Natural Storm Variability in New England Shortcut URL:
http://serc.carleton.edu/48725 Continent: North America Country:
United States State/Province: New England UTM coordinates and
datum: Climate Setting: Humid Tectonic setting: Passive Margin
Type: Process, Stratigraphy, Chronology Climate is the long-term
average of variables in the Earth's atmosphere, such as
temperature, precipitation, and wind. For millions of years,
climatic events, such as rainstorms, have shaped the earth's
surface leaving sediment deposits that can be studied to
understand climate. By compiling pre-historic, sedimentary
records, researchers can define natural climate patterns as well
as variations that could have detrimental effects to society
(i.e. climate change). Understanding the natural variability in
precipitation, for example, is necessary for distinguishing and
projecting changes that may accompany climate change. Decreases
in the frequency and magnitude of rainstorms could cause drought
that destroys crops and threatens dri