Satellite Imagery and the Geomorphology of Bermuda

LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS) imagery provides a unique tool for investigations of coastal and shallow-water geomorphology. Small scale patterns (1 to kilometers) are much easier to detect from a vantage point in space than they are from the ocean surface or from conventional aircraft photos. The extensive Bermuda platform has been a puzzle in geomorphology for many years. Recent LANDSAT scenes have allowed the development of a new hypothesis which can be checked by conventional geological and geophysical field investigations. The hypothesis states that the gross morphology of subaerial and submarine Bermuda resulted from lateral transportation of sediments and that modern analogs of Bermuda\´s relict spits and bars can be found along many other coastal areas.