WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.520 Welcome to Meteorology Matters. Ever wonder about 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:05.980 the history of hurricanes in the Caribbean? I 00:00:05.980 --> 00:00:07.919 mean, way back, even further than our records 00:00:07.919 --> 00:00:09.779 go. Yeah, that's a great question because the 00:00:09.779 --> 00:00:12.560 Caribbean is, you know, it's been a hotbed of 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:14.560 hurricane activity for, well, for as long as 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:17.079 we've been keeping track, really. Exactly. But 00:00:17.079 --> 00:00:18.920 today we're going to dive into some really cool 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:22.280 research that takes us back thousands of years. 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:25.679 Thousands, yeah, way back, 5 ,700 years, to be 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:28.440 exact. Wow, that's before the pyramids. So how 00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:30.140 is that even possible? I mean, our weather records 00:00:30.140 --> 00:00:33.079 only go back a couple of centuries at most, right? 00:00:33.299 --> 00:00:35.939 Right. Like, our good instrumental data only 00:00:35.939 --> 00:00:38.960 goes back about 73 years. And historical accounts, 00:00:39.179 --> 00:00:41.820 maybe like 173 years. So how do we jump from 00:00:41.820 --> 00:00:44.560 that to 5 ,700 years? What's the secret? The 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:47.439 secret's actually hidden in plain sight. It's 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:49.880 the Great Blue Hole. The Great Blue Hole. You 00:00:49.880 --> 00:00:52.700 mean that incredible natural wonder off the coast 00:00:52.700 --> 00:00:55.329 of Belize? The one that Jacques Cousteau made 00:00:55.329 --> 00:00:57.670 famous? The one and only. It turns out it's not 00:00:57.670 --> 00:01:00.070 just a stunning diving spot, it's also a time 00:01:00.070 --> 00:01:02.250 capsule for hurricane history. So we're talking 00:01:02.250 --> 00:01:06.049 like a giant sediment core. Exactly. A 30 meter 00:01:06.049 --> 00:01:08.909 long core that gives us a year by year record 00:01:08.909 --> 00:01:12.430 of storm activity. Wow. So each layer of that 00:01:12.430 --> 00:01:14.829 sediment is like a page from a hurricane diary. 00:01:15.150 --> 00:01:17.370 That's way beyond anything we had before. You 00:01:17.370 --> 00:01:19.829 mentioned 2 ,000 years was the furthest back 00:01:19.829 --> 00:01:21.989 scientists had looked. Right. Even the best studies 00:01:21.989 --> 00:01:24.150 before this one only got us back about 2 ,000 00:01:24.150 --> 00:01:26.709 years. So this new data more than doubles our 00:01:26.709 --> 00:01:30.189 understanding. Incredible. But before we go any 00:01:30.189 --> 00:01:31.730 further, can we back up a sec? I'm still wrapping 00:01:31.730 --> 00:01:35.599 my head around this. How exactly does a sinkhole 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:39.010 record Oh, sure. So the Great Blue Hole sits 00:01:39.010 --> 00:01:41.829 on Lighthouse Reef, right? And because of its 00:01:41.829 --> 00:01:44.170 location and the way sediment settles in it, 00:01:44.189 --> 00:01:46.950 it's super sensitive to any tropical cyclone 00:01:46.950 --> 00:01:49.170 that passes by. OK, so when a hurricane hits? 00:01:49.269 --> 00:01:51.709 Exactly. When a hurricane hits, it stirs up all 00:01:51.709 --> 00:01:53.750 this sediment and debris from the reef and the 00:01:53.750 --> 00:01:55.989 coastline. All that heavier stuff gets washed 00:01:55.989 --> 00:01:57.829 into the Blue Hole, which is relatively calm, 00:01:57.849 --> 00:02:00.349 and it settles down in layers. So each hurricane 00:02:00.349 --> 00:02:02.590 leaves its own unique fingerprint in the sediment. 00:02:02.909 --> 00:02:05.629 Exactly. And those fingerprints, they add up 00:02:05.629 --> 00:02:08.330 over time. creating this incredible record. Okay 00:02:08.330 --> 00:02:12.050 so now we have this 5 ,700 year record. What 00:02:12.050 --> 00:02:14.629 is it actually telling us? What's the big picture 00:02:14.629 --> 00:02:16.729 when it comes to Caribbean hurricanes over that 00:02:16.729 --> 00:02:19.129 time span? Well the main takeaway is that there's 00:02:19.129 --> 00:02:21.949 been a clear trend of increasing storminess in 00:02:21.949 --> 00:02:24.469 the southwestern Caribbean over those millennia. 