There is major salt marsh loss in Galveston Bay and other estuarine environments. In Galveston Bay, the causes of marsh loss include wave action, subsidence, eustatic sea-level rise, and insufficient sediment supply. To assess the relative importance of these factors in marshes of West Galveston Bay, wave action, sediment supply, and sedimentation rates were studied. Analysis of the data indicated a significant gap between the historic sediment accretion rate of 0.20 cm y⁻¹ and the relative sea-level rise (the rate of rise of the water depth due to the combined effects of eustatic rise and subsidence) of 0.65 cm y⁻¹. Furthermore, in 94% of the eroding marshes, where 20% exceedance wave height was less than 0.17 m, the role of wave-induced erosion was relatively small. Thus, the major cause for salt marsh loss is insufficient sediment supply. These findings indicate that in the many eroding marshes in Galveston Bay, where wave action is not the major cause of marsh loss, marsh restoration efforts need to enhance sedimentation rather than wave protection.

Tidal flats are being used to understand sea level changes, pollution history, and depositional environment. From the part of the long-term study, distribution of sediment components, organic carbon, total phosphorus, and selected elements (Fe, Mn, and Cr) are used in this paper to understand diagenetic processes and hydrodynamic processes involved during the deposition of sediment. The present study revealed that the sediment components, organic carbon, and phosphorus play an important role in controlling the distribution and concentration of elements. Importance of the oxic–anoxic layer in the distribution and concentration of metals are discussed. Hydrodynamic conditions of the sediments deposited are delineated using triangular diagram.

This paper aims to verify how wave energy and longshore sediment transport rates could have influenced the evolution of the Rio Grande do Sul Holocene barriers in the last 5000 y, assuming that wave climate conditions did not change much during the Middle and Late Holocene. Calculations of wave energy based on visual observations and longshore sediment transport show that both wave energy and sediment transport decrease as the coastline becomes concave (embayed) and increase as the coastline becomes convex (projected). These variations alongshore create a positive and negative imbalance, respectively, in the sediment budget. The long-term operation of these processes has produced progradational barriers in embayments and retrogradational barriers along projections. In the transition zones between embayed to convex coastlines, neither depositional nor erosional processes predominate, creating a sediment balance and producing aggradational barriers.

Grain size trends and field observations of an approximately 1100-year-old sand sheet within a salt marsh in Hood Canal at Lynch Cove, Puget Sound, Washington, suggest deposition by multiple mechanisms, including liquefaction and tsunami. Because a tsunami has not occurred within Puget Sound during modern times, it is important to study past sedimentary evidence of tsunamis in the geological record to understand where, when, and how often these events may occur at this location. The sand sheet is about 0.24 m thick, overlies tidal-flat mud, and is abruptly capped by freshwater peat. To determine extent, thickness, and grain size trends within the deposit, we gathered 350 core samples using a hand-push auger. A laser diffraction particle analyzer was used to determine grain size from each sand unit collected via coring. Grain size analysis reveals that the sand sheet fines landward and is poorly sorted. Three box cores, sampled at 2.0-cm intervals, reveal upward-fining grain size trends. Sedimentary structures suggesting bedload transport (such as cross-bedding and ripple marks) were not visible either in the field or in X-ray radiographs. Despite local evidence of liquefaction, the Lynch Cove sand sheet is largely consistent with sedimentation patterns observed following modern tsunami events. The Tacoma Fault was seismically active around the time of deposition. The Sunset Beach Fault and landslide, some 4 km south of Lynch Cove, was likely created by movement from the Tacoma Fault. This is the most likely source of tsunami generation at Lynch Cove around 1100 years ago; however, the possibility of submarine landslide-generated tsunami has not been ruled out entirely. Beyond earthquake and submarine landslide activity, other source mechanisms are less likely to produce a wave that could deposit significant amounts of sand after navigating the entire 70 km length of Hood Canal.

