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The Florida Reef Tract in Southeast Florida is made up of hard-bottom formations. The shape and size of the tract is constantly changing. One major factor contributing to these changes is the movement of sand. This is influenced by location-based, human-induced, and natural factors. These shifting sands cover or uncover reef structure. Images of the Florida Reef Tract in Palm Beach County were analyzed by the Department of Geosciences at Florida Atlantic University, using a partially automated method of mapping. There are notable changes in reef structure throughout the years 2004-2006, in which many major storm events occurred in the region. A time series analysis was conducted throughout these years. Losses and gains of reef structure were quantified and compared throughout the county as a whole, in beach renourishment project areas, and inlet intervals. Trends suggest that the major storms of 2004-2006 may have had effects on the reef tract. / by Joseph G. Pitti. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The purpose of this study was to explore outcomes of a GIS/GPS integration process: to (a) examine student responses to GIS and GPS inclusion in their curriculum, (b) determine whether a relationship exists between inclusion of GIS into existing K-12 curriculum and student achievement, (c) examine the effectiveness of GIS professional development for teachers, and (d) evaluate teacher perceptions of the value of integrating GIS into their existing curricula. This study was quantitative and quasi-experimental in design. The samples consisted of 1,425 students from one middle school and 62 teachers from Palm Beach County School District. Two instruments were used in this study: student surveys and teacher feedback forms. Data from the student surveys indicated that students perceive their learning is enhanced by inclusion of GIS and GPS. Data from the teacher feedback forms revealed positive perceptions of the GIS/GPS program as an integrative tool for their existing curricula and a positive assessment of the GIS professional development training. The relationship between GIS instruction and student academic achievement was evaluated, measured by FCAT reading scores and final grades in science and social studies. The findings support the constructivist theory that students learn best when actively engaged in the process. In this study standardized FCAT reading test results and science and social studies grades corroborate the students' perceptions that GIS and GPS integration enhances their learning. Study results show FCAT reading scores were higher for GIS students than for non-GIS students. The research further indicated a significant increase in FCAT reading scores for non-native English speaking GIS students and a significantly higher average science grade for non-White GIS students. / The findings also show that students who had a greater frequency of GIS instruction had higher averages in science and social studies grades. Education reform requires bold initiatives and an organizational culture supportive of innovative ideas. The structured model for development and implementation of GIS in the K-12 public school system presented at the end of this study includes collaboration between district leadership, administrators and teachers, and a comprehensive approach to professional development. / by Donna L. Goldstein. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Beach shoreline retreat induced by coseismic subsidence in the Cascadia subduction zone is an important post-earthquake hazard. Sand on a beach acts as a buffer to wave attack, protecting dunes, bluffs and terraces. The loss of sand from a beach could promote critical erosion of the shoreline. This study was initiated in order to estimate the potential amount of post subsidence shoreline retreat on a regional scale in the Central Cascadia Margin. The study area is a 331 km stretch of coastline from Copalis, Washington to Florence, Oregon. Several erosion models were evaluated, and the Bruun model was selected as the most useful to model shoreline retreat on a regional scale in the Central Cascadia Margin. There are some factors that this model does not address, such as longshore transport of sediment and offshore bottom shape, but for this preliminary study it is useful for estimating regional retreat. The range of parameter input values for the Bruun model include: the depth of closure (h) range from 15 m to 20 m water depth; the cross-shore distance (L) range from 846 m to 5975 m; and the estimated subsidence amount (S) range from O m to 1.5 m. The minimum to maximum range of post-subsidence shoreline retreat is 142 to 531 m in the Columbia River cell, 56 to 128 m in the Cannon Beach cell, 38 to 149 m in the Tillamook cell, 25 to 91 m in the Pacific City cell, 11 to 126 m in the Lincoln City cell, 30 to 147 m in the Otter Rock cell, 0 to 165 m in the Newport cell, 0 to 76 m in the Waldport cell, and 0 m in the Winchester cell. Results of the study suggest that many of the beaches in the study area are at risk of beach and personal property loss. Beach communities could limit the amount of potential damage in these areas through coastal zone planning.

