Geomorphology of the southeast Florida inner continental shelf: Interpretations based on remote sensing

A geomorphological map (1:24,000) was prepared delineating various morphostructures (bottom types) along the northern parts of the inner Atlantic continental shelf off Broward County. About 24 geomorphic units were identified on the basis of landform features, coastal process zones, and sediments. These units were delineated on the basis of bathymetric data, side scan sonar images, sub-bottom profiles from Chirp Sonar obtained during a geotechnical investigation and interpretation of aerial photographs. The major morphostructures in the area are associated with three prominent shore-parallel coral/algal reef tracts. The identified morphostructures were correlated to a geomorphological coastal classification scheme developed by Finkl (1997). Each of these units is genetically related to specific process zones. The intervening sedimentary flats between the coral/algal reefs accumulate calcareous sand bodies, which are potential sources of sand used for beach renourishment. These sand sources can be quantitatively evaluated from the sub bottom profiles after calculating the dimensions of these deposits.