Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
Sand barrier overwash deposits found in coastal lakes have recently been used as proxies for past land-falling tropical storm events but this method has been suggested to be limited spatially. The development of a more extensive tropical storm record will serve to better elucidate the role of natural forcings on tropical storm activity, potentially revealing patterns in hurricane activities which may have evolved through geologic time. We propose that during large rainfall and flooding events associated with passing tropical storms in Antigua, terrestrial sediment is eroded and transported as a distinguishable layer into coastal marshes and ponds, leaving a long-term record of tropical storm activity. Sediment cores from the Flashes, a coastal marshland on the island of Antigua, indicate little to no change in hurricane frequency over the past 200 years. These core must be further compared with other cores from the region as well as other data (such as colorbanding, carbon dating) and methods (overwash, open bay) in order to more confidently derive a hurricane record in this region.
Date Awarded
2008
Department
Geology
Advisor 1
Jesse E. McNinch
Recommended Citation
Perryman, Nyssa Marie, "Obtaining an Extended Recod of Hurricane Frequency in the North Atlantic" (2008). Geology Senior Theses. William & Mary. Paper 201.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/geologyseniors/201