Low-scale foreshore morphodynamic processes in the vicinity of the Sharavati estuary at Honnavar, central west coast of India, are discussed in this paper based on the wave refraction analyses, sediment characteristics, and foreshore morphological changes. In general, the foreshore is composed of medium- to fine-grained (1.12–2.68φ), well-sorted to poorly sorted sands (0.18–0.86σ). Beaches experience two periods of accretion, one during September to December (postmonsoon) and another during February to April, followed by two periods of erosion, one during second half of May to early September (monsoon) and another a minor phase of erosion from December to February. The study indicated two distinct trends of geomorphic process on either side of the river mouth. Nearshore coastal process and wind largely control shoreface modification of the beaches to the south of the river mouth, whereas islands in this region modify geomorphic processes of the beach to the north of the river mouth. Northerly drift prevailing during the postmonsoon season favors spit growth across the river mouth from south to north, whereas the southerly drift during December to February is responsible for erosion of the portion of the beach to the north of the river mouth. The growth of a spit is at the expense of the beach to the north of the river mouth. However, during the westerly wave approach (March–April), littoral cells developed in the vicinity of river mouth provided stability to the beach.

In an estuarine channel the tidal asymmetry, sediment transport, and morphology are interconnected. To maintain a stable channel, we need to take tidal asymmetry into account. A relationship connecting tidal asymmetry and sediment transport rate has been used to evaluate the relative merits of channel modification through numerical simulations. Two criteria have been identified for ensuring the channel stability: (a) maintaining ebb dominance and (b) minimizing the spatial gradient in the net sediment transport function ⟨q⟩. Using these criteria for a test case, we have evaluated Hooghly estuary (east coast, India), where heavy sedimentation is experienced and a permanent solution is needed. The approach provides better insight into the sedimentation pattern in a semidiurnal tidal process in a shallow estuary with braided channels. Among the factors affecting tidal asymmetry, the relative phase difference (β) between M₂ and M₄ current constituents has a major influence and is thus responsible for the sedimentation pattern. Through numerical study it was found that a combination of deepened, uniform channel with enhanced ebb flow led to a favorable β, indicating less deposition.

The study site (Cape Sandtop) consists of a 15 m high marine terrace exposed to strong easterly winds, at the eastern end of Anticosti Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Québec, Canada), where eolian sedimentation occurred. Sections at the terrace edge exposed thick, well-humified, buried organic deposits with many wood fragments. Sedimentological and plant-macrofossil analyses were conducted from four sections to provide a chronology of eolian activity and to evaluate the causal factors for the development of treeless plant communities. Plant remains indicate that Cape Sandtop was forested between 6520 and ca. 4740 cal YBP. After ca. 4740 cal YBP, the terrace experienced a rapid change from coastal conifer forests and treed fen to marshes. Sustained erosional activity by easterly winds along the upper limestone cliff and the terrace edge started 1560 cal YBP and caused peat burial. The key factors responsible for cliff-top eolian sedimentation were relative sea level changes, increased exposure to easterly winds associated with higher elevation (15 m asl) of the marine terrace and sediment availability. In spite of its limited extent, this coastal site appeared as a system that was sensitive to environmental changes during the Mid- to Late-Holocene.

In this paper, we examine temporal and spatial beach profile volume changes, sediment budget changes, and side-scan sonar images at nourished beaches of northeastern South Carolina. Results of bulk volume change indicate that most sands eroded from the subaerial beach section remain and circulate within the coastal system. The results also indicate more active sediment exchange between the nearshore and offshore zones than expected, indicating that the offshore can be both a sink and a source for the nearshore morphologic change. Our profile volume change results do not show a unidirectional net southerly transport pattern in the study area during the initial postnourishment period. Instead, results show that the net downdrift direction alternates along the shore and that longshore volume drift patterns are often disrupted by the seaward cross-shore transport events that occur at erosional hotspots. Prenourishment erosional patterns, particularly local areas of elevated erosion rates, were re-established after nourishment. Furthermore, those erosional locations often correspond to the offshore locations of paleoriver channel fill sands with low relief, indicating existence of the specific seaward transport pathways along the shore in the study area.

The water depth, flow velocity, salinity, and suspended sediment concentration on an intertidal mudflat in the vicinity of a river mouth were measured for 564 wet cycles from July 2004 to October 2005. The measured time series were analyzed using time averaging to extract the wave components as well as tidal phase averaging to obtain typical variations and variability during the wet cycles. The wave component varied little during the wet cycle and was significant in the measured velocities. The variability of the time-averaged quantities for the 564 wet cycles was considerable, but the deviations from the phase-averaged values were correlated very little. As a result, the phase-averaged water fluxes and suspended sediment fluxes were approximately the same as those estimated using the phase-averaged water depth, velocities, and concentration. The phase-averaged quantities were used to understand the temporal variations of the flow and sediment transport during one typical wet cycle, which appeared to be influenced by the local bathymetry and the river discharge.

The impact of commercial vessels on coastal hydrodynamics and sediment movement has been measured and simulated in shipping channels and rivers. However, little empirical data exist on the temporal variation in vessel-generated forces in addition to the ecological implications for natural waterways such as tidal creeks and bayous. Along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast, these ecosystems may be highly susceptible to unnatural currents created by commercial vessel traffic. We sought to characterize and quantify the impact of large vessel traffic in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) on tidal creek hydrodynamics at Aransas Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Creek water level was monitored at 1-minute intervals in three different tidal creeks at ANWR during the summer of 2004. We also conducted preliminary measurements of bedload sediment flux associated with vessel passages. Vessel-induced fluctuations in water level in at least one site were the equivalent or greater than the diurnal tidal range (about 0.1 m) and were driven by distance to the GIWW, presence of islands as barriers, and baywide water levels that affected the attenuation of drawdown currents across a shallow bay. Bedload sediment flux during barge-induced outflow (mean = 9.3 g dry weight [dw] min⁻¹) was nearly twice the mean measured during normal ebb outflow (5 g dw min⁻¹). Our results identify a potentially important factor that may affect the long-term sustainability of the marsh and tidal creek systems at ANWR, which serve as wintering habitat to the endangered whooping crane (Grus americana L.).

Single-transect methods of shoreline change prediction are unparsimonious, i.e., they tend to overfit data by using more parameters than necessary because they assume that both signal and noise at adjacent transects are independent. Here we introduce some new methods that reduce overfitting by expressing change rate as a linear sum of basis functions. In the method of IC-binning, the basis functions are boxcars—an information criterion is used to assign contiguous alongshore locations into bins within which change rate is constant; the resulting rate is discontinuous but may be useful for beach management. In the polynomial method, the basis functions are polynomials in alongshore distance, and the change rate varies continuously along the beach. In the eigenbeaches method, the basis functions are the principal components of the matrix of shorelines. To choose the number of basis functions in each method, and to compare methods with each other, we use an information criterion. We apply these new methods to shoreline change on Maui Island, Hawaii, briefly here, and in more detail in a companion paper. The polynomial method works best for short beaches with rates that vary slowly in the alongshore direction while eigenbeaches works best for shorelines that are long, or have rates that vary rapidly in the alongshore direction. The Schwarz information criterion and the AICu version of the Akaike information criterion performed well in tests on real data and noisy synthetic data.

There is a need to supply coastal managers with statistically defensible hazard predictions that can be used to implement coastal setbacks and other management policies. The goal of this article is to evaluate the widely used single-transect method, as well as several new methods: t-binning, IC-binning, polynomial methods, and eigenbeaches, to identify which method(s) best predicts a 50-year eroded shoreline position. The polynomial and eigenbeach methods allow for acceleration (the rates vary with time). The methods are compared using data from nine beaches on Maui, Hawaii, and four sets of synthetic data. Evaluations of the methods are based on an information criterion, color maps of residuals, long-term (50 year) predictions, and cross-validating the most recent shoreline, which has a short-term span of 5–9 years. The newer methods identified significant rates at 74% of the transects, vs. 0% for single-transect on beaches in Maui, Hawaii. The cross-validation results showed that the polynomial and eigenbeach methods, without acceleration, best predicted the most recent shoreline. Contrary to the cross-validation results, synthetic results showed that the polynomial and eigenbeach methods with acceleration predicted the 50-year shoreline better than methods without acceleration. Nonacceleration methods predicted short-term positions better, and acceleration methods predicted long-term positions better. We conclude that the polynomial and eigenbeach methods improve the significance of the rates compared with the single-transect method.

Kangnan Coast has suffered from beach erosion since the extension of breakwaters and two groins of Hsinchu Fishing Harbor was completed. This is a typical example of human impact on coastal erosion in Taiwan. The aim of this article is to explore the erosion at Kangnan Coast using several analyses, such as shoreline revolution detected from satellite images, planform description of depth variation, volumetric change of bathymetry, and variations in the trends of volumetric changes of the sea bottom. Beach erosion at Kangnan Coast in response to structural effects was quantitatively determined. A suggested countermeasure using submerged detached breakwaters, developed through a 3-year study, is proposed to mitigate beach erosion.

