Blackwood Sinkhole, Bahamas 3,000 Year Sand Content and Pollen Data van Hengstum, P.J.; Donnelly, J.P.; Fall, P.L.; Toomey, M.R.; Albury, N.A.; Kakuk, B. van Hengstum, P.J. Donnelly, J.P. Fall, P.L. Toomey, M.R. Albury, N.A. Kakuk, B. Hurricanes and Tropical Cyclones Reconstruction Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (age,null,95% confidence interval lower bound,calendar year before present,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,Median age of core depth based on age model) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,paleoceanography,averaged,null,N,Weighted mean age of core depth based on age model) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (age,null,95% confidence interval upper bound,year Common Era,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (age,null,null,year Common Era,null,paleoceanography,averaged,null,N,Weighted mean age of core depth based on age model) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (sand,null,null,milligram per cubic centimeter,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,mass of the sand-sized or greater (>63um) calcium carbonate sediment particles per unit volume) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (age,null,95% confidence interval upper bound,calendar year before present,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (depth,null,null,centimeter,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (age,null,95% confidence interval lower bound,year Common Era,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (age,null,null,year Common Era,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,Median age of core depth based on age model) earth science/paleoclimate/paleocean earth science/paleoclimate/paleocean (Blackwood Sinkhole>LATITUDE 26.79>LONGITUDE -77.42) Most Atlantic hurricanes form in the Main Development Region between 9N to 20N along the northern edge of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Previous research has suggested that meridional shifts in the ITCZ position on geologic timescales can modulate hurricane activity, but continuous and long-term storm records are needed from multiple sites to assess this hypothesis. Here we present a 3000 year record of intense hurricane strikes in the northern Bahamas (Abaco Island) based on overwash deposits in a coastal sinkhole, which indicates that the ITCZ has likely helped modulate intense hurricane strikes on the western North Atlantic margin on millennial to centennial-scales. The new reconstruction closely matches a previous reconstruction from Puerto Rico, and documents a period of elevated intense hurricane activity on the western North Atlantic margin from 2500 to 1000 years ago when paleo precipitation proxies suggest that the ITCZ occupied a more northern position. Considering that anthropogenic warming is predicted to be focused in the northern hemisphere in the coming century, these results provide a prehistoric analog that an attendant northern ITCZ shift in the future may again return the western North Atlantic margin to an active hurricane interval. STUDY NOTES: Overwash sand and pollen concentration data as a paleohurricane proxy for the past 3,000 years from Blackwood Sinkhole, Abaco Island, Bahamas NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : van Hengstum, P.J. Investigator : Donnelly, J.P. Investigator : Fall, P.L. Investigator : Toomey, M.R. Investigator : Albury, N.A. Investigator : Kakuk, B. 2016-08-15 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/20434 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/contributions_by_author/vanhengstum2016/vanhengstum2016.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/contributions_by_author/vanhengstum2016/vanhengstum2016.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/20434 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/contributions_by_author/vanhengstum2016/vanhengstum2016.txt Peter J. van Hengstum, Jeffrey P. Donnelly, Patricia L. Fall, Michael R. Toomey, Nancy A. Albury, Brian Kakuk2016The intertropical convergence zone modulates intense hurricane strikes on the western North Atlantic marginScientific Reports21728610.1038/srep21728http://www.nature.com/articles/srep21728 START YEAR: 2913 cal yr BP * END YEAR: -59 cal yr BP -77.42 26.79 -77.42 26.79