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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., 2022. Identification of domain complexes in the Danube Delta Coastal Belt using the Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS), based on interpretation of satellite imagery. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(1), 1–18. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS) was applied to the Danube Delta on the NW margin of the Black Sea to ascertain whether this method of classification was applicable to extensive low-lying and low-relief wetland coastalscapes. For organizational purposes, the coastal belt study area was broken into four previously recognized delta lobes (Kilia, Sulina, St. George II, and Cosna–Sinoie) and the Chituc Formation (beach ridge plain) because these provided distinctive coastal segments that were manageable for cross-shore classification. The village of Prymors'ke in the Lyman municipality of Ukraine and the onshore Chituc Formation beach ridge strandplain on the southern margin of the delta marked the northern- and southernmost extents of the Danubian classification effort, respectively. Codified cross-shore catenary sequences were based on the occurrence of recurring archetypes (i.e. Barrier, Beach, Beach Ridge, Delta, Developed, Lagoon, and Wetland) that had alongshore extent and could be identified as domains. Sub archetypes were also interpreted and added to the cross-shore sequences to further refine the Danube Delta classification. Because long cross-shore catenary sequences included inland biophysical and anthropogenic units that often differed dramatically from immediate onshore features, the conflated catenas were bifurcated into onshore (seaward) and inland (landward) domains, sections, or branches that were collectively referred to as domain complexes. Extension of cross-shore transects up to 20 km inland to incorporate all salient aspects of the delta provided useful subdivision of delta landscapes. Sixteen cross-shore transects were used to derive 12 domain complexes extending 167.5 km along the Danubian coastal belt that reached from the approximate latitudes of Prymors'ke, Ukraine, in the north to about Corbu in Romania to the south. Classification of the Danube Delta coastal belts showed that it is possible to apply the BCCS to large-area delta regions using extended cross-shore transects with bifurcated catenary sequences that together describe seaward (onshore) and landward (inland) sections of the delta in the form of domain complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finkl, C.W. and Vollmer, H.M., 2017. Methods for investigating sediment flux under high-energy conditions on the southeast Florida continental shelf using Laser Airborne Depth Sounding (LADS) in a Geographic Information System (GIS) dataframe. Laser Airborne Depth Sounding (LADS) bathymetric surveys conducted in 2001 and 2008 bracket two hurricane landfalls (Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005) in Broward County, southeast Florida, thus providing an opportunity to investigate changes in bottom topography as a result of wave and current action. The seafloor in this region is characterized by a wide range of sedimentary features that are normally stabilized (held in place) by outcrops of carbonate bedrock and coral reefs. During high-energy events, however, the sedimentary deposits are partially mobilized by waves and currents. This methodological study used the two LADS bathymetric surveys to construct triangulated irregular networks (TINs, which are a digital means of representing surface morphology) surfaces using the ESRI® ArcGIS 3D Analyst extension. The two bathymetric TIN surfaces were compared to ascertain spatial gains and losses by landform. Comparison of TIN surfaces provides a means to estimate changes in sediment volume and infer variability in cross-shore sediment transport. Application of this methodological procedure is constrained to locations where seafloor features have been interpreted from the LADS bathymetry so that sediment volume changes can be related to specific landform units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Makowski, C.; Finkl, C.W., and Vollmer, H.M., 2017. Geoform and landform classification of continental shelves using geospatially integrated IKONOS satellite imagery. Geomorphological characterization of coastal environments along continental shelves depends on accurate interpretation of mesoscale lithic and clastic benthic geoforms and landforms. Using the Geospatially Integrated Seafloor Classification Scheme (G-ISCS), cognitive visual interpretations of seafloor geoforms and their associated landforms were conducted along a diverse segment of the southeast (SE) Florida continental shelf. GeoEye IKONOS-2 satellite imagery provided the remotely sensed visual medium on which interpretations were based. With ESRI ArcGIS® ArcMap software, classification maps were created from the cognitive interpretations to show spatial distribution results of geoform and landform features throughout the study area. Additionally, smaller-scale 'call-out figures' documented specific geomorphological associations among the classified units. Analysis attribute tables compared and contrasted the abundance ( i.e. number of classifying vector polygons) and calculated areas for each geoform and landform classified. It was determined that classification of geoform and landform benthic features along continental shelves can be achieved where water clarity conditions allow for the cognitive visual interpretation of such seafloor formations. Future studies may build upon the classification of continental shelf geoforms and landforms to integrate more transient biogeomorphological features of the marine environment ( e.g., sediment distribution, biological species identification, density of flora and fauna present), thus creating a more detailed and inclusive classification of a selected coastal region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differentiation of continental shelf morphology along the southeast Florida Atlantic coast was based on interpretation of airborne laser bathymetry. The 600-km2 shelf study area, which had a shoreline extent of about 160 km and extended up to 10 km offshore, displayed a diverse range of seafloor morphologies that were characteristic of four main alongshore reaches. Reach I (sand flats and karst topography) in the northern part of the study area is terminated southward by the Bahamas Fracture Zone, a major morphotectonic feature. Reach II (sand flats and coral reefs) is characterized by sand flats with diabathic channel fields leeward or shoreward of the Florida Reef Tract, the seaward margin of which occurs along the shelf break on the upper part of the continental slope. Reach III (sand flats, hardgrounds, and coral reefs) is characterized by extensive nearshore rock outcrops that are exposed as bare rock surfaces on the seafloor or are variously mantled by thin veneers of sand that are not thick enough to disguise the underlying rock structure. Reach IV (tidal sand flats and ridges, hardgrounds, and coral reefs) is dominated by tidal features that notably include fields of tidal sand ridges in the lee of the Florida Reef Tract. The barrier reef on the southeast Florida Atlantic coast, which transitions to Florida Keys shelf environments southward, grades northward to drowned karst topography that is overlain by sand sheets and sand waves. Tidal channels and associated bars, deltas, and shoals occur on the interface between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. This reconnaissance-level characterization of continental shelf environments into morphological reaches in a geographic information system platform provides a basis for quantifying spatial distribution patterns of discrete landform units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airborne laser bathymetric (ALB) systems rapidly acquire large, high-quality datasets via variable swath widths that are independent of water depth. Laser bathymetric survey tools have applicability in dear coastal (Case II) waters down to -70 meters depth. Deployed along the southeast Florida (Palm Beach, Broward. and Miami-Dade Counties) coast, an advanced ALB system provided a continuous dataset for 160 kilometers of coast from onshore to 6 kilometers offshore. Digital terrain models developed from this high-density bathymetric data permitted recognition of numerous seafloor features and bathymetric patterns from different image formats. Bathymetric analysis of the 600-km² survey area on the narrow continental shelf shows inherited lithulogic features that are partly covered by surficial sediments. Primary parabathic provinces include: (1) nearshore rocky zones dominated by the Anastasia Formation. (2) coral-algal reef systems (Florida Reef Tract [FRT]), and (3) marine terraces. Secondary sedimentary subprovinces include shoreface sands, inter-reefal sedimentary infills (coral rubble in basal sequences and near reef gaps), and finer-grained materials seaward of the FRT. Tertiary topographic features include: (1) longshore bar and trough systems, shoals, sand sheets, and diabathic channels; (2) reef crests and ledges, forereef spurs and grooves, sediment ramps in large reef gaps, and incised paleo-river channels; and (3) drowned karst topography. Hierarchical organization of these bathymetric features is now possible for the first time because of the increased accuracy and density of bathymetric data obtained by ALB systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]