SGER: Morphological Impacts and Post-Storm Recovery of Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan, Florida Gulf Coast

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Understanding the dramatic morphological responses of barrier islands to extremely high-energy storm impact consists of a crucial issue in the investigations into the nature, causes, and consequences of human activity and natural environmental processes. Barrier-island responses to storm impact and post-storm recovery are controlled by the intensity and characteristics of the storm and the initial morphological conditions. Overwash occurs where the barrier-island elevation is lower than the storm surge plus the wave run-up. While at places without overwash, net offshore transport and formation of storm bar is the likely response. Two thousand and four is a historical year for hurricane impacts along the Florida Gulf coast with four major hurricane impacts. This study will quantify the morphological and sedimentological impacts of the hurricanes along the Florida Gulf barrier islands. The study will be conducted at three areas that were significantly impacted by the hurricanes. The first study area is at Captiva Island, which was directly hit and breached by Hurricane Charley. The second study area is located along the west-central barrier-island chain, which was severely impacted by Hurricanes Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne. The third study area is located along the panhandle barrier-island chain from Fort Walton Beach to St. George Island, which was directly impacted by Ivan. Pre-hurricane data, which are crucial for quantifying the impacts, have been collected at the last two locations. Time-series beach-profile surveys will be conducted to quantify morphological changes and post-storm recovery by natural processes. Post-storm sedimentological studies will be conducted along and across the barrier island to examine and quantify the characteristics and spatial distribution of the storm deposits. This study will contribute toward establishing a comprehensive database for quantifying storm-induced morphological and sedimentological changes along barrier islands. Specifically, the scientific questions that will be answered include 1) how does a barrier island respond to, and thereafter recover from, single and multiple storm impacts with and without being washed over? 2) how do human activities influence the storm impact and recovery? 3) what are the characteristics of the storm deposits and what are the factors controlling their spatial distribution? 4) what are the key parameters that need to be quantified to improve our ability to predict storm impact and recovery?Impacts of hurricanes to coastal morphology and land development are much publicized issues. The year 2004 will be remembered as a historical year for hurricane impacts along the Florida coasts. Florida is known for her beautiful beaches, mostly along the barrier islands. The findings of this study will be disseminated to the larger coastal communities through various media channels. A broader goal of this study is to improve the public awareness and understanding of storm impacts and post-storm recovery.