00:02:24.469 --> 00:02:26.569 So basically more hurricanes over time? Yeah 00:02:26.569 --> 00:02:29.050 like a slow but steady increase in the number 00:02:29.050 --> 00:02:32.599 of hurricanes over thousands of years. Wow. But 00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:34.560 what's causing that? I mean, that's a seriously 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:37.780 long -term trend. Is it just random chance? That's 00:02:37.780 --> 00:02:39.840 where it gets really interesting. The researchers 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:42.659 link this increase to changes in Earth's orbit. 00:02:42.740 --> 00:02:44.729 Wait, hold on. You're saying the way our planet 00:02:44.729 --> 00:02:47.389 moves around the sun affects hurricane activity 00:02:47.389 --> 00:02:49.310 in the Caribbean. Absolutely. It's about the 00:02:49.310 --> 00:02:52.550 Intertropical Convergence Zone, or ITCZ for short. 00:02:52.830 --> 00:02:55.389 It's this belt of clouds and rain near the equator. 00:02:55.789 --> 00:02:58.210 You see, over thousands of years, subtle shifts 00:02:58.210 --> 00:03:01.129 in Earth's toot and wobble, we call those, obliquity 00:03:01.129 --> 00:03:03.830 and precession, affect how much solar radiation 00:03:03.830 --> 00:03:06.490 different parts of the tropics get. That, in 00:03:06.490 --> 00:03:09.349 turn, influences where the ITCZ sits. It's like 00:03:09.349 --> 00:03:12.150 this really slow but powerful steering wheel 00:03:12.150 --> 00:03:15.360 for global weather. OK, so if this ITCZ moves, 00:03:15.939 --> 00:03:18.740 what happens to hurricanes? Well, the main breeding 00:03:18.740 --> 00:03:21.680 ground for Atlantic hurricanes is closely tied 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:24.919 to the northern edge of the ITCZ. Ah, so as the 00:03:24.919 --> 00:03:28.580 ITCZ shifted south over time. Bingo. that prime 00:03:28.580 --> 00:03:31.699 hurricane -forming zone also shifted south. And 00:03:31.699 --> 00:03:33.639 that means more storms were likely to end up 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:35.419 in the southwestern Caribbean. That's amazing. 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:38.620 So it's like this cosmic dance between Earth's 00:03:38.620 --> 00:03:41.379 orbit and hurricane pathways playing out over 00:03:41.379 --> 00:03:44.259 millennia. You mentioned that records from Puerto 00:03:44.259 --> 00:03:46.460 Rico show a similar trend to Belize, so this 00:03:46.460 --> 00:03:48.699 is happening over a large area. But you also 00:03:48.699 --> 00:03:51.020 said that this increase in storminess isn't uniform 00:03:51.020 --> 00:03:53.300 across the entire Atlantic. What's up with that? 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:55.870 It's super important to remember that. While 00:03:55.870 --> 00:03:58.389 Belize and Puerto Rico, being at similar latitudes, 00:03:58.610 --> 00:04:01.370 show this clear upward trend in hurricanes, places 00:04:01.370 --> 00:04:03.389 further north, like Florida and the Bahamas, 00:04:03.830 --> 00:04:06.050 tell a different story. How so? Well, over the 00:04:06.050 --> 00:04:08.610 same 5 ,700 years, their records either show 00:04:08.610 --> 00:04:11.229 more stable hurricane activity or even a slight 00:04:11.229 --> 00:04:13.669 decrease. So the Caribbean is getting hit more, 00:04:14.050 --> 00:04:17.350 but other places maybe not so much. That suggests 00:04:17.350 --> 00:04:19.389 that something more complex is going on than 00:04:19.389 --> 00:04:21.230 just a general warming of the Atlantic Ocean, 00:04:21.370 --> 00:04:24.029 right? You got it. It's not just the overall 00:04:24.029 --> 00:04:26.209 Atlantic sea surface temperature that matters. 00:04:26.230 --> 00:04:29.470 It's also these large scale atmospheric patterns 00:04:29.470 --> 00:04:32.870 driven by things like the ITCZ that really influence 00:04:32.870 --> 00:04:35.569 where hurricanes form and where they go. That's 00:04:35.569 --> 00:04:37.670 a great point. So we've been talking about these 00:04:37.670 --> 00:04:40.189 really long term trends spanning thousands of 00:04:40.189 --> 00:04:43.170 years. But what about shorter term fluctuations 00:04:43.170 --> 00:04:46.269 like those happening over decades or centuries? 