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Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2023. Sigillographic representation of archimorphs and ideograms as related to the BCCS (Biophysical Cross-Shore Classification System) using distributive vexillology in coastal belt cartographic displays. Journal of Coastal Research, 39(2), 234–245. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. The sigillation (sigilization) process (i.e. creation of flags, signs, symbols, emblems) provides an opportunity to characterize coastal belts via semiotics through rapid visual inspection of satellite imagery. Emblematic depictions of eco-geomorphological units using the Biophysical Cross-Shore Classification System (BCCS) is offered as a semiotic proposal using graphic symbolization based on the development of a unique color scheme for cross-shore archetypes coupled with ideograms that are derived from predefined archimorphs. The resulting sigil formats are amenable to flagging coastal belts in a symbolization that combines color with ideographic displays. Although compliant to larger scale (smaller areas) coastal surveying and mapping efforts, the sigils are most useful in the characterization of smaller scale (larger areas) satellite image views. Derivation of classificatory units at smaller scales requires zoom capabilities to ascertain the dominant archetypes presented in the coastal sigil flags. In addition to the small-scale presentation of coastal belt characteristics as vexillographic overlays on satellite images, the sigillation process allows the amalgamation of colors and ideographs to represent dimorphic and polymorphic sigil combinations, as in the case, for example, of beach-dune (Be-Du) dimorphs or barrier island (beach-dune-wetland-lagoon-wetland; Be-Du-W-L-W) polymorphs. These color-symbol schema allow for a new kind of kinematic coastal classification mapping, where distributive dynamism results in cartographic displays at presentation scales (depending on paper page size) for using the BCCS. These cognitive mapping procedures compliment algorithmic autoclassification via machine interpretation by providing a rapid and simplified means of coastal characterization based on visual ques and cerebral perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2023. Conceptualization of sequential cross-shore eco-geomorphological units in topographic profiles: Introduction and application of coastal belt archimorphs and ideograms as related to the BCCS (Biophysical Cross-Shore Classification System). Journal of Coastal Research, 39(1), 1–17. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. The BCCS (Biophysical Cross-Shore Classification System) is a method of coastal classification based on the concept of using cross-shore eco-geomorphological catenary sequences to define the nature of coastal belts with variable extensions inland and alongshore. The methodology of the BCCS is based on the recognition of cross- and alongshore sequences (Coastal Ecological Sequences, CES) that form overarching catenas (Dominant Catenary Sequences, DCS) when viewed with satellite images in planview. Extension of these concepts to embrace topographic slices across the coast (in a tomographic sense) produces archimorphs that show actual surface (terrestrial and marine) elevations above and below sea level. Based on elevation data from satellite imagery, several repeating profile shapes were concised to a modicum of idealized line-illustrated conceptual shapes that are referred to as ideograms. The ideograms are based on archimorphs, which are the dominant or essential archetypical shapes of eco-geomorphological environments, such as barrier, beach, beach ridge, channel, cliff, coral reef, delta, developed, dune, flat, ice, lagoon, lake, mountain, rock, till, upland, or wetland archetypes. Archimorphs typically combine cross-shore with each other to form polymorphic sequences used to subdivide ideograms into archetype or subarchetype segments. By doing so, a better understanding of spatial linkages between generalized eco-geomorphological units is obtained. Eighteen coastal ideograms are presented in this paper as prospects for stylizing profile shapes to gather immediate conceptualizations of coastal belts. Selected profiles from around the world were constructed to show, in a single illustration, the principal components of cross-shore profiles that include information relating to (but not inclusive of) topographic shape, archimorphs based on elevation data, catenary archimorphic sequences (polymorphs), ideograms based on idealized tomographs, and correlation to the BCCS codifications that include Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) and terrestrial Ecoregions (ERs). This kind of conceptual collage amalgamates diverse types of information into a compact format for easy comprehension of coastal setups in an instantaneous view. These annotated classification profiles can be used for coastal belts the world over and have applications in the biophysical, geographical, managerial, and military sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2022. Classification of coastal belts in the Argentine subpolar southeast coast of Tierra del Fuego using the BCCS (Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System). Journal of Coastal Research, 38(5), 908–924. