Legacy of the Storm: Paleo-perspective on tropical cyclone activity along the northern Gulf of Mexico region and associated impacts on ecosystem health
Abstract
The 2017 and 2018 hurricane seasons have been among the most damaging and destructive in the modern record. While unprecedented in the instrumental period, placing these storms within a long-term (millennial), high-resolution record of tropical cyclone (TC) activity is critical in understanding the drivers of extreme storms that track along the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM). In addition to the physical damage TC impacts can have along the coast, these high-energy events can have long-lasting effects on the ecosystems they disturb. From those leading to diasporas from Dauphin Island in 1717 to those in living memory-including Frederic, Ivan, and Katrina- TC activity has impacted the GoM and led to short- and long-term shifts in the water properties, bay ecology, and barrier island morphology. Developing accurate and regionally representative records of TC activity along the GoM region is essential for placing recent TC activity within a long-term context and determining the long-lasting impacts of this acute ecosystem disturbance on overall ecosystem resiliency.
Central bay sediment core records from Mobile Bay, the largest in the GoM, in addition to Bon Secor Bay and Dauphin Island have been analyzed using grain-size measurements to detect storm associated sediment flux to the system through marine overwash deposits, as well as pigment analysis, phytoplankton assemblage and geochemical analyses to provide important constraints on ecological response to historic and pre-historic TC activity within the system. This collaborative, multi-institutional research not only adds to and extends the long-term record of TC activity, but further investigates the immediate effects of hurricanes on bay system ecology and barrier island dynamics. Data will provide historic reference conditions and key controls on ecosystem stability through time, ultimately aiding in the development of long-term predictors of resiliency and success for the entire GoM region.- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFM.H53I1868E
- Keywords:
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- 1817 Extreme events;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1830 Groundwater/surface water interaction;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1890 Wetlands;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 4235 Estuarine processes;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL