ANALYSIS OF CHANNEL MORPHOLOGY USING HIGH RESOLUTION, DRONE-DERIVED IMAGERY OF THE TIDAL FLAT AT TRIPLE GOOSE CREEK, ANDROS ISLAND

Shallow water carbonates serve as the primary recorders of environmental and climate change in Earth history via shallowing upward parasequences that are created when sediment fills existing accommodation space. The processes of sediment transport and deposition have the effect of altering local depth and environment, which in turn influence the nature (and, potentially, the chemistry) of sediment supply. Therefore, to correctly interpret parasequences in the stratigraphic record, it is important to quantitatively analyze sediment movement in modern carbonate depositional environments. Aerial drones enable the collection of inexpensive, high-resolution (both optical and temporal), spatially extensive imagery for use in such analyses.

Here, we present a high resolution (10 cm/pixel) drone-derived digital elevation model of the tidal flat at Triple Goose Creek, Andros Island, the Bahamas. We calculate volume, water flux and the distance from the channel head to terminal ponds in order to determine how water parcels and sediment evolve during transport. Pairing our model with measured isotope data, we map the diagenetic potential of the system. Using classified aerial imagery, we evaluate the degree to which vegetation impacts channel morphology and sediment trapping and deposition. Finally, through time series data, acquired in two hour intervals and tied to the tidal cycle, we demonstrate how spatially distinct but contemporaneous locations of a depositional system may record different stratigraphic signals.