Abstract or Keywords
A senior thesis in Marine Science.
Hudson Grotto is a sinkhole in coastal north-western Pasco County, Florida and is a popular destination for divers in the Tampa Bay region because of its depth and accessibility. This geologic feature has been a landmark for several thousand years and is a natural sediment archive, which can provide insight into environmental changes that occurred in the past due to the low energy environment promoting the preservation of the sedimentary record. Sediment cores were collected by divers and analyzed using gamma spectrometry, sedimentology, x-ray fluorescence and x-ray diffraction to determine changes in stratigraphy and timing of events, such as tropical cyclones. Three event facies have been identified and correlated to several impactful tropical cyclones that have occurred since 1848. This will provide a more robust environmental record extending beyond 1852, which is the limiting year of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tropical cyclone archives for this region. This project confirms the feasibility of paleoclimate research using sinkhole sediment record in Florida, as well as determining the general geology and hydrology of Hudson Grotto.