The Apalachicola River has experienced geomorphic changes associated with natural and human activities, documented in a series of studies. University of Florida (Dr. Joann Mossa, Professor; Briar Pierce, PhD student) and University of Alabama (Dr. Amobi Amanambu, Assistant Professor; Basit Akinade, PhD student) geographers joined together to revisit some field sites on the upper Apalachicola River north of Blountstown, Florida related to their past publications. They were accompanied by Riverkeeper Cameron Baxley and John Alber, Vice-President of the Board of Directors).
One site that they revisited was the landslide at Alum Bluff (see Mossa, J., & Chen, Y. H. (2025). Landslide at the River’s edge: alum bluff, Apalachicola River, Florida. Geosciences, 15(4), 130. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/15/4/130). As documented in this paper, the landslide occurred in two phases, the first in 2013 and the second in 2015. The drone photo below was taken during the summer of 2018. During the field visit in March 2026, the team took new drone images of the landslide. We noted that a lot of vegetation has reestablished at this site. Our team also marked and tagged 19 trees to serve as reference points for future monitoring of the slope. If parts of the landslide become reactivated, these markers will help us identify and measure change through time. Such monitoring is particularly important because extreme events, such as hurricanes, may increase the likelihood of renewed slope instability through intense rainfall, bank saturation, and erosive river conditions.
Drone photo taken in summer 2018.
Drone aerial orthomosaic taken in March 2026
Another site they revisited was a deep spot on the riverbed near Ocheesee Landing. (see Amanambu, A. C., & Mossa, J. 2024. Machine learning insights of anthropogenic and natural influences on riverbed deformation in a large lowland river. Geomorphology, 446, 108986. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169555X23004063). Parts of this spot had deepened more than 17m between 1960 and 2010. We were exploring what changes might have occurred here since 2010. During the March 2026 visit, the team returned to collect sonar-based depth measurements to determine whether this deep area has remained stable, deepened further, or experienced partial infilling since 2010. This follow-up survey provides an important opportunity to evaluate ongoing riverbed change at a site already known for pronounced bed deformation. We have not yet processed the data, but we hope to go back again to conduct science and continue conversations on how best to protect the river.
Blog by Professor, Joann Mossa, March 2026