Effect of Major Storms on Morphology and Sediments of a Coastal Lake on the Northwest Florida Barrier Coast

• Other Authors: Lower, Aaron C. (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Earth sciences; Geology
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-1027

The objective of this investigation was to examine storm deposits in a coastal setting on the northwest Florida panhandle coast, characterize the sediments and reconstruct hurricane frequency during the late Quaternary. The focus of the research was Western Lake, a coastal lake located in Grayton Beach State Park, Walton County, northwest Florida. Eight sediment cores from Western Lake were sampled to identify major storm deposits that have impacted the Grayton Beach region over the past several millennia. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles were generated for the purpose of identifying individual storm deposits. Although no individual storm beds could be classified, GPR confirmed the differentiation between storm and aeolian deposition. Direct dating of quartz grains through optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) provided a 2,300-year reconstruction of storm frequency at Grayton Beach State Park. The historic storm frequency record appears to overstate the actual long-term frequency record by more than an order of magnitude. === A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Geological Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science. === Summer Semester, 2008. === March 19, 2008. === Walton County, Hurricane Frequency, OSL, GPR, Storm Deposits, Florida, Western Lake, Coastal Geology, Paleotempestology === Includes bibliographical references. === Joseph F. Donoghue, Professor Directing Thesis; Anthony J. Arnold, Committee Member; Sherwood W. Wise, Committee Member; Stephen J. Kish, Committee Member.