00:04:46.850 --> 00:04:48.430 Do the researchers find anything interesting 00:04:48.430 --> 00:04:51.269 there? Oh, absolutely. On top of that long term 00:04:51.269 --> 00:04:53.480 increase, there are these shorter -term swings 00:04:53.480 --> 00:04:55.779 in hurricane activity. And they seem to line 00:04:55.779 --> 00:04:58.500 up with known climate periods during the Holocene 00:04:58.500 --> 00:05:01.839 Epoch, which is roughly the last 11 ,700 years. 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:04.399 So basically it's not just those massive orbital 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:06.680 shifts that matter. Other climate factors can 00:05:06.680 --> 00:05:08.360 also make a difference in how many hurricanes 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:11.839 we see over shorter periods. Yeah, exactly. Things 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:14.379 like variations in how much solar energy is hitting 00:05:14.379 --> 00:05:16.750 Earth. which affects sea surface temperatures 00:05:16.750 --> 00:05:19.430 and different modes of climate variability all 00:05:19.430 --> 00:05:22.410 likely play a role in these shorter -term changes 00:05:22.410 --> 00:05:25.250 in storminess. Can you give an example of how 00:05:25.250 --> 00:05:27.910 these shorter -term climate factors have affected 00:05:27.910 --> 00:05:30.160 Caribbean hurricanes in the past? Sure, let's 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:32.800 look at the last 1200 years. The Great Blue Hole 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:35.480 record matches up really well with the overall 00:05:35.480 --> 00:05:38.060 hurricane activity across the whole Atlantic 00:05:38.060 --> 00:05:40.740 basin, as well as a regional record from the 00:05:40.740 --> 00:05:44.160 Yucatan Peninsula. For example, during the medieval 00:05:44.160 --> 00:05:46.819 warm period, a time when global temperatures 00:05:46.819 --> 00:05:49.600 were generally warmer, both the Great Blue Hole 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:52.399 and the wider Atlantic saw more hurricanes. But 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:54.680 then during the Little Ice Age, which was a cooler 00:05:54.680 --> 00:05:57.339 period, hurricane activity in both the southwestern 00:05:57.339 --> 00:05:59.879 Caribbean and the entire Atlantic tended to drop. 00:06:00.300 --> 00:06:02.500 Fascinating. So it seems like factors like solar 00:06:02.500 --> 00:06:05.060 activity and these large -scale climate oscillations 00:06:05.060 --> 00:06:07.379 have a real impact on how many hurricanes form 00:06:07.379 --> 00:06:09.279 not just over thousands of years but also over 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:12.439 shorter time frames. So all this talk about past 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:14.480 hurricanes is really interesting but what does 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:16.899 it tell us with the future? Especially with all 00:06:16.899 --> 00:06:19.220 the concerns about climate change. I mean is 00:06:19.220 --> 00:06:22.250 the Caribbean in for even more hurricanes as 00:06:22.250 --> 00:06:24.350 the planet keeps warming? That's the million 00:06:24.350 --> 00:06:26.550 dollar question, and the researchers did tackle 00:06:26.550 --> 00:06:29.550 that. They looked at the recent high levels of 00:06:29.550 --> 00:06:31.550 hurricane activity in the southwestern Caribbean 00:06:31.550 --> 00:06:34.629 and made a projection for the 21st century. And 00:06:34.629 --> 00:06:37.149 what did they find? Well, their projection suggests 00:06:37.149 --> 00:06:39.430 that we might see a huge increase in hurricanes, 00:06:39.629 --> 00:06:42.029 maybe even an unprecedented increase. Unprecedented. 00:06:42.209 --> 00:06:44.209 That sounds pretty serious. What's driving that 00:06:44.209 --> 00:06:46.430 projection? The main factor is what we've all 00:06:46.430 --> 00:06:48.990 been talking about, global warming. As temperatures 00:06:48.990 --> 00:06:51.730 climb, the sea surface temperatures in the main 00:06:51.730 --> 00:06:54.129 hurricane development region are getting exceptionally 00:06:54.129 --> 00:06:57.670 warm. And as we know, warm water is like rocket 00:06:57.670 --> 00:07:00.829 fuel for hurricanes. So warmer oceans, more hurricanes. 