A book and fossilised evidence of hurricanes hitting Bermuda could help predict future storms, according to research being carried out on the Island.

Dr. Dave Malmquist is conducting research for the Bermuda Biological Station's Risk Prediction Initiative.

It brings together scientists and insurance executives to examine each other's needs and aims to help predict natural catastrophes -- like hurricanes.

Dr. Malmquist's research involves matching historical information in "Beware the Hurricane'', by late historian Terry Tucker, with fossilised evidence of hurricanes in stalagmites in Bermuda's caves.

Mrs Tucker's book traces hurricanes and tropical storms back to 1609 and Dr.

Malmquist will study evidence in stalagmites to see if it matches.

If his research methods prove successful, his work could be used in other parts of the world to date hurricanes and give insurance companies an accurate and lengthy record of storms.

A stalagmite grows by about 0.01 millimetre a year, so a three feet tall stalagmite could be about 10,000 years old.

Dr. Malmquist finds stalagmites in Bermuda's caves and takes a sample which is sawn wafer thin in a laboratory.

A computer can then be programmed to drill a hole in the cross-section and the tiny pieces -- the size of a grain of salt -- are put through a mass-spectrometer which analyses the chemical make-up.

Normal rainfall leaves heavy traces of oxygen in the stalagmite, but hurricane rains leave very few traces of oxygen.

"The stalagmite is like a rain guage in stone,'' said Dr. Malmquist, who can discover when hurricanes hit Bermuda by the amount of oxygen in the sample.

"So far it looks pretty good,'' he said of the correlation between his research and the historical record, adding it is difficult to determine the strength of the hurricane.

Dr. Malmquist said the research would be particularly useful in places where hurricanes hit infrequently.

"If you're in a place where the historical record of hurricanes only dates back 100 years, how will you know if hurricanes routinely hit that area once every 500 years?''