Predictions of extreme coastal water levels are important to coastal engineering design and hazard mitigations in Florida. Annual maximum water levels are often used in frequency analysis of 1% annual chance flood in coastal flood hazard mapping. However, because of the damage to measurement instruments during hurricanes, some annual maximum water levels may be missed, which makes coastal flood hazard analysis difficult. In this study, a technique was developed to use artificial neural network and harmonic analysis for recovering extreme coastal water levels during hurricanes. The total water levels are decomposed into tidal components and storm surge. Tidal components can be derived by harmonic analysis, whereas storm surge can be predicted by neural network modeling on the basis of the observations of local wind speeds and atmospheric pressure. The neural network model uses three-layer feed-forward back-propagation structure with advanced scaled conjugate training algorithm. The method presented in this study has been successfully tested in Panama City Beach, located on the Florida coast, for Hurricane Dennis (2005), Hurricane Ivan (2004), and Hurricane Opal (1975). Model-predicted peak elevations reasonably match with observations for the three hurricane events. The decomposed storm surge hydrograph also make it possible for the analysis of potential extreme water levels if the storm surge occurs during spring high tide.

The impact of coastal protection on surfing resources is poorly understood and rarely quantified prior to construction. There is an increased requirement for surfing resources worldwide as participation levels in the sport grow. There is also an increased requirement for coastal protection as the occupancy in the coastal zone increases. This research paper takes the first steps towards a schematic categorization of the effect of coastal protection on surfing resources. To do this, we sourced the data through the global network of Surfrider Foundations via questionnaires. These questionnaires enquired about wave quality, crowd levels, stakeholder participation, and the economic importance of surfing to the local area before and after the construction of coastal protection.

The results show that of the 30 surfing resources surveyed, 18 experienced a reduction in wave quality and 12 showed an enhancement, or no change, in wave quality.

The paper provides an explanation of the results by proposing mechanisms of enhancement and reduction of wave quality after the construction of coastal protection. The conclusion states that coastal protection usually has an effect on the surfing resource that may be positive or negative in terms of the outcome on wave quality and crowd levels.

This article presents our observation and analysis results of coastal three-dimensional morphological changes using U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) light detection and range (LiDAR) data. The study area is located in Assateague Island National Seashore, along a 63 km stretch of Assateague Island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland. Digital elevation models from LiDAR data over various time intervals, e.g., year-to-year (1996–1997–1997–1998–1998–2000), season-to-season (September, January), and multiyear (1996–2000), were created to test our analysis methods. Six sections in our study area were partitioned in accordance with their historical changes and coastal conditions. Three profiles of each section were extracted from the digital elevation models, and the spatial patterns and volumetric amounts of erosion and deposition of each section on a cell-by-cell basis were calculated. The means of volumetric net change per unit area (m³/m²) of each section were derived. With the analysis of the deposition, erosion, or no change of the study area, the spatial patterns of three-dimensional morphological change pattern can be traced in both detailed and broad extent over varying time periods and frequencies. The analyzed results discovered that the two ends of the island experienced the most significant erosion and deposition, with the changes gradually decreasing toward the middle of the island. The south end of the island had the largest amount of erosion (16,274 m³). The recommendation for light LiDAR data collection frequency is also made.

Multibeam sonar data provide new high-resolution characterization of morphological and sedimentological features on the upper slope of the Roberts Bank section of the Fraser River delta. Subaqueous dunes are more abundant and broadly distributed over the slope than previously documented and include large asymmetric two-dimensional dunes (sinuous crested and straight crested), large asymmetric three-dimensional dunes (high relief, low relief) and irregularly-spaced dunes. The two-dimensional and three-dimensional dunes fall within the typical range of subaqueous dune heights and wavelengths and show dimensions that do not universally scale to water depth but are probably scaled to the dynamic conditions. The irregularly-spaced dunes fall outside the typical scaling, having excessively low height to wavelength ratios. Current data indicate that these irregularly-spaced dunes form under conditions where the ratio of suspended to bedload transport is too high to maintain fully-scaled bedforms. The orientation of the dunes indicates predominant alongshore transport to the northwest, in the direction of the flood tidal current, although a small patch of ebb-oriented dunes is present near Point Roberts, where the ebb-flow is accelerated.