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS) was experimentally applied to the southeast coast of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, by compartmentalizing the coast into seven discrete coastal belts that retained a degree of homogeneity from 2 km offshore to about 5 km inland. By interpreting satellite imagery, coastal belts were subdivided into cross-shore transects with alongshore spread to produce codified concatenations that characterized specific eco-geomorphological sequences comprising domains. Different types of domains were identified by archetypes that specified a particular Dominant Catenary Sequence (DCS), which in turn was refined by the inclusion of subarchetypes to produce a Coastal Ecological Sequence (CES). The seven coastal belts comprising a 58.5 km stretch of shore contained 39 CES transects that averaged about 1.5 km of shore length, but ranged from 0.8 km to 3.3 km in alongshore stretch. Dominant offshore, inshore, and onshore classificatory units included Rock (R), Beach (Be), and Cliff (Cl) catenas, which were followed inland by Wetland (W), Lake (Lk), Channel (Ch), and Upland (U) archetypical sequences. Delta (De) and Beach Ridge (Br) archetypes were noted as minor features in some cross-shore transects. Common trisequent DCS transects included R-Be-Cl and Be-Cl-U, which subsequently incorporated landward variations with Lagoon (L), Lake (Lk), and Wetland (W) archetypes. Results of this experiment showed that the BCCS comprehended how subpolar periglacial and paraglacial coastal belts dominantly comprised by glacial outwash have ground surface manifestations that are recognizable in satellite imagery by recurring spectral patterns. This cold tundra coastal region is thus largely characterized by rocky offshores and gravelly beaches backed by cliffs (composed of unconsolidated materials) and channeled wetland (peatland) hinterlands with coastal marine lakes and forested uplands. In accordance with the BCCS, this classification can be concised to CES subarchetype code sequences such as Rrr-Besi-Clse-Wmr-Chmd-Lkcm-Ufo. This study demonstrates that codification of cross-shore eco-geomorphological transects using the BCCS provides a shorthand notation for classifying coastal belts in high-latitude regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2021. Alongshore classification and morphometric analysis of developed coastal belts: An example from Uruguay, South America. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(5), 906–922. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Approximately half of the 666-km long Uruguayan coastal belt length is characterized by continuums of developed urban centers that are associated with ports and harbors, residential, recreational, military, shore protection, and/or commercial facilities that occur in association with agricultural pursuits. Modification of the Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS) to include such features of anthropogenic change along with naturally occurring coastalscapes permits classification of developed and undeveloped coastal belts based on interpretation of satellite imagery. Characterization of alongshore domains was based on conjoining archetypes into catenary sequences that typify coastal belts both alongshore and cross-shore. Based on interpretation of satellite imagery acquired from Google Earth Pro, Uruguayan coastal belts were divided into six separate departments (Rocha, Maldonado, Canelones, Montevideo, San Jose, Colonia) and characterized by the alongshore widths of archetypes that extended from offshore to several kilometers inland. Compilation of coastal belt catenas showed that promontories and headlands, which comprise resistant igneous and metamorphic rocks, function as anchor points along the shore and are widely interspersed by sedimentary (littoral) domains that contain mainland and barrier beaches that are backed by beach-dune couplets, wetlands, lagoonal flats, and developed upland archetypes. Typical alongshore super domains, which were concised from cross-shore archetypical consequences, include the following predominant types of sequences: Barrier-Beach-Dune, Beach-Dune-Lagoon, Beach-Dune-Wetland, Beach-Dune-Upland, Beach-Cliff-Upland, Beach-Wetland-Flat-Lagoon, and Rock-Cliff-Upland. Certain archetypes, such as rock and developed, were prevalent throughout the coastal belt codifications with their representative symbolizations appearing in the variable code sequences of domains and super domains. Morphometric analysis tables were also compiled with alongshore lengths of domains and super domains, as well as percentages of individual department and Uruguayan coastal belts. This examination of the Uruguayan coast showed for the first time that the BCCS can characterize anthropogenically developed units with naturally occurring biophysical features. Interpreted cross-shore transects, alongshore domains, and all-encompassing super domains allow for a comprehensive classification and morphometric analysis of offshore, inshore, and onshore components along Uruguay's natural and developed coastal belts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2021. Alongshore classification and morphometric analysis of coastal belts: The state of Oregon, USA. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(2), 238–271. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Classification of the state of Oregon coastal belt (western United States) was based on the interpretation of satellite imagery using the Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS). This seven-county, 480-km stretch was subdivided based on coastal archetypes that formed distinct bio-geomorphological and ecological sequences on both alongshore and cross-shore axes. Shore-parallel and shore-perpendicular units were concomitantly determined by cognitive inspection of satellite images, in which cross-shore archetypical sequences were observed in the first instance to have alongshore spread that could be secondarily codified in terms of alongshore catenas. Because shore-normal transects encompass marine, coastal, and terrestrial environments that have a shore-parallel width, it was possible to extrapolate cross-shore classificatory units into alongshore stretches called domains. Characterization of alongshore domains was based on conjoining archetypes into catenary sequences that typify coastal belts both alongshore and cross-shore from adjacent offshore areas to several kilometers inland. Compilation of coastal belt catenas showed that promontories and headlands, which are composed of resistant igneous and metamorphic rocks, function as anchor points along the shore and are interspersed by sedimentary (littoral) coastal belts that contain mainland and barrier beaches backed by dune, wetland, flat (estuaries), or upland archetypes. A consizement of several alongshore domain catenary sequences within a particular coastal