Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T07:52:21.405Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A sedimentary-based history of hurricane strikes on the southern Caribbean coast of Nicaragua

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2012

Terrence Allen McCloskey  and
Kam-biu Liu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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 ~ 5400–4900 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–silt–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'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.

Keywords

PaleotempestologyHurricanesNorth AtlanticTropical cyclone hyperactivityCaribbeanNicaraguaPaleoecological reconstruction
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 78 , Issue 3 , November 2012 , pp. 454 - 464
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Boucher, D. Growing back after hurricanes. Bioscience 40, (1990). 163–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourgeois, J. Geologic effects and records of tsunamis. Robinson, A.R., and Bernard, E.N. The Sea. Tsunamis volume 25, (2009). Harvard University Press, Boston. 53–91.Google Scholar
Brenes, C.L., Hernandez, A., and Ballestero, D. Flushing time in Perlas Lagoon and Bluefields Bay, Nicaragua. Investigaciones Marinas 35, (2007). 89–96.Google Scholar
Broccoli, A.J., Dahl, K.A., and Stouffer, R.J. Response of the ITCZ to Northern Hemisphere cooling. Geophysical Research Letters 33, (2006). (Article No. L01702) Google Scholar
Chiang, J.C.H., and Bitz, C.M. Influence of high latitude ice cover on the marine Intertropical Convergence Zone. Climate Dynamics 25, (2005). 477–496.Google Scholar
Chiang, J.C.H., Biasutti, M., and Battisti, D.S. Sensitivity of the Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone to last glacial maximum boundary conditions. Paleoceanography 18, (2003). 1094 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christie, P. The people and natural resources of Pearl Lagoon. Christie, P., Bradford, D., Garth, R., Gonzalez, B., Hostetler, M., Morales, O., Rigby, R., Simmons, B., Tinkham, E., Vega, G., Vernooy, R., and White, N. Taking Care of What We Have: Participatory Natural Resource Management on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. (2000). IDRC Books, Ottawa. 17–46.Google Scholar
Conte, I.C., and Gassiot, E. En el camino de la desigualdad? El litoral de la costa Caribe de Nicaragua entre el 500 cal. ANE y el 450 cal.NE. Revista Atlántica-Mediterránea de Prehistoria y Arqueología Social 7, (2005). 109–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Das, S., and Vincent, J.R. Mangroves protected villages and reduced death toll during Indian super cyclone. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106, (2009). 7357–7360.Google Scholar
Dean, W.G. Determination of carbonate and organic matter in calcareous sediments and sedimentary rocks by loss on ignition: comparison with other methods. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 44, (1974). 242–248.Google Scholar
Donnelly, J.P., Webb, T. III Back-barrier sedimentary records of intense hurricane landfalls in the northeastern United States. Murnane, R.J., and Liu, K.-b. Hurricanes and Typhoons: Past, Present and Future. (2004). Columbia University Press, New York. 58–95.Google Scholar
Donnelly, J.P., and Woodruff, J. Intense hurricane activity over the past 5000 years controlled by El Nino and the West African Monsoon. Nature 44, (2007). 465–468.Google Scholar
Elsner, J.B. Tracking hurricanes. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 84, (2003). 353–356.Google Scholar
Elsner, J.B., Liu, K.-B., and Kocher, B. Spatial variations in major U.S. hurricane activity: statistics and a physical mechanism. Journal of Climate 13, (2000). 2293–2305.Google Scholar
Faegri, K., and Iverson, J. Textbook of Pollen Analysis. (1989). John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.Google Scholar
Flohn, H. Ice-free Arctic and glaciated Antarctic. Flohn, H., and Fantechi, R. The Climate of Europe: Past, Present and Future. (1984). D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht. 248–268.Google Scholar
