Caribbean coral tracks past hurricane activity

There is currently much debate about whether or not global warming has contributed to the strong hurricane activity observed during the last decade. The restricted length of the reliable instrumental record limits the detection of possible long-term changes in hurricane activity, which naturally exhibits strong multidecadal variations that are associated with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO).

Hetzinger et al. present the first marine record that clearly captures the AMO signal and multidecadal variations in North Atlantic hurricane activity. They obtained a climate record from a brain coral, found in the genesis region of Atlantic hurricanes, that sensitively records variations in seawater oxygen isotopes that are linked to precipitation and sea-surface temperature (SST) over the last century.

As multidecadal SST variations in this region are closely related to the AMO, this study raises new possibilities to expand limited observations and gain new insights into the mechanisms of multidecadal climate variations and long-term changes in hurricane behavior.- Geological Society of America