segment thus formed an overarching super domain. Typical alongshore super domains consisted of the following sequences: Barrier-Beach-Dune (Ba-Be-Du), Barrier-Beach-Dune-Wetland (Ba-Be-Du-W), Beach-Dune-Upland (Be-Du-U), Beach-Dune-Wetland (Be-Du-W), Beach-Cliff-Upland (Be-Cl-U), Beach-Wetland-Flat (Be-W-F), and Rock-Cliff-Upland (R-Cl-U). Morphometric analysis of each county allowed the determination of specific characteristics for each super domain (e.g., alongshore length, percentage of the county coastal belt, and percentage of the Oregon coastal belt). Furthermore, archetype morphometrics were calculated to show which cross-shore archetypical features were most prevalent along the state's coastal belt. This examination of the Oregon coast showed that the alongshore classification of coastal belts on a regional scale, which is based on cross-shore biophysical interpretations, offers the opportunity to characterize offshore, inshore, and onshore eco-geomorphological features through the use of super domains and morphometric analysis. This approach to coastal classification thus serves as a blueprint for the comprehensive characterization of coastal belts worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2021. Alongshore classification and super domain delineation of coastal belts based on interpretation of biophysical catenary sequences observed from satellite images. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(1), 1–25. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The cross-shore classification of coastal belts, facilitated by the interpretation of biophysical features from satellite imagery, is an adjunctory approach to traditional alongshore classification procedures. Methods such as the Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS) (Finkl and Makowski, 2020a) and the Coastal Belt Linked Classification (CBLC) (Finkl and Makowski, 2020d) not only provide insight into cross-shore natural ecological variability and zonation, but also emphasize eco-geomorphological linkages so that shore-normal transitions and successions can be delineated and understood. The discernment of numerous cross-shore biophysical transect codifications in a satellite image seascape scene (referred to as either BCCS or CBLC code sequences) results in coastal belt segmenting that identifies offshore, nearshore, inshore, and onshore similarities and differences. This, in turn, can be correlated alongshore by establishing the swath widths of each cross-shore transect as an individual domain. Data integration and interpretation processes are similarly applied as procedural management of geological borehole (well) logs to determine drilling and petrophysical parameters. This study demonstrates that once all individual alongshore domains are interpreted for a specific coastal area, they can be collectively amalgamated and concised to create a universal alongshore super domain for the entire coastal belt. The advantage of constructing a Concised Alongshore Super Domain is that the procedure provides a sagacious and rational basis for swath alongshore classification of coastal belts. This study shows the effective use of this methodology across coastal belts of varying latitudes, as the interpolation of shore-normal ecological sequences validates the cross-shore correlation between transects and can result in a universal alongshore classification process in the form of super domains for coastal belts worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2020. Coastal Belt Linked Classification (CBLC): A system for characterizing the interface between land and sea based on large marine ecosystems, coastal ecological sequences, and terrestrial ecoregions. Journal of Coastal Research, 36(4), 677–693. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The Coastal Belt Linked Classification (CBLC) is a novel approach based on interpretation of satellite images and assimilation of collateral data to characterize coastal belt segments that function as discrete interfaces between land and sea. This method is based on the formulation of concepts derived from the Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS), the worldwide and regional-scale Large Marine Ecosystems (LME) classification, and the global distribution of terrestrial Ecoregions (ER). The coastal belt, a zone that extends across the shore from marine environments to inland terrestrial habitats, has recently been described in terms of cross-shore catenary sequences based on biophysical attributes of geomorphology and ecology. The CBLC formulates a cross-shore coastal classification by conjoining the Dominant Catenary Sequences (DCS) and Coastal Ecological Sequences (CES) with marine (LME) and terrestrial (ER) ecological systems; thus, a linkage is now provided between marine and terrestrial areas across coastal belts that function as transitional succession zones. This study proposes to combine the traditionally separated tripartite marine, coastal, and terrestrial delineations by melding them into a single descriptive code sequence that can be ascertained from interpretation of Google Earth satellite imagery and accessing collateral data via interactive LME and ER online platforms. Development of the CBLC is facilitated by the fact that LME and ER units are codified by numerals that are easily added to the formulated CES as prefixes and suffixes. The resulting combined alphanumeric code brings together a trove of information at different levels of investigation (Levels I – IV) that was heretofore not easily assimilated. This linkage of DCS and CES catenas with marine LME and terrestrial ER units brings added advantage to the interpretation of satellite imagery of the world's coasts, as it allows coastal belts to be viewed within the context of transitional interfaces between connected marine and terrestrial parameters. Recognition of coastal belts as interfacial bridges linking terrestrial and marine ecosystems into one codified descriptor sequence allows for cross-shore transects to be defined in the form of the Coastal Belt Linked Classification (CBLC) and provides an opportunity to fully comprehend the dynamic nature of coastal zones around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2020. Lateral extrapolation of coastal catenary sequences using the Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS) to create shore-parallel situational zonation mapping units. Journal of Coastal Research, 36(3), 457–471. