A Stormy Past

A new study led by WHOI scientist Jeff Donnelly found that intense hurricanes frequently pounded Cape Cod during the first millennium. Donnelly (in orange shirt), accompanied by Stephanie Madsen (left), Richard Sullivan (center), and Brecia Douglas (right) collected sediment cores from Salt Pond in Falmouth, Mass. Analysis of the cores showed evidence of 23 severe hurricanes that hit New England between the years 250 and 1150—the equivalent of a severe storm about once every 40 years on average. (Photo courtesy of Richard Sullivan, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)