Gerrish, H.P. Preliminary Report Hurricane Joan 10–23 October 1988. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1988-prelim/joan/prelim01.gif (1989). Accessed Dec. 21, 2011 Google Scholar
Goff, J., McFadgen, B.G., and Chague-Goff, C. Sedimentary differences between the 2002 Easter storm and the 15th-century Okoropunga tsunami, southeastern North Island, New Zealand. Marine Geology 204, (2004). 235–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gupta, A. Large floods as geomorphic events in the humid tropics. Baker, V.R., Kochel, R.C., and Patton, P.C. Flood Geomorphology. (1988). John Wiley and Sons, New York. 310–315.Google Scholar
Haug, G.H., Hughen, K.A., Sigman, D.M., Peterson, L.C., and Rohl, U. Southward migration of the intertropical convergence zone through the Holocene. Science 293, (2001). 1304–1308.Google Scholar
Haug, G.H., Hughen, K.A., Sigman, D.M., Peterson, L.C., and Rohl, U. Cariaco Basin Trace Metal Data. IGBP PAGES/World Data Center A for Paleoclimatology. Data Contribution Series #2001-071. NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder, CO, USA. (2001). Google Scholar
Heimann, D.C., Sprague, L.A., and Blevins, D.W. Trends in suspended-sediment loads and concentrations in the Mississippi River Basin, 1950–2009. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011‐5200. (2011). Google Scholar
Horwitz, M., and Wang, P. Sedimentological characteristics and internal architecture of two overwash fans from Hurricanes Ivan and Jeanne. Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions 55, (2005). 342–352.Google Scholar
INETER Mitch vs. las lluvias provocadas durante el period de affectation de otros huracanes. Las Lluvias del Siglo en Nicaragua. (1998). Instituto Nicarauense de Estudio Territoriales, Managua, Nicaragua. 43–45.Google Scholar
Kortekaas, S., and Dawson, A.G. Distinguishing tsunami and storm deposits: an example from Martinhal SW Portugal. Sedimentary Geology 200, (2007). 208–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawrence, M.B., and Gross, J.M. Annual summaries Atlantic hurricane season of 1988. Monthly Weather Reviews 117, (1989). 2248–2259.Google Scholar
Liu, K.-b. Paleotemstology: principles, methods and examples from Gulf coast lake sediments. Murnane, R.J., and Liu, K.-b. Hurricanes and Typhoons: Past, Present and Future. (2004). Columbia University Press, New York. 13–57.Google Scholar
Liu, K.-b., and Fearn, M.L. Lake-sediment record of late Holocene hurricane activities from coastal Alabama. Geology 21, (1993). 793–796.Google Scholar
Liu, K.-b., and Fearn, M.L. Reconstruction of prehistoric landfall frequencies of catastrophic hurricanes in northwestern Florida from lake sediment records. Quaternary Research 54, (2000). 238–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mann, M.E., Woodruff, J.D., Donnelly, J.P., and Zhang, Z. Atlantic hurricanes and climate over the past 1,500 years. Nature 460, (2009). 880–883.Google Scholar
Marshall, J.S. Coastal morphology and coastal reefs. Bundschuh, J., Alvarado, G.E. Central America Geology Resource Hazards vol. 1, (2007). Taylor and Francis, London. 185–200.Google Scholar
Mazda, Y., Magi, M., Kogo, M., and Hong, P.N. Mangroves as coastal protection from waves in the Tong King delta, Vietnam. Mangroves and Salt Marshes 1, (1997). 127–135.Google Scholar
Mazda, Y., Michimasa, M., Ikeda, Y., Kurokawa, T., and Tetsumi, A. Wave reduction in a mangrove forest dominated by Sonneratia sp. Wetlands Ecology and Management 14, (2006). 365–378.Google Scholar
McCann, W.R. Estimating the threat of tsunamigenic earthquakes and earthquake induced-landslide tsunamis in the Caribbean. Mercado-Irizarry, A., and Liu, P. Caribbean Tsunami Hazard. (2006). World Scientific Publishing Company, New Jersey. 43–65.Google Scholar
McCloskey, T.A., and Keller, G. 5000 year sedimentary record of hurricane strikes on the central coast of Belize. Quaternary International 195, (2009). 53–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCloskey, T.A., and Knowles, J.T. Migration of the tropical cyclone zone through the Holocene. Elsner, J.B., and Jagger, T.H. Hurricanes and Climate Change. (2009). Springer, New York. 169–188.Google Scholar
Mills, R.A., and Hugh, K.E. Reconnaissance group map of Mosquitia region, Honduras and Nicaragua Caribbean coast. The Association of American Petroleum Geologist Bulletin 58, (1974). 189–207.Google Scholar
