liu, Kam-biu} }