The prediction of coastal groundwater movement is necessary in coastal management. However, the study in this field is still a great challenge due to the involvement of tidal-groundwater interactions and the phenomena of hydrodynamic dispersion between salt-fresh water in the coastal region. To date, numerous theories for groundwater dynamic have been made available in analytical, numerical and also experimental forms. Nevertheless, most of them are based on the zeroth-order shallow flow, i.e. Boussinesq approximation. Two main components for coastal unconfined aquifer have been completed in this Thesis: the vertical beach model and the sloping beach model. Both solutions are solved in closed-form up to higher order with shallow water parameter ([epsilon]) and tidal amplitude parameter ([alpha]). The vertical beach solution contributes to the higher-order tidal fluctuations while the sloping beach model overcomes the shortcomings in the existing solutions. From this study, higher-order components are found to be significant especially for larger value of [alpha] and [epsilon]. Other parameters such as hydraulic conductivity (K) and the thickness of aquifer (D) also affect the water table fluctuations. The new sloping solution demonstrated the significant influence of beach slope ([beta]) on the water table fluctuations. A comprehensive comparison between previous solution and the present sloping solution have been performed mathematically and numerically and the present solution has been demonstrated to provide a better prediction

To date, there has been little research on the morphodynamics of Canada’s Pacific mesotidal beach-dune systems and their potential response to climate variability and change. Accordingly, this study examines and characterizes the morphodynamics of a mesotidal beach-dune system on western Vancouver Island (Wickaninnish Beach) and investigates its potential response to extreme seasonal storms, climate variability events, and climate change trends. This research also informs protected areas management approaches, whose effectiveness is important to the conservation of early successional and proportionately rare specialized dune species. Research methods include repeat cross-sectional surveys, repeat vantage photographs, and analysis of the wind, wave, and water level regime. Both the regional wind regime and aeolian sediment transport regime are bimodal, with a WNW (summer) component and a SE (winter) component. The nearshore littoral sediment transport regime is characterized by both longshore and rip cell circulation cells. To date, survey results are informative only of seasonal changes. Longer-term monitoring will better reveal contemporary trends of the beach-dune system. A high dune rebuilding potential (aeolian sand transport potential = 9980 m3 m‐1 a‐1, resultant aeolian sand transport = 3270 m3 m‐1 a‐1 at 356 degrees) was found based on the incident wind regime and sand grain diameter. A threshold elevation for dune erosion was defined at 5.5 m aCD. Erosive water levels were analyzed using three approaches yielding the following results. Erosive water levels are reached on average, ~3.5 times per year; with a probability of 65% in any given year; and, annual return levels are 5.59 m aCD, suggesting erosive water levels are reached annually. Statistical relations show that the positive phase of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) (El Niño) shares the most variance with the incident oceanographic regime (e.g., significant wave height, peak period), and although a causal relationship cannot be drawn, El Niño may contribute to the occurrence of erosive events on Wickaninnish Beach. Beyond El Niño, overall findings suggest climate variability signals are manifest in regional erosional water level regimes.

Thesis (M.Env.St.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geographical and Environmental Studies, 2001. / Bibliography: leaves 85-91.

