2 Coastal Hydrogeology in an Age of Rising Seas

As sea levels rise, understanding hydrogeology is crucial in coastal areas. Seawater intrusion can lead to loss of potable or agricultural water supplies, and water table rise due to increasing sea level can lead to increased flooding and affect infrastructure.

Sunday, 19 October 2025
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
HBGCC, 210AB

Assembling and Correlating Geotechnical Boring Data to Inform Groundwater Monitoring System Installation in Southeast Florida

Paper number: 2-7
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:45 AM – 10:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

This study uses publicly available borehole records from the Florida Department of Transportation’s Soil Boring Viewer to analyze lithological characteristics and provide stratigraphic correlations along four coastal transects in Southeast Florida that we name for cities or regional landmarks as: Sunny Isles, Hallandale, Southwest 8th Street, and Bal Harbour.

Geotechnical data taken from the available records includes a File Identification Number (FIN), borehole number, boring date, Northing and Easting coordinates if available, groundwater level, and the geologic composition and thickness of each identified layer. Elevation of the surface at a borehole in feet NAVD88 was estimated from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) within ArcGIS (Geographic Information System), with the recognition that the elevation may have changed between drilling and DEM construction.

The thickness of lithological layers recorded on scaled cross-sections in individual geotechnical reports can be converted from inches (as measured using Adobe Acrobat) to feet in Microsoft Excel. Layer measurements are then organized in the Microsoft Excel worksheet to provide a layer thickness in each borehole in a given transect. The borehole sketches are also compared laterally on a map to discern and lithologically correlate layers along a constructed transect. The results help provide context for future drilling and groundwater monitoring projects by providing information on the shallow sedimentary framework of Southeast Florida.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-413037

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