8 research outputs found
El Niño, tropical Atlantic warmth, and Atlantic hurricanes over the past 1500 years
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Nature Publishing Group for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Nature 460 (2009): 880-883, doi:10.1038/nature08219.Atlantic Tropical Cyclone (TC) activity, as measured by annual storm counts,
reached anomalous levels over the past decade. The short nature of the historical
record and potential issues with its reliability in earlier decades, however, has
prompted an ongoing debate regarding the reality and significance of the recent
rise. Here, we place recent activity in a longer-term context, by comparing two
independent estimates of TC activity over the past 1500 years. The first estimate is
based on a composite of regional sedimentary evidence of landfalling hurricanes,
while the second estimate employs a previously published statistical model of
Atlantic TC activity driven by proxy-reconstructions of past climate changes. Both
approaches yield consistent evidence of a peak in Atlantic TC activity during
Medieval times (around AD 1000) followed by a subsequent lull in activity. The
Medieval peak, which rivals or even exceeds (within uncertainties) recent levels of
activity, results in the statistical model from a ‘perfect storm’ of La Niña-like
climate conditions and relative tropical Atlantic warmth.M.E.M. and Z.Z. acknowledge support from the ATM programme of the National Science Foundation (grant ATM-0542356). J.P.D. acknowledges support from the EAR and OCE programmes of the National Science Foundation (grants EAR-0519118 and OCE-0402746), the Risk Prediction Initiative at the Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences, and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research
Hurricane Overwash and Decadal-Scale Evolution of a Narrowing Barrier Island, Ocracoke Island, NC
Thrombotic thrombocytopenia associated with COVID-19 infection or vaccination: Possible paths to platelet factor 4 autoimmunity
Measuring sedimentation in tidal marshes:a review on methods and their applicability in biogeomorphological studies
<p>It is increasingly recognised that interactions between geomorphological and biotic processes control the functioning of many ecosystem types as described e.g. by the ecological theory of ecosystem engineering. Consequently, the need for specific bio-geomorphological research methods is growing recently. Much research on bio-geomorphological processes is done in coastal marshes. These areas provide clear examples of ecosystem engineering as well as other bio-geomorphological processes: Marsh vegetation slows down tidal currents and hence stimulates the process of sedimentation, while vice versa, the sedimentation controls ecological processes like vegetation succession. This review is meant to give insights in the various available methods to measure sedimentation, with special attention to their suitability to quantify bio-geomorphological interactions. The choice of method used to measure sedimentation is important to obtain the correct parameters to understand the biogeomorphology of tidal salt marshes. This review, therefore, aims to be a tool for decision making regarding the processes to be measured and the methods to be used. We, subdivide the methods into those measuring suspended sediment concentration (A), sediment deposition (B), accretion (C) and surface-elevation change (D). With this review, we would like to further encourage interdisciplinary studies in the fields of ecology and geomorphology.</p>