00:07:01.230 --> 00:07:03.610 Makes sense. Anything else feeding into this 00:07:03.610 --> 00:07:06.629 projection? Yeah, the National Oceanic Atmosphere 00:07:06.629 --> 00:07:09.470 Administration, NOAA, predicts that tropical 00:07:09.470 --> 00:07:12.050 Atlantic sea surface temperatures will keep rising 00:07:12.050 --> 00:07:14.970 over the next few decades. Plus, they're expecting 00:07:14.970 --> 00:07:17.970 more frequent La Niña events, and historically, 00:07:18.370 --> 00:07:20.930 those tend to boost hurricane activity in the 00:07:20.930 --> 00:07:23.829 Atlantic. Hmm, so it sounds like a perfect storm, 00:07:23.910 --> 00:07:26.389 so to speak, of factors that could lead to a 00:07:26.389 --> 00:07:29.220 lot more hurricanes. It does seem that way. Their 00:07:29.220 --> 00:07:31.300 worst -case scenario estimates something like 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:33.980 45 hurricane strikes in the southwestern Caribbean 00:07:33.980 --> 00:07:38.019 between 2000 and 2100. Forty -five. Wow. That's 00:07:38.019 --> 00:07:40.639 a lot. And how does that compare to the natural 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:42.579 variations we've seen in the past? It's much 00:07:42.579 --> 00:07:44.500 higher than anything we've seen in the Holocene, 00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:46.399 even during those periods of increased activity 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:48.680 we talked about earlier. That's sobering. But 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:50.579 I'm curious, did the researchers explore any 00:07:50.579 --> 00:07:52.699 other possible scenarios, maybe ones that aren't 00:07:52.699 --> 00:07:55.939 quite as dire? They did. One alternative scenario 00:07:55.939 --> 00:07:58.259 involves a more dramatic warming in the northern 00:07:58.259 --> 00:08:01.019 Atlantic compared to the tropics. This could 00:08:01.019 --> 00:08:03.500 shift hurricane tracks and those zones where 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:05.620 hurricanes reach their peak intensity further 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:08.160 north. So basically, hurricanes might bypass 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:11.079 the Caribbean and head north instead. It's possible. 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:13.300 In that case, the southwestern Caribbean might 00:08:13.300 --> 00:08:16.100 actually see a decrease in hurricanes. However, 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:18.279 that would likely mean more hurricanes, maybe 00:08:18.279 --> 00:08:20.620 even stronger ones, hitting the northern Atlantic. 00:08:20.660 --> 00:08:22.779 So it's a trade -off. Right. So no matter what, 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:24.879 it seems like we're in for some significant changes. 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:27.459 You know, this whole discussion has really highlighted 00:08:27.459 --> 00:08:30.019 just how valuable this great blue hole record 00:08:30.019 --> 00:08:33.179 is. But I'm curious, how did the scientists actually 00:08:33.179 --> 00:08:35.620 get all this information about ancient hurricanes 00:08:35.620 --> 00:08:38.840 from that sediment core? What were the key techniques 00:08:38.840 --> 00:08:41.590 they used? It's a really impressive process involving 00:08:41.590 --> 00:08:44.470 what's called a multiproxy approach. The first 00:08:44.470 --> 00:08:47.029 step was looking for visually distinct event 00:08:47.029 --> 00:08:49.529 layers in the core. You mean layers that look 00:08:49.529 --> 00:08:51.649 different from the normal sediment. Exactly. 00:08:52.029 --> 00:08:54.350 These layers often have a different color, and 00:08:54.350 --> 00:08:57.370 they lack that fine annual layering, the lamination 00:08:57.370 --> 00:08:59.629 that you see in sediment that's deposited under 00:08:59.629 --> 00:09:01.809 calm conditions. So these visually different 00:09:01.809 --> 00:09:05.330 layers are like the first clue. Got it. So... 00:09:05.309 --> 00:09:08.269 What other evidence did they look for to confirm 00:09:08.269 --> 00:09:10.649 that these layers really were from hurricanes? 