Tracing the History of Hurricanes

WHOI guest student Dan Litchmore and research assistants Charlotte Wiman and Nicole D’Entremont (left to right) conduct a sonar survey of coastal ocean bottom sediments near the Caribbean island of Curaçao in November. The group used compressed high intensity radar pulse (CHIRP) sonar to produce two-dimensional maps of sub-bottom sediment layers. The work was part of ongoing research to map ancient hurricane deposits in Caribbean lagoons, in order to develop a detailed historical record of hurricanes in the region going back as much as 2,000 years. (Photo by Kelly McKeon, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)