High-resolution seismic reflection and bathymetric data in 10 to 50 m water depth in the Gulf of Kachchh, northwest of India, have been analysed together with earlier results from the area. They have revealed geomorphic features and Late Quaternary seismic sequence stratigraphy of 25-m-thick sediments. Seabed topography is uneven except in the east, carpeted by thick acoustically transparent to semitransparent sediment clays and stratified limestone beds. The sediments consist of (i) the transparent unit “A” up to 12 m thick, (ii) thick 8 to 10 m diffuse seismic reflection free unit “D,” and (iii) 4 to 5 m thick hummocky reflections unit “K.” The geomorphic/subsurface features are pinnacles (1 to 2 m high) and mounds (4 to 5 m high) on the seafloor and subsurface in the south and west, valleys (1 to 3 m) on the seafloor in the south and subsurface in the north and onlap of reflectors in the north. They mark corals, seafloor incisions, and sediment influx. Spatial shifts of valleys that mark a high energy tidal regime incising the seafloor in paleo and present times appear to be due to neotectonics: subsidence and uplift. Based on the seismic images and on correlation with the sea level curve published by other authors, the pinnacles, mounds, and the hummocky reflectors are interpreted as corals (live and relict) formed in subaqueous conditions. The reflection-free sediments are coral debris, sands mostly derived during the interglacial period of late Pleistocene and Holocene when the gulf was exposed to arid climates during lowered sea levels, around Last Glacial Maximum (centered ∼18 ka). Access to unique sedimentary records of the Late Quaternary climates/sea level changes even of decadal scale can be retrieved by collecting sediments/corals from shallow drill wells in the gulf.

The purpose of this work was to study the impact of a major heavy oil spill of 15,000 t in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea on the density of different biodiversified bacterial groups in oysters. Statistical comparisons of the enumerated bacterial groups before and after the oil spill are reported. Results show an insignificant decrease (P > 0.05) in most bacterial counts in oysters following the oil spill, namely: total aerobic bacteria (TAB), total coliforms, and Staphylococcus aureus. A significant drop of around 50% in the counts of anaerobic Clostridium perfringens occurred in oysters following the oil spill in comparison to counts before the spill (P < 0.05). Only the Vibrio spp. had a slight insignificant rise in count after the oil spill as compared to that before the spill (P > 0.05). The significant drop in the density of C. perfringens in oysters after the oil spill is worth further investigation in the future as a possible sensitive bioindicator. Such an indicator could be used in evaluating the impact of oil pollutions in marine waters and the self-purification processes that follow to sustain the homeostasis of surviving oysters and their colonized microbiota in the Mediterranean.

This research represents a statistical study of waves off the Egyptian northern coast, near Port Said. Wave time series data measured by altimeter were used, and data on wave climate was accessed for areas as small as 50 km². The central position considered in this study was 31°10′ N and 32°20′ E. A statistical analysis was carried out for the downloaded wave data to determine representative offshore seasonal significant wave heights and average seasonal significant wave heights for data from 2003, 2004, and 2005. All four seasons were taken into consideration. The wave nearshore transform was carried out using the mathematical model SWAN. For statistical analysis, six zones were considered within an area 50 km long toward offshore and 25 km wide. Regression models for the transformed significant wave heights were determined by season, considering data for waves propagated from the NNW. Models based on zone numbers and wave propagation direction were used to determine approximate values for the significant wave heights between seasons. These regression models were used to study parameter uncertainties using both all and half of the transformed wave data. Bootstrap analyses were also carried out for the transformed wave heights in the six zones for waves propagated from the NNW. Thus, an investigation of the parameter uncertainty of mean significant wave heights via the determination of the representative distributions were carried out. It can be concluded that the bootstrap values in the different seasons generally had parallel trends. The seasonal bootstrap values of the deviation from the mean had no clear, recognizable trend. Bias values (variation) from mean significant wave heights were also calculated and are presented.

