CORRELATION BETWEEN NEARSHORE REEF STRUCTURE ANDSHORELINE CHANGES IN INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA

摘要

The purpose of this study was to survey the physical characteristics of thernnearshore reef areas in Indian River County, Florida, USA. Measurements of the reef width,rndistance offshore, reef heights and water depths were performed during the summers of 2001rnand 2002. These parameters were compared to the historical coastal erosion/accretion of thernbeaches in this area.rnAerial photographs and the reef transect surveys performed for this study show that therernare extensive nearshore reefs with complex variations in the reef structure along the IndianrnRiver County coastline. The nearshore sea bottom in this area varies from being only sand inrnsome areas (with no exposed reef hard bottom), to multiple reef lines over 600m wide withrnvertical relief up to 3m high along other transect lines. Comparisons with historical beachrnprofile change data show that there are correlations between the nearshore reef structure andrnthe shoreline changes along the Indian River County shoreline.