Hurricane Impact Modeling for Shipwreck Site Formation in the North Florida Keys and its Application to Resource Management

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Recent Development of Maritime and Historical Archaeology Programs in South Florida" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Since the 1970s, Florida has been affected by 162 Atlantic tropical and subtropical cyclones; ten of which were major hurricanes that reached Category 3 status or higher on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale. In the last three decades, the South Florida region has had a direct hit from two Category 5 hurricanes: Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and Hurricane Irma in 2017. The resulting storm-force waves, strong currents, modern debris, and heavy sediment deposits exhibited a marked effect on both the biological and cultural submerged resources in the area. To study the precise impacts of Hurricane Irma on the submerged cultural resources in the Upper Florida Keys, four shipwrecks were selected: San Pedro, El Populo,SS Benwood, and SS City of Washington. This research aims to shed light on the effects of hurricanes on shipwreck site formation and provide recommendations for rapid site assessment protocols and site mitigation measures in the future.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Recent Development of Maritime and Historical Archaeology Programs in South Florida   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 1036