00:09:11.149 --> 00:09:13.350 Well next they did a careful analysis of the 00:09:13.350 --> 00:09:16.649 sediment's texture, looking at grain size. Hurricane 00:09:16.649 --> 00:09:19.330 layers typically have coarser stuff like sand 00:09:19.330 --> 00:09:22.590 and gravel, often even bits of shell and coral 00:09:22.590 --> 00:09:24.330 that were ripped up by the storm surge. Right, 00:09:24.409 --> 00:09:26.110 so those heavier materials would get carried 00:09:26.110 --> 00:09:28.929 into the blue hole by the storm waves? Did they 00:09:28.929 --> 00:09:30.929 measure anything specific about the grain size? 00:09:31.190 --> 00:09:33.649 Yeah, they measured the average grain size and 00:09:33.649 --> 00:09:35.889 the percentage of this coarser material in each 00:09:35.889 --> 00:09:38.830 layer. These different proxies, the visual appearance, 00:09:39.029 --> 00:09:41.690 the grain size, each tell part of the story. 00:09:42.129 --> 00:09:44.309 And by putting them together, they get a much 00:09:44.309 --> 00:09:46.590 clearer picture than they would from just one. 00:09:46.769 --> 00:09:48.990 That makes sense. It's like having multiple witnesses 00:09:48.990 --> 00:09:52.070 to confirm the same event. Was there any chemical 00:09:52.070 --> 00:09:54.309 analysis involved as well? Oh yeah, they looked 00:09:54.309 --> 00:09:57.429 at the ratio of strontium to calcium in the sediment. 00:09:57.889 --> 00:10:00.190 Higher ratios of strontium usually mean more 00:10:00.190 --> 00:10:02.250 reef material was washed into the blue hole during 00:10:02.250 --> 00:10:05.230 storms. Reefs tend to be richer in strontium, 00:10:05.289 --> 00:10:07.370 so that's another sign of a hurricane. And do 00:10:07.370 --> 00:10:09.779 they use any other techniques? They also used 00:10:09.779 --> 00:10:13.179 gray stale analysis. Basically, they took x -ray 00:10:13.179 --> 00:10:15.860 images of the core and variations in the shades 00:10:15.860 --> 00:10:18.360 of gray reflect changes in the sediment's density. 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:21.720 Storm layers often have a unique density signature 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:24.100 compared to the surrounding sediment. Wow, so 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:26.320 they really threw the whole scientific toolbox 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:28.659 at this, huh? So they have these visual clues, 00:10:29.240 --> 00:10:32.139 grain size data, chemical analysis, even density 00:10:32.139 --> 00:10:34.419 measurements, all pointing to past hurricanes. 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:37.019 Exactly. It's a very thorough approach. Makes 00:10:37.019 --> 00:10:39.149 sense. But how do we know this record actually 00:10:39.149 --> 00:10:42.389 goes back 5 ,700 years with that impressive annual 00:10:42.389 --> 00:10:44.470 resolution you mentioned? How did they figure 00:10:44.470 --> 00:10:46.590 out the timeline for all these hurricane layers? 00:10:47.309 --> 00:10:49.169 Well, for the annual resolution, they mainly 00:10:49.169 --> 00:10:51.649 relied on counting varves, those annual sediment 00:10:51.649 --> 00:10:54.110 layers I mentioned. But to be extra sure, they 00:10:54.110 --> 00:10:56.669 also used radiocarbon dating at different depths 00:10:56.669 --> 00:10:59.350 throughout the core. So carbon dating to double 00:10:59.350 --> 00:11:01.070 check the age of the sediment, that's pretty 00:11:01.070 --> 00:11:03.149 standard. But were there any other methods they 00:11:03.149 --> 00:11:05.460 used for confirming the timeline? Yeah, they 00:11:05.460 --> 00:11:07.700 used a few other clever tricks. For example, 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:10.120 they looked for pollen from plants linked to 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:13.440 human agriculture. Those show up at known historical 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:16.480 periods and can be used as timestamps. They even 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:20.059 found ash from the 1982 eruption of El Chichon 00:11:20.059 --> 00:11:23.000 volcano. It acts like a time marker, helping 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:26.070 confirm the accuracy of their timeline. By combining 00:11:26.070 --> 00:11:27.990 all these different dating techniques, they could 00:11:27.990 --> 00:11:30.850 be confident in the age and that yearly detail 00:11:30.850 --> 00:11:33.370 of this amazing record. It's like a historical 00:11:33.370 --> 00:11:35.330 jigsaw puzzle, and they found all the pieces. 