30-meter sediment core from the “Great Blue Hole” in Belize provides longest recorded storm frequency data for the Atlantic.
30-meter sediment core from the “Great Blue Hole” in Belize provides longest recorded storm frequency data for the Atlantic..
A storm, even once it has passed, can leave traces in the ocean that last for thousands of years. These consist of sediment layers composed of coarse particles, which are different from the finer sediments associated with good weather. In the Caribbean, an international research team led by Goethe University Frankfurt has now examined such sediments using a 30 m long core from a “blue hole” offshore Belize. The analysis shows that over the past 5,700 years, the frequency of tropical storms and hurricanes in the region has steadily increased. For the 21st century, the research team predicts a significant rise in regional storm frequency as a result of climate change.
In the shallow waters of the Lighthouse Reef Atoll, located 80 kilometers off the coast of the small Central American country of Belize, the seabed suddenly drops steeply. Resembling a dark blue eye surrounded by coral reefs, the “Great Blue Hole” is a 125-meter-deep underwater cave with a diameter of 300 meters, which originated thousands of years ago from a karst cave located on a limestone island. During the last ice age, the cave’s roof collapsed. As ice sheets melted and global sea level started to rise, the cave was subsequently flooded.
Read more at Goethe University Frankfurt
Image: Drone image from 200 meters height above the “Great Blue Hole,” showing the drilling platform anchored in the center. Visible in the background is the edge of the Lighthouse Reef Atoll. (Credit: Eberhard Gischler, Goethe University)
