Giant boulders and Last Interglacial storm intensity in the North Atlantic

As global climate warms and sea level rises, coastal areas will be subject to more frequent extreme flooding and hurricanes. Geologic evidence for extreme coastal storms during past warm periods has the potential to provide fundamental insights into their future intensity. Recent studies argue that...

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Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Main Authors: Rovere A, Casella E, Harris DL, Lorscheid T, Nandasena NAK, Dyer B, Sandstrom RM, Stocchi P, D’Andrea W.J, Raymo M R
Other Authors: Rovere, A, Casella, E, Harris, Dl, Lorscheid, T, Nandasena, Nak, Dyer, B, Sandstrom, Rm, Stocchi, P, D’Andrea, W. J., Raymo, M R
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11576/2726018
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1712433114
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spelling ftunivurbino:oai:ora.uniurb.it:11576/2726018 2024-04-14T08:15:38+00:00 Giant boulders and Last Interglacial storm intensity in the North Atlantic Rovere A Casella E Harris DL Lorscheid T Nandasena NAK Dyer B Sandstrom RM Stocchi P D’Andrea W.J Raymo M R Rovere, A Casella, E Harris, Dl Lorscheid, T Nandasena, Nak Dyer, B Sandstrom, Rm Stocchi, P D’Andrea, W. J. Raymo, M R 2017 https://hdl.handle.net/11576/2726018 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1712433114 eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:000415173300046 volume:114 issue:46 firstpage:12144 lastpage:12149 numberofpages:6 journal:PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA https://hdl.handle.net/11576/2726018 doi:10.1073/pnas.1712433114 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-85033717522 info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2017 ftunivurbino https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1712433114 2024-03-21T16:59:25Z As global climate warms and sea level rises, coastal areas will be subject to more frequent extreme flooding and hurricanes. Geologic evidence for extreme coastal storms during past warm periods has the potential to provide fundamental insights into their future intensity. Recent studies argue that during the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e, similar to 128-116 ka) tropical and extratropical North Atlantic cyclones may have been more intense than at present, and may have produced waves larger than those observed historically. Such strong swells are inferred to have created a number of geologic features that can be observed today along the coastlines of Bermuda and the Bahamas. In this paper, we investigate the most iconic among these features: massive boulders atop a cliff in North Eleuthera, Bahamas. We combine geologic field surveys, wave models, and boulder transport equations to test the hypothesis that such boulders must have been emplaced by storms of greater-than-historical intensity. By contrast, our results suggest that with the higher relative sea level (RSL) estimated for the Bahamas during MIS 5e, boulders of this size could have been transported by waves generated by storms of historical intensity. Thus, while the megaboulders of Eleuthera cannot be used as geologic proof for past "superstorms," they do show that with rising sea levels, cliffs and coastal barriers will be subject to significantly greater erosional energy, even without changes in storm intensity. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Università degli Studi di Urbino: CINECA IRIS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114 46 12144 12149
institution Open Polar
collection Università degli Studi di Urbino: CINECA IRIS
op_collection_id ftunivurbino
language English
description As global climate warms and sea level rises, coastal areas will be subject to more frequent extreme flooding and hurricanes. Geologic evidence for extreme coastal storms during past warm periods has the potential to provide fundamental insights into their future intensity. Recent studies argue that during the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e, similar to 128-116 ka) tropical and extratropical North Atlantic cyclones may have been more intense than at present, and may have produced waves larger than those observed historically. Such strong swells are inferred to have created a number of geologic features that can be observed today along the coastlines of Bermuda and the Bahamas. In this paper, we investigate the most iconic among these features: massive boulders atop a cliff in North Eleuthera, Bahamas. We combine geologic field surveys, wave models, and boulder transport equations to test the hypothesis that such boulders must have been emplaced by storms of greater-than-historical intensity. By contrast, our results suggest that with the higher relative sea level (RSL) estimated for the Bahamas during MIS 5e, boulders of this size could have been transported by waves generated by storms of historical intensity. Thus, while the megaboulders of Eleuthera cannot be used as geologic proof for past "superstorms," they do show that with rising sea levels, cliffs and coastal barriers will be subject to significantly greater erosional energy, even without changes in storm intensity.
author2 Rovere, A
Casella, E
Harris, Dl
Lorscheid, T
Nandasena, Nak
Dyer, B
Sandstrom, Rm
Stocchi, P
D’Andrea, W. J.
Raymo, M R
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Rovere A
Casella E
Harris DL
Lorscheid T
Nandasena NAK
Dyer B
Sandstrom RM
Stocchi P
D’Andrea W.J
Raymo M R
spellingShingle Rovere A
Casella E
Harris DL
Lorscheid T
Nandasena NAK
Dyer B
Sandstrom RM
Stocchi P
D’Andrea W.J
Raymo M R
Giant boulders and Last Interglacial storm intensity in the North Atlantic
author_facet Rovere A
Casella E
Harris DL
Lorscheid T
Nandasena NAK
Dyer B
Sandstrom RM
Stocchi P
D’Andrea W.J
Raymo M R
author_sort Rovere A
title Giant boulders and Last Interglacial storm intensity in the North Atlantic
title_short Giant boulders and Last Interglacial storm intensity in the North Atlantic
title_full Giant boulders and Last Interglacial storm intensity in the North Atlantic
title_fullStr Giant boulders and Last Interglacial storm intensity in the North Atlantic
title_full_unstemmed Giant boulders and Last Interglacial storm intensity in the North Atlantic
title_sort giant boulders and last interglacial storm intensity in the north atlantic
publishDate 2017
url https://hdl.handle.net/11576/2726018
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1712433114
genre North Atlantic
genre_facet North Atlantic
op_relation info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:000415173300046
volume:114
issue:46
firstpage:12144
lastpage:12149
numberofpages:6
journal:PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
https://hdl.handle.net/11576/2726018
doi:10.1073/pnas.1712433114
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-85033717522
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1712433114
container_title Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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