Thesis (M.S.)--North Carolina State University, 2004. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Apr. 3, 2005). Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2017-04-06T14:31:16Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) DISSERTACAO_AMANDA FLORENCIO_2012.pdf: 10102688 bytes, checksum: 3030fccfc581d6234d6a267a94ac7b2e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-06T14:31:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) DISSERTACAO_AMANDA FLORENCIO_2012.pdf: 10102688 bytes, checksum: 3030fccfc581d6234d6a267a94ac7b2e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-14 / FACEPE / O tema desta Dissertação de Mestrado tem como objeto central as mudanças socioespaciais observadas no litoral de Ipojuca, na última década, que trata por consolidar este como local de interesse privilegiado dos setores imobiliário e turístico em Pernambuco. Isso é percebido a partir da implantação dos grandes empreendimentos imobiliários vinculados ao turismo que vêm alterando o uso e apropriação dos espaços públicos de praia. O processo a ser analisado se insere na esfera de mudanças que ocorrem, a partir da segunda metade do século XX, no quadro econômico mundial, em que o turismo, mobilizando fluxo de serviços, capitais e população, destaca-se como uma das atividades mais dinâmicas da economia no contexto do processo de globalização. No Brasil, a partir da década de 1990, essas mudanças são retratadas na reestruturação espacial do litoral nordestino com o advento do turismo como atividade central, definindo novos padrões de relações com o setor imobiliário. Tais mudanças têm suas bases na política nacional implementada a partir do ano de 1990 por investimentos públicos no âmbito do Programa de Desenvolvimento Turístico do Nordeste – PRODETUR-NE. No litoral de IpojucaPE, esse processo teve início no ano 2000, quando empreendimentos imobiliário-turísticos foram implantados de modo concentrado na praia de Muro Alto, estabelecendo um novo padrão de uso das faixas de praia, que apesar de se constituírem de domínio público, passam a ter um uso e apropriação predominantemente privados.Iniciando com a análise do processo de ocupação – transformação dos moldes de segunda residência tradicional para a segunda residência vinculada ao imobiliário-turístico no município de Ipojuca, na década de 2000-10, este trabalho tem como objetivo central analisar as mudanças no uso das faixas de praia, procurando explicitar como esta nova forma de ocupação espacial voltada para um público específico (classe média alta e alta) gera ambientes excludentes, segmentados. Orientado por bases conceituais desenvolvidas por Michel de Certeau, o estudo focaliza as ações espontâneas da população, suas práticas cotidianas, frente às atitudes de dominação impostas aos espaços de praia por parte dos administradores e proprietários dos Resorts e empreendimentos imobiliário-turísticos. A partir dos diferentes comportamentos dos usuários desse espaço de domínio público, este estudo procura contribuir para o debate sobre o espaço da faixa de praia enquanto bem público de uso comum, porém submetido a diversas estratégias de poder para privatização de seu uso. / The theme of this Mastery Degree's dissertation has as central objective the sociospatial changes observed in Ipojuca's coast, in the last decade, consolidating this area as privileged interesting by the real estate and tourism sectors in Pernambuco. This is noticed by the implantation of large businesses linked to the tourism which has been changing the use and appropriation of the public spaces on the beach. The process to be analyzed is inserted into the sphere of changes that occur, since the second half of the 20th Century, in the world's economic scene, where the tourism, mobilizing service's flow, capitals and production, stands as one of the most dynamic activities of the economy in the globalization process' context. In Brazil, from the 90's, these changes are portrayed in the northeastern coast's spatial restructuring with the tourism becoming the central activity, defining new standards in the relationship with the real estate sector. These changes have their bases in a national policy, implemented in 1990, for public investment under the “Northeast Tourism Development's Program” - PRODETUR-NE. In Ipojuca-PE's coast, this process began in 2000, when estate-tourism ventures were implanted in a concentrated way in Muro Alto, establishing a new standard of usage in the coastal strip, which although being public, became to be used and appropriated as private. Starting with the analysis of the occupation process – change of the traditional second home's molds to the second home linked with the estate-tourism in Ipojuca's county, in the 2000-10's decade, this work has as central objective the analysis of the usage changes in the beach strip, seeking to explain how this new spatial occupation form directed to a specific population (upper and upper middle class) generates exclusionary ambients, targeted. Oriented by Michel de Certeau's concept bases, focuses the population's spontaneous actions, its day-life practices, against the domination attitudes imposed to the beach strip by the administrators and owners of the Resorts and estatetourism ventures. From the different behaviors presented by the users of this public space, this study seeks to contribute to the debate about the beach strip area as public property, however subjected to several privatization strategies to its use.

