MORPHOLOGIC CHANGES AND SEDIMENTOLOGICAL SIGNATURES RESULTING FROM HURRICANE IAN IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian, a large Category 4 hurricane, caused catastrophic damage and significant morphologic change along the southwest Florida barrier islands. This study evaluates the morphologic changes and sedimentological signatures of deposits resulting from Hurricane Ian through a combination of sediment cores, RTK-GPS beach profiles, and pre- and post-storm digital elevation models. During the storm, bidirectional sediment transport processes occurred along both developed and undeveloped shorelines, producing extensive washover deposits and ebb scour channels from the flood and ebb surges, respectively. Washover deposits contained interbedded sand and shell fragments with vertical grain size distributions dependent on position relative to the dune crest. Both washover deposits and ebb scour channels formed along dune crest elevational lows and were limited by dense vegetation and anthropogenic structures. Results from this study can be used to better constrain morphologic changes resulting from bidirectional sediment transport processes during large magnitude storm events.