HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
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Defense Date
11-2009
Document Type
Thesis - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
M.S. Marine Biology
Second Degree Name
M.S. Coastal Zone Management
Department
Oceanographic Center
First Advisor
Samuel J. Purkis
Second Advisor
Bernhard Riegl
Third Advisor
Jeremy Montague
Abstract
Florida Bay is a shallow, subtropical lagoon located south of the Florida mainland. Bordered by the Florida Keys to the east and south, and shallow mud banks to the west, the Bay is protected from wave action and is considered a low energy environment. Utilizing a 100 year bathymetric dataset the geomorphology of Florida Bay was examined to see if significant changes were occurring despite the lack of strong wave action and water circulation. Changes in bathymetry were investigated from using a high-resolution bathymetric dataset from 1890 and 1990. Analysis was concentrated on the three main ecological habitats of Florida Bay: seagrass beds, mud banks and basins. This study of changes in geomorphology revealed that percent coverage of seagrass beds was positively correlated to amount of shallowing, basins larger than 27 km2 have gotten deeper and the mud banks of Florida Bay have been migrating southward at approximately 1 m/y. The significant changes to bathymetry within Florida Bay reveal that the environment is quite dynamic despite being sheltered from open waters. Most importantly, the presence of the 1890 bathymetric dataset allows for remote sensing techniques to be used to follow geological processes.
NSUWorks Citation
Kristian H. Taylor. 2009. Geomorphic Changes to Florida Bay Within the Past Century. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, Oceanographic Center. (138)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd/138.