Dissertação(mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Oceânica, Escola de Engenharia, 2008. / Submitted by Lilian M. Silva (lilianmadeirasilva@hotmail.com) on 2013-04-20T19:00:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Estudo da influência dos fatores climáticos e hidrológicos no ciclo morfodinâmico praial de um sangradouro intermitente, Praia do Cassino, Brasil..pdf: 3556854 bytes, checksum: 026ab90e4875dac2d9a2305985f758b0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Bruna Vieira(bruninha_vieira@ibest.com.br) on 2013-06-08T22:43:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Estudo da influência dos fatores climáticos e hidrológicos no ciclo morfodinâmico praial de um sangradouro intermitente, Praia do Cassino, Brasil..pdf: 3556854 bytes, checksum: 026ab90e4875dac2d9a2305985f758b0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-06-08T22:43:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Estudo da influência dos fatores climáticos e hidrológicos no ciclo morfodinâmico praial de um sangradouro intermitente, Praia do Cassino, Brasil..pdf: 3556854 bytes, checksum: 026ab90e4875dac2d9a2305985f758b0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Os sangradouros são cursos d’água fundamentais para a drenagem da água acumulada na região de pós-dunas, abastecem a zona de espraiamento com sedimentos arenosos e são os maiores causadores de descontinuidades no cordão de dunas frontais ao longo da costa do Rio Grande do Sul. Neste trabalho foi eleito como objeto de estudo um sangradouro considerando principalmente aspectos logísticos. O elemento escolhido localiza-se na Praia da Querência, onze quilômetros ao sul da desembocadura da Lagoa dos Patos. Este trabalho consiste na determinação e quantificação dos processos associados ao ciclo morfodinâmico evolutivo, estudando o mecanismo responsável pela sua abertura e fechamento. A metodologia empregada envolveu a elaboração de poços de monitoramento e a instalação dos mesmos na área de estudo, medições de níveis do lençol freático, levantamentos topográficos periódicos, amostragem sedimentar de superfície e análise de dados meteorológicos. Os resultados obtidos consubstanciam a idéia original de que o processo evolutivo do sangradouro é controlado pelo balanço entre as precipitações pluviométricas e as taxas de evaporação. Medições efetuadas nos poços de monitoramento sugerem que os níveis do lençol freático na área de impacto do sangradouro variam principalmente de acordo com intensidade do fluxo em direção à costa, sendo que o lençol freático mostrou-se mais profundo quando o sangradouro esteve aberto e sofreu uma elevação de 30 a 40 centímetros quando a calha do sangradouro foi fechada por processos costeiros.Notou-se que lençol freático no campo de dunas apresenta comportamento mais estável do quena região da berma. Percebeu-se também a ocorrência de dois ciclos distintos no processo evolutivo, um de longo prazo associado à destruição do campo de dunas frontais e outro de curto prazo ligado ao surgimento e destruição de uma barra arenosa secundaria, localizada na berma, que tem como origem a interação entre os processos na zona de surfe e os processos hidrológicos e hidrogeológicos da região do pós-dunas. Apesar da ocorrência de transporte de sedimentos por arraste e em suspensão pela corrente na calha do sangradouro, parece não ser este o principal processo erosivo e sim as ações ligadas aos fenômenos ocorrentes na zona de surfe. / The washouts are water courses important for draining the accumulated water from backshore and supply the swash zone with sand transport, it’s responsible too by local destruction of dunes field along the southern coast of Brazil. For that work was chosen a washout considering his geographical localization and our disposal logistical facilities. In that case was chosen a washout located in the Querência beach, which is situated 11 km toward south from Patos Lagoon mouth. This work consists in determination and quantification of processes associated to the morphodynamic evolution cycle this water body, studying the mechanism which causes the opening and closing of washout. The methodology consists in building and installation of monitoring wells in the study area, measurements ofwater table level, periodic topographic surveys, surface sediment sampling and analysis of meteorological data. The obtained results suggest that evolutionary process of washout is controlled by the balance between rain and evaporation rates. The wellsmeasurement suggests that water table level changes with the intensity of underground flowtoward the swash zone. When the washout opens the water table down but when washout closes by coastal processes the level up to 40 cm. It was observed that water table under the dunes field show most stability than under the berm. It was observed also occurrence of two different cycles in washout evolutionary process, one of long-term associated to destruction of local dunes field and other of short-term controlled by formation and destruction of a sand bar, placed over berm zone, which is originated by the interaction between processes in the surf zone versus hydrological and hydrogeological processes in the backshore zone. Despite occurrence of sediment transport into the channel of washout, it doesn’t seem to be the main erosive process, the principal erosion seems to be strongly related to the phenomena which occur into the surf zone.