the florida state university college of arts and sciences evolution of ...

was initiated and have increased to present day levels. This increase in energy can potentially be
tied to rising sea level.
This study is one of the first of its kind to be conducted in the United States. It is also
one of the first studies of barrier island evolution conducted along the Panhandle coast of
Florida.
Future work should involve the compilation of a more robust data set. Additional grain
size samples should be collected to provide a more robust set of granulometric data. Future work
should also include a more detailed dating program. Ideally, several OSL dates should be
obtained from within each beach ridge set. This would refine the progradation rate calculations
made in this investigation and provide a higher resolution record of the progradation history and
evolution of St. Vincent Island. A full LIDAR survey would also provide the information
required to accurately estimate the number of beach ridges within each beach ridge set. The
estimates could then be used to provide a more accurate estimate of beach ridge formation rates.
Additional work should also include the collection of GPR data that covers a larger portion of the
island. This data could then be used to further refine the current estimates of the position of the
pre-barrier Pleistocene contact. Additional work using low frequency GPR is also
recommended. The greater penetration provided by the lower frequency units will provide a
better understanding of subsurface stratigraphy of the island. This understanding could be
further refined by the collection of borehole data from locations across the island.
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