The story of the Great Blue Hole in the Caribbean is being revealed by a 30 - m ( 98 - foot ) sediment burden taken from the depth of the marine sinkhole . Chronicling 5,700 yr of natural history , the sample shows hurricane are becoming increasingly uncouth in this part of the southwest Caribbean and a tempestuous future tense may lie down ahead .

TheGreat Blue Holeis see in Lighthouse Reef Atoll in the Caribbean Sea around 80 kilometer ( ~50 miles ) off the coast of Belize . Amid the atoll ’s shallow turquoise waters , a huge circular opening suddenly plunges to a deepness of 124 meter ( 407 feet ) , appearing as a huge , dark spicy pickle from the skies .

This marine sinkhole was organise during multiple glaciation stop when sea horizontal surface were significantly lower than they are today . During these times , the region was above sea story , allowing the geological formation of a limestone cave system . As the frozen periods ended and sea grade rose , these caves were submerse and eventually collapsed , creating the large , circular marine sinkhole we see today .

The bottom of this submerse pit has been bit by bit collect sediment for the preceding 20,000 years , with each stratum help as an archive for extreme weather condition outcome in the region .

In the summer of 2022 , scientists result by the Goethe University Frankfurt traveled to Belize and care to obtain a 30 - metre ( 98 - foot ) sediment core sample distribution from the Great Blue Hole using a drilling platform that was embark across the ocean to the site .

By study the different layers , the research worker can gain insight into ancient climatical and weather conditions over the past millennium . One particular feature they face out for was clear-cut sedimentary event layer ( called tempestites ) , which are because of strong-growing waves and tempest zoom transporting uncouth particles from the atoll ’s eastern reef edge into the marine sink . If these come along in a layer , it ’s a sure preindication that a bragging storm rocked the region .

Using these markings , the squad was capable to place a total of 574 tempest events over the preceding 5,700 years .

“ Due to the unique environmental atmospheric condition – include oxygen - loose bottom H2O and several stratified water system level – fine maritime sediments could settle largely undisturbed in the ‘ Great Blue Hole . ’ Inside the sediment core , they expect a bit like tree rings , with the yearly layer flip in colour between gray - greenish and light green depending on constitutive cognitive content , ” Dr Dominik Schmitt , principal writer of the study and research worker in the Biosedimentology Research Group at Goethe University Frankfurt , said in astatement .

“ The tempestites resist out from the fair - weather greyish - green sediments in terms of caryopsis size , composition , and color , which ranges from ecru to bloodless , ” says Schmitt .

The deposit core also show that the oftenness of tropical violent storm and hurricane in the southwestern Caribbean has gradually increase over the past six millennium . There ’s an average of four to 16 tropical storms and hurricanes in this part of the earth each century , yet there have already been nine storms in the past 20 years , advise this century will see a lotmore violent storm than common .

“ Our results suggest that some 45 tropical storms and hurricane could pass over this region in our century alone . This would far exceed the lifelike variability of the preceding millennia , ” added Professor Eberhard Gischler , head of the Biosedimentology Research Group at Goethe University Frankfurt .

A primal cistron is the southward movement of a major weather belt ammunition , theIntertropical Convergence Zone , which helps check where tempest form and where they go . At the same meter , rise ocean temperatures are fueling more intense storm .

But this is n’t just a lifelike round . The work author emphasize that the sharp addition in storm activity points directly tohuman - driven climate modification , with the warming that began in the Industrial Age make the perfect conditions for more frequent and powerful hurricanes .

The new study is publish in the journalScience Advances .