A Hurricane Record of Jekyll Island, Georgia
McCartha, Daniel
Citations
Abstract
Jekyll Island, Georgia is located within the Georgia Bight, on the Atlantic coast of the United State. In recent history, the Georgia Bight has been less frequently hit by hurricanes compared to other areas along the Atlantic coast. To determine if Jekyll Island has had a more active hurricane past, a paleohurricane record was obtained from the northern tip of the island, within Waterfall Marsh. A 500 year old hurricane record was inferred from the sediment layers obtained from the marsh. In core JE-4, a sandy shell layer containing nearshore foraminifera was observed, providing evidence of a hurricane event. A radiocarbon date of 406 a BP was obtained for the sandy shell layer, providing a minimum age for the hurricane event. A hurricane return interval of one major hurricane per 500 years was also determined for the study area.