Evolution of rocky coastlines is controlled by littoral, biological and fluvial processes. Resultant landforms are overprinted and/or new ones formed as a result of changes in sea level caused by glacioeustasy and/or local tectonics. On carbonate coasts, chemical erosion in the form of karstification takes on a dominant role. Type of karstification is an important factor in understanding carbonate coast evolution and landform development so it is critical to identify type of karstification. In this research, fractal indices were used to distinguish cave and thus karstification type. It was determined that fractal indices effectively differentiated cave types and the indices were used to distinguish cave types at study sites on Barbados, the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao) and the Caribbean coast of the northeast Yucatan peninsula, Mexico. This research evaluated caves located in the phreatic, epiphreatic and vadose zones of the northeast coast of Quintana Roo, Mexico to determine the relationship between the caves and to coastal processes. Three distinct coastal landforms associated with caves on the study sites were evaluated to quantify and model the interplay of littoral, fluvial and karstic processes and cave and karst development. On Barbados, the combination of surface fluvial processes, and mixing-zone and fluvial-karstic dissolution, resulted in the formation of gullies. Some gullies contained caves in their bounding walls and/or served as points of recharge to fluvial caves. Bokas of the ABC islands are distinctive geomorphic structures that formed from the interplay of fluvial, littoral and mixing zone karstification. The morphology of the bokas was a function of dominant geomorphic process. The caletas of the Yucatan Caribbean were formed by karstification processes that also produced features with mixing-zone-like morphologies but with fluvio-karstic function. The results of this research expand the Carbonate Island Karst Model (CIKM), which explains eogenetic dissolutional processes and landforms on small carbonate islands, to one that includes carbonate islands of all sizes, and carbonate continental coasts.

"Knowledge and understanding of cave and karst systems have evolved dramatically since the creation of the Geological Society of America in 1888. This book, which came out of a session during GSA's 2013 Annual Meeting, highlights the changes in the study and application of cave and karst systems since GSA's origin, while looking ahead to future advancements"--

Carbonate rock coasts are found world-wide, from continental shorelines of the Adriatic Sea of Europe to the Yucatan Peninsula of North America, and on tropical islands from Rodrigues Island in the Indian Ocean, to the Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean, to the Bahama Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Such coasts are well known for their unusual and distinctive karst landforms. Karst processes, particularly those associated with coastal landforms, are proving to be surprisingly unique and complex. This volume presents a comprehensive overview of the processes associated with coastal karst development comparing examples from a broad geographical and geomorphological range of island and continental shoreline/paleoshoreline settings, including a review of pseudokarst processes that can compete with and overprint dynamic coastal karst landscapes. As effective management of hydrologic resources grows more complex, coastal caves and karst represent fundamental components in associated coastal aquifers, which in the rock record can also form significant petroleum reservoirs. Audience By providing a clearer understanding of the geological, biological, archaeological and cultural value of coastal caves and karst resources, this volume offers a critical tool to coastal researchers and geoscientists in related fields and to coastal land managers as it illustrates the diversity of coastal karst landforms, the unique processes which formed them, the diversity of resources they harbor and their relationship to coastal zone preservation strategies and the development of sustainable management approaches.

This book focuses on the highly touristed, but surprisingly under-researched Lesser Antilles region. After offering a brief overview of the region’s geologic and tectonic history, as well as its basic climatology, subsequent chapters then discuss each island’s (or island set’s) geomorphology and geology, and how the settlement history, tourism, and hazards have affected their individual landscapes. Written by regional experts and replete with up-to-date information, stunning color imagery, and beautiful cartography (maps), it is the only comprehensive, scientific evaluation of the Lesser Antilles, and serves as the region’s definitive reference resource. Accessible to non-experts and amateur explorers, the book includes in-depth discussions and reference sections for each island/island set. Usable as both a textbook and guidebook, it offers readers a straightforward yet detailed assessment of an interesting and intriguing – but often-overlooked and under-appreciated – locale.

The changing focus and approach of geomorphic research suggests that the time is opportune for a summary of the state of discipline. The number of peer-reviewed papers published in geomorphic journals has grown steadily for more than two decades and, more importantly, the diversity of authors with respect to geographic location and disciplinary background (geography, geology, ecology, civil engineering, computer science, geographic information science, and others) has expanded dramatically. As more good minds are drawn to geomorphology, and the breadth of the peer-reviewed literature grows, an effective summary of contemporary geomorphic knowledge becomes increasingly difficult. The fourteen volumes of this Treatise on Geomorphology will provide an important reference for users from undergraduate students looking for term paper topics, to graduate students starting a literature review for their thesis work, and professionals seeking a concise summary of a particular topic. Information on the historical development of diverse topics within geomorphology provides context for ongoing research; discussion of research strategies, equipment, and field methods, laboratory experiments, and numerical simulations reflect the multiple approaches to understanding Earth’s surfaces; and summaries of outstanding research questions highlight future challenges and suggest productive new avenues for research. Our future ability to adapt to geomorphic changes in the critical zone very much hinges upon how well landform scientists comprehend the dynamics of Earth’s diverse surfaces. This Treatise on Geomorphology provides a useful synthesis of the state of the discipline, as well as highlighting productive research directions, that Educators and students/researchers will find useful. Geomorphology has advanced greatly in the last 10 years to become a very interdisciplinary field. Undergraduate students looking for term paper topics, to graduate students starting a literature review for their thesis work, and professionals seeking a concise summary of a particular topic will find the answers they need in this broad reference work which has been designed and written to accommodate their diverse backgrounds and levels of understanding Editor-in-Chief, Prof. J. F. Shroder of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, is past president of the QG&G section of the Geological Society of America and present Trustee of the GSA Foundation, while being well respected in the geomorphology research community and having won numerous awards in the field. A host of noted international geomorphologists have contributed state-of-the-art chapters to the work. Readers can be guaranteed that every chapter in this extensive work has been critically reviewed for consistency and accuracy by the World expert Volume Editors and by the Editor-in-Chief himself No other reference work exists in the area of Geomorphology that offers the breadth and depth of information contained in this 14-volume masterpiece. From the foundations and history of geomorphology through to geomorphological innovations and computer modelling, and the past and future states of landform science, no "stone" has been left unturned!