Everything about Paleotempestology totally explained
Paleotempestology is the study of past
tropical cyclone activity by means of geological proxies. Examples of proxies include overwash deposits preserved in the
sediments of coastal lakes and marshes,
microfossils such as foraminifera, pollen, diatoms, dinoflagellates, phytoliths contained in coastal sediments, wave-generated or flood-generated sedimentary structures or deposits (called tempestites) in marine or lagoonal sediments, storm wave deposited coral shingle, shell, sand and shell and pure sand shore parallel ridges, oxygen isotopic ratios of
hurricane rainfall in shallow-water
corals,
speleothems (cave formations), and
tree rings. The method of using overwash deposits preserved in coastal lake and marsh sediments is adopted from earlier studies of paleotsunami deposits. Both storms and tsunamis leave very similar if not identical sedimentary deposits in coastal lakes and marshes and differentiating between the two in a sedimentary record can be difficult.
Etymology
The term
paleotempestology was coined by Prof.
Kerry Emanuel of
MIT.
History
The first studies to examine prehistoric records of tropical cyclones occurred in Australia and the South Pacific during the late
1970s and early
1980s. These studies examined multiple shore parallel ridges of coral shingle or sand and marine shells. As many as 50 ridges can be deposited at a site with each representing a past severe
tropical cyclone over the previous 6,000 years. Tsunamis are not known to deposit multiple sedimentary ridges and therefore these features can be more easily attributed to a past storm at any given site.
Speleothems and tree rings
Isotope studies in speleothems and tree rings offers a means by which higher resolution records of long-term tropical cyclone histories can be attained. Unlike the isotope records, the sedimentary records are too coarse in their resolution to register quasi-cyclic activity at decadal to centennial scales. These higher resolution records therefore offer a means for possibly differentiating between the natural variability of tropical cyclone behaviour and the effects of anthropogenically induced global climate change. Recent studies with stalagmites in
Belize shows that events can be determined on a week-by-week basis. (Frappier et al.)
Further Information
Get more info on 'Paleotempestology'.
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