Thomas Lorscheid

Giant boulders and Last Interglacial storm intensity in the North Atlantic

Significance The Last Interglacial was the last period of the Earth’s history when climate was warmer than preindustrial, with higher polar temperatures and higher sea levels. Based on geologic evidence in Bermuda and the Bahamas, studies suggest that during this period the North Atlantic was characterized by “superstorms” more intense than any observed historically. Here we present data and models showing that, under conditions of higher sea level, historically observed hurricanes can explain geologic features previously interpreted as evidence for more intense Last Interglacial storm activity. Our results suggest that, even without an increase in the intensity of extreme storms, cliffs and coastal barriers will be subject to significantly higher wave-induced energies under even modestly higher sea levels. As global climate warms and sea level rises, coastal areas will be subject to more frequent extreme flooding and hurricanes. Geologic evidence for extreme coastal storms during past warm periods has the potential to provide fundamental insights into their future intensity. Recent studies argue that during the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e, ∼128–116 ka) tropical and extratropical North Atlantic cyclones may have been more intense than at present, and may have produced waves larger than those observed historically. Such strong swells are inferred to have created a number of geologic features that can be observed today along the coastlines of Bermuda and the Bahamas. In this paper, we investigate the most iconic among these features: massive boulders atop a cliff in North Eleuthera, Bahamas. We combine geologic field surveys, wave models, and boulder transport equations to test the hypothesis that such boulders must have been emplaced by storms of greater-than-historical intensity. By contrast, our results suggest that with the higher relative sea level (RSL) estimated for the Bahamas during MIS 5e, boulders of this size could have been transported by waves generated by storms of historical intensity. Thus, while the megaboulders of Eleuthera cannot be used as geologic proof for past “superstorms,” they do show that with rising sea levels, cliffs and coastal barriers will be subject to significantly greater erosional energy, even without changes in storm intensity.

Tides in the Last Interglacial: insights from notch geometry and palaeo tidal models in Bonaire, Netherland Antilles

The study of past sea levels relies largely on the interpretation of sea-level indicators. Palaeo tidal notches are considered as one of the most precise sea-level indicators as their formation is closely tied to the local tidal range. We present geometric measurements of modern and palaeo (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e) tidal notches on Bonaire (southern Caribbean Sea) and results from two tidal simulations, using the present-day bathymetry and a palaeo-bathymetry. We use these two tools to investigate changes in the tidal range since MIS 5e. Our models show that the tidal range changes most significantly in shallow areas, whereas both, notch geometry and models results, suggest that steeper continental shelves, such as the ones bordering the island of Bonaire, are less affected to changes in tidal range in conditions of MIS 5e sea levels. We use our data and results to discuss the importance of considering changes in tidal range while reconstructing MIS 5e sea level histories, and we remark that it is possible to use hydrodynamic modelling and notch geometry as first-order proxies to assess whether, in a particular area, tidal range might have been different in MIS 5e with respect to today.

Reply to Hearty and Tormey: Use the scientific method to test geologic hypotheses, because rocks do not whisper

Hearty and Tormey (1) challenge our conclusions (2), incorrectly arguing that the megaboulders we discuss were shown to originate from the cliff bottom. A number of mischaracterizations are made by Hearty and Tormey (1) in their letter. First, we do not use a “tsunami wave model.” Second, we do not address the two other Bahamian landforms Hearty and Tormey (1) mention: their “superstorm” genesis interpretation [for which alternative hypotheses have been proposed (3, 4)] has no bearing on our (2) conclusions. Hearty and Tormey’s (1) claim that the boulders have “fingerprints” based on “several physical criteria” and “data from multiple disciplines” is false. Only two mega-boulder “physical properties” were reported by Hearty … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: arovere{at}marum.de. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1