A geophysical survey provides new information on marine features located seaward of Locri-Epizefiri (Locri), an ancient Greek settlement on the Ionian coastal margin in southern Italy. The study supplements previous work by archaeologists who long searched for the site's harbor and recently identified what was once a marine basin that is now on land next to the city walls of Locri. Profiles obtained offshore, between the present coast and outer shelf, made with a high-resolution, seismic subbottom-profiling system, record spatial and temporal variations of buried Holocene deposits. Two of these submerged features are part of a probable now-submerged ship landing facility. The offshore features can be linked to coastline displacements that occurred off Locri: a sea-to-land shift before Greek settlement, followed by a shoreline reversal from the archaeological site back to sea, and more recently, a return landward. The seaward directed coastal shift that occurred after Locri's occupation by Greeks was likely caused by land uplift near the coastal margin and tectonic seaward shift of the coast, as documented along this geologically active sector of the Calabrian Arc.

The seismic survey records an angular, hook-shaped, low rise that extends from the present shore and is now buried on the inner shelf. The rise, enclosing a core lens of poorly stratified to transparent acoustic layers, bounds a broad, low-elevation zone positioned immediately seaward of the shoreline. Close proximity of the raised feature to the low-elevation area suggests it may have been a fabricated structure that functioned as a wave-break for a ship-landing site. The study indicates that the basin extended offshore as a function of the coastline's seaward migration during and/or after Greek occupation of Locri.

In support of the Texas Seagrass Monitoring Program, remote sensing research is underway to evaluate automated methods for monitoring landscape changes in seagrass beds related to human and/or natural disturbances. This paper discusses the integration of high resolution aerial color film photography, color space transformation, pixel threshold models, and geographic information system technology to detect, assess, and monitor 1-m ground feature changes and disturbance areas within a Texas, United States, shallow seagrass bed over 3 site years. The procedure entails transforming digitized, aerial color film transparencies from red, green, and blue color space to intensity, hue, and saturation color space; analyzing the saturation and/or intensity imagery and their histograms to identify bare areas; and developing threshold models to separate bare areas from vegetated areas employing the results obtained in the previous step. Maps created with this semiautomated approach had classification accuracies ranging from 75% to 100%. We used geographic information system tools to quantify landscape feature changes occurring at the shallow test site for 3 consecutive years. The overall findings indicate that the semiautomated approach described in this study can be used as an efficient protocol to accurately map changes in bare and vegetated areas within this Texas seagrass bed, and suggest that the techniques would have high potential for other similar seagrass areas.

Multitemporal sets of lidar data provide a unique opportunity to analyze and quantify changes in topography in rapidly evolving landscapes. Methodology for geospatial analyses of lidar data time series was developed to investigate patterns of coastal terrain evolution, including the beach and dune systems. The diverse lidar-point data density, noise, and systematic errors were first quantified, and the results were used to compute a consistent series of high-resolution digital elevation models using spline-based approximation with optimized parameters. Raster-based statistical analysis was applied to the elevation-model time series to derive maps representing multiyear trends in spatial patterns of elevation change, to quantify dynamics at each cell using standard deviation maps, and to extract the core surface below which the elevation has never decreased. The methodology was applied to a North Carolina barrier island that was mapped by a sequence of 13 lidar surveys during the past decade, using several different lidar systems. Assessment of vertical differences between the lidar data sets using stable structures such as a road, was shown to be essential for correct quantification of coastal terrain change and its pattern. The analysis revealed the highly dynamic nature of foredunes, the trend toward inland sand transport, and the impact of anthropogenic sand disposal on that trend.

The Benthic Ecological Assessment for Marginal Reefs (BEAMR) method is a universal assessment procedure which helps to quantify the “health” condition of a coral reef habitat over time. Coral reefs, due to their complexity as an ecosystem, have presented problems in the past to marine researchers trying to assess the performance of the habitat through statistical evaluation. Previous methodologies such as the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment method and the Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity Program, while being useful, were created specifically for reefs within the Caribbean Sea and are biased toward one or two main indicator organisms (e.g., stony corals). However, given that most reefs worldwide are considered marginal habitats, which describes them as having an impoverished community condition with biogeographic limits, the BEAMR method offers a more comprehensive analysis of all benthic functional groups defining the reef. Assessments and analysis using the BEAMR method provide marine researchers with accurate in situ documentation of all aspects within benthic coral communities, allowing conservation managers to more effectively protect these marine habitats. Coral reef resources are under a constant threat from both human and natural forces, making habitat assessment protocols, such as the BEAMR method, an important tool in the worldwide conservation of coral reef communities.