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS), which uses transects to assess shore-normal ecological and geomorphological successions from offshore to onshore within a coastal belt (Finkl and Makowski, 2020a), also provides a basis for extrapolating cross-shore catenas into shore-parallel units. This paper shows that three-dimensional transects can be parameterized in terms of alongshore breadth as well as cross-shore width and depth below or elevation above sea level. The codification of cross-shore environments and habitats in the framework of the BCCS provides an interpretative basis for determining the lateral extent of transect units (archetypes and sub archetypes) by lateral extrapolation to polygonal mapping units. The method discussed here is akin to geological cores or cross-sections that are used to laterally extrapolate units within vertical sequences. Repetitive successions of archetypes, based on cross-shore ecological interpretation of satellite imagery, results in a common master sequence referred to as a Dominant Catenary Sequence (DCS). The DCS is composed of generic archetypes, such as Barrier, Beach, Beach Ridge, Cliff, Coral Reef, Delta, Dune, Flat, Ice, Lagoon, Mountain, Rock, Till (Glacial Material), Upland, and Wetland. The more detailed Coastal Ecological Sequence (CES) of a coastal belt, which is defined by a discrete codification sequence built up from the DCS, is formulated by cognitive geovisual analytics to link the dominant catena with a numbered shore-parallel shape distinction and subscripted sub archetypes to refine the sequential composite archetypes in a DCS. Once the DCS- or CES-labeled transect has been plotted on a satellite image, the identified shore-normal units can be extrapolated into shore-parallel polygons by traditional (i.e. visual, cognitive) image interpretive and mapping techniques to show the spatial extent of classified archetypes and sub archetypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2015. Autoclassification versus cognitive interpretation of digital bathymetric data in terms of geomorphological features for seafloor characterization. The determination of seafloor geomorphological features has always been a difficult task, and it was not until the advent of marine remote sensing techniques that seafloor features could be accurately discerned. Airborne acquisition of digital bathymetric data provides a wealth of information that can be interpreted in different ways. This paper considers the pros and cons of computerized autoclassifications versus cognitive interpretations of seafloor features. The continental shelf off the southeast Florida coast contains LADS (laser airborne depth sounding) surveys that are here used to compare and contrast automated classifications of bathymetry with cognitive differentiation of marine geomorphological features. There are advantages and disadvantages associated with each approach, and the choice of methods depends on the purpose or goals of the project. Once seafloor features have been cognitively discerned from enhanced, color ramped, and vertically exaggerated bathymetry, machine classifications can be compared with known units. Using ArcGIS® ArcMap software, five- and seven-class unsupervised isocluster autoclassifications were found to moderately represent known bottom topography, whereas the interactive supervised autoclassification closely approximated cognitively discerned bathymetric patterns. Hand-drawn or digitized cognitively derived maps were more generalized than supervised computerized classifications based on training fields. Overall, both methods were found to be beneficial approaches, as they complement each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many different kinds of classification have been applied to coasts in attempts to characterize dominant features in terms of physical or biological properties, modes of evolution, or geographic occurrence. Some of the earlier general classifications were broad in scope but lacked specificity while other specialized systems were narrowly focused, providing uneven coverage of taxonomic units for coastlines of the world. Due to more comprehensive study of coasts and the increasing availability of information, especially digital formats in GIS frameworks, integrated and systematic approaches to coastal classification are favored. The complex demands of today require sophisticated solutions to overlapping and interrelated problems in the littoral, as facilitated by organization of biophysical parameters into a coherent whole or universal scheme. The developmental approach to a new comprehensive classification system is thus proposed for the coastal fringe, a swath zone 5 to 10 km wide across the shoreline, which incorporates all important parameters necessary to categorize geomorphic units that can be mapped at meaningful scales. Consideration of coastal geomorphological properties are the theme of this approximation toward a modern taxonomic system where morphostructures are the unifying links that facilitate transition from one hierarchical level to another. The proposed approach employs differentiating criteria for hard rock (automorphic) and soft rock (allomorphic) coasts which are divided by chronometric parameters related to the antiquity of littoral landforms. Other levels of primary differentia include geodynamic-climatomorphogenic process zones, relief types (morphoregions), morphogenetic relief features, and relief elements and genetically homogeneous surfaces. Morphotypes are lower level taxons that provide examples of ingressional, egressional, and complex process-forms. The proposal for a unified system requires testing in the field and mapping at myriametric scales to update subsequent approximations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]