00:11:35.809 --> 00:11:38.250 But one last question. How do we know for sure 00:11:38.250 --> 00:11:41.450 that these layers really represent hurricanes 00:11:41.450 --> 00:11:43.669 and not just some other random disturbances in 00:11:43.669 --> 00:11:45.769 the ocean? I mean, could it have been something 00:11:45.769 --> 00:11:47.809 else that stirred up the sediment? That's a great 00:11:47.809 --> 00:11:50.210 question. To check the reliability of their findings, 00:11:50.250 --> 00:11:52.350 they compared the top part of the core, the most 00:11:52.350 --> 00:11:54.549 recent sediment, with actual hurricane records. 00:11:54.409 --> 00:11:57.629 from 1950 to 2022. And guess what? There was 00:11:57.629 --> 00:11:59.610 a really strong match, with something like 84 00:11:59.610 --> 00:12:01.769 % of the storms that passed near the Blue Hole 00:12:01.769 --> 00:12:04.990 being recorded in the sediment. 84%. That's pretty 00:12:04.990 --> 00:12:07.409 convincing. So it's safe to say that most of 00:12:07.409 --> 00:12:09.490 those layers throughout the core are accurate 00:12:09.490 --> 00:12:12.409 records of past hurricanes. Yeah, it gives them 00:12:12.409 --> 00:12:14.870 a lot of confidence in their data. They even 00:12:14.870 --> 00:12:16.750 found that hurricanes approaching from the south 00:12:16.750 --> 00:12:19.049 were more likely to be recorded than those from 00:12:19.049 --> 00:12:21.529 the north, likely because of the shape and position 00:12:21.529 --> 00:12:24.029 of the Blue Hole. There were a couple of layers 00:12:24.029 --> 00:12:26.370 that didn't perfectly align with known hurricanes 00:12:26.370 --> 00:12:28.269 and they think those might be from other events 00:12:28.269 --> 00:12:31.610 like intense winter storms or even distant earthquakes. 00:12:32.190 --> 00:12:34.529 But the vast majority line up really well with 00:12:34.529 --> 00:12:36.649 the historical hurricane record. That's some 00:12:36.649 --> 00:12:39.629 amazing detective work. So as we wrap up, what 00:12:39.629 --> 00:12:42.889 are the big takeaways from this 5 ,700 year hurricane 00:12:42.889 --> 00:12:45.450 record? What can our listeners learn from this 00:12:45.450 --> 00:12:47.809 peek into the deep past? I think the biggest 00:12:47.809 --> 00:12:49.950 lesson is that hurricane activity in the Caribbean 00:12:49.950 --> 00:12:52.529 is influenced by so many factors, from these 00:12:52.529 --> 00:12:55.549 slow grand shifts in Earth's orbit to shorter 00:12:55.549 --> 00:12:58.129 term climate cycles and even human caused climate 00:12:58.129 --> 00:13:00.429 change. It really shows how interconnected everything 00:13:00.429 --> 00:13:02.629 is, right? From the movement of our planet to 00:13:02.629 --> 00:13:05.570 the intensity of storms and even the future risks 00:13:05.570 --> 00:13:08.289 for people living in hurricane prone areas. Exactly. 00:13:08.750 --> 00:13:10.870 And it's a reminder that understanding the past 00:13:10.870 --> 00:13:13.830 can help us better prepare for the future. Absolutely. 00:13:14.149 --> 00:13:16.269 The fact that a sinkhole can hold such a detailed 00:13:16.269 --> 00:13:18.629 and long -lasting record of these powerful events 00:13:18.629 --> 00:13:22.470 is just mind -blowing. If you found this exploration 00:13:22.470 --> 00:13:24.950 of past hurricanes intriguing, be sure to follow 00:13:24.950 --> 00:13:27.850 meteorologist Rob Jones on Instagram, Meteorologist, 00:13:28.110 --> 00:13:31.110 on TikTok, TV Meteorologist, and on YouTube, 00:13:31.409 --> 00:13:33.690 follow Rob Jones Hurricane, where you can also 00:13:33.690 --> 00:13:35.889 find the Meteorology Matters podcast playlist. 00:13:36.309 --> 00:13:38.070 There's always more to learn about the forces 00:13:38.070 --> 00:13:40.629 that shape our weather. Until next time, keep 00:13:40.629 --> 00:13:42.090 exploring the world around you.