Morton, R.A., Gelfenbaum, G., and Jaffe, B.E. Physical criteria for distinguishing sandy tsunami and storm deposits using modern examples. Sedimentary Geology 200, (2007). 184–207.Google Scholar
Nanayama, F., Shigeno, K., Satake, K., Shimokawa, K., Koitabashi, S., Miyasaka, S., and Ishii, M. Sedimentary differences between the 1993 Hokkaido–Nansei–Oki tsunami and the 1959 Miyakojima typhoon at Taisei, southwestern Hokkaido, northern Japan. Sedimentary Geology 135, (2000). 255–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Loughlin, K.F., and Lander, J.F. Caribbean Tsunamis: A 500 Year History, 1498–1998. (2003). Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA.Google Scholar
Owens, E.H., and Roberts, H.H. Variations of wave-energy levels and coastal sedimentation, eastern Nicaragua. Proceedings of the 16th Conference on Coastal Engineering. (1978). 119–1214.Google Scholar
Parsons, J.J. The Miskito pine savanna of Nicaragua and Honduras. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 45, (1955). 36–63.Google Scholar
Peters, R., Jaffe, B.E., and Gelfenbaum, G. Distribution and sedimentary characteristics of tsunami deposits along the Cascadia margin of western North America. Sedimentary Geology 200, (2007). 372–386.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J., Baillie, M.G.L., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J.W., Blackwell, P.G., Bronk Ramsey, C., Buck, C.E., Burr, G.S., Edwards, R.L., Friedrich, M., Grootes, P.M., Guilderson, T.P., Hajdas, I., Heaton, T.J., Hogg, A.G., Hughen, K.A., Kaiser, K.F., Kromer, B., McCormac, F.G., Manning, S.W., Reimer, R.W., Richards, D.A., Southon, J.R., Talamo, S., Turney, C.S.M., van der Plicht, J., and Weyhenmeyer, C.E. IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 51, (2009). 1111–1150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riehl, H. Climate and Weather in the Tropics. (1979). Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Roberts, H.H., and Murray, S.P. Controls on reef development and the terrigenous–carbonate interface on a shallow shelf, Nicaragua (Central America). Coral Reefs 2, (1983). 71–80.Google Scholar
Scatena, F.N., and Larsen, M.C. Physical aspects of Hurricane Hugo in Puerto Rico. Biotropica 23, (1991). 317–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scileppi, E., and Donnelly, J.P. Sedimentary evidence of hurricane strikes in western Long Island, New York. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 8, (2007). (doi:Q06011Artn q06011) Google Scholar
Scott, D.B., Collins, E.S., Gayes, P.T., and Wright, E. Records of prehistoric hurricanes on the South Carolina coast based on micropaleontological and sedimentological evidence, with comparison to other Atlantic Coast records. Geological Society of America Bulletin 115, (2003). 1027–1039.Google Scholar
Toscano, M.A., and Macintyre, I.G. Corrected western Atlantic sea-level curve for the last 11,000 years based on calibrated C-14 dates from Acropora palmate framework and intertidal mangrove peat. Coral Reefs 22, (2003). 257–270.Google Scholar
Urquhart, G.R. Paleoecological record of hurricane disturbance and forest regeneration in Nicaragua. Quaternary International 195, (2009). 88–97.Google Scholar
Vandermeer, J.H., Granzow de la Cerda, I., Boucher, D., Perfecto, I., and Ruiz, J. Hurricane disturbance and tropical tree species diversity. Science 290, (2000). 788–790.Google Scholar
Wallace, D.R. Central American landscapes. Coates, A.G. Central America: A Natural and Cultural History. (1997). Yale University Press, New Haven. 72–96.Google Scholar
Williams, H.F.L. Stratigraphy, sedimentology, and microfossil content of Hurricane Rita storm surge deposits in southwest Louisiana. Journal of Coastal Research 25, (2009). 1041–1051.Google Scholar
Williams, H.F.L. Storm surge deposition by Hurricane Ike on the McFadden National Wildlife Refuge, Texas: implications for paleotempestology studies. Journal of Foraminiferal Research 40, (2010). 510–519.Google Scholar
Woodruff, J.D., Donnelly, J.P., Mohrig, D., and Geyer, W.R. Reconstructing relative flooding intensities responsible for hurricane-induced deposits from Laguna Playa Grande, Puerto Rico. Geology 36, (2008). 391–394.Google Scholar