Publications

The ultimate goal of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) is to restore and preserve the unique ecosystems of South Florida, including the estuaries. Understanding the effect of salinity and temperature changes, beyond typical oscillations, on the biota of South Florida's estuaries is a necessary component of achieving the goal of restoring the estuaries. The U.S...

Introduction A critical component of any ecological restoration program is documenting the temporal changes in the spatial extent, pattern, and proportion of plant communities within the landscape. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP - www.evergladesplan.org), authorized as part of the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) of 2000 (U.S. Congress, 2000), is an $8...

The Laguna Tortuguero, a slightly saline to freshwater lagoon in north-central Puerto Rico, has a surface area of about 220 hectares and a mean depth of about 1.2 meters. As part of a water-quality reconnaissance, water samples were collected at about monthly and near bi-monthly intervals from March 1999 to May 2000 at four sites: three stations inside the lagoon and one station at the...

When soils data are in digital format compatible with geographic information systems (GIS), a wide variety of analyses and display capabilities are afforded. Detailed information on soils that may be important to Everglades ecosystem restoration has been created in hardcopy form using traditional soils mapping techniques. However, accurate conversion of these analogue geographic data to...

The Caribbean Water Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with local and Federal agencies obtains a large amount of data pertaining to the water resources of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands each water year. These data, accumulated during many water years, constitute a valuable data base for developing an improved

The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) is an integrated network of real-time water-level monitoring, ground-elevation modeling, and water-surface modeling that provides scientists and managers with current (1999-present), online water-depth information for the entire freshwater portion of the Greater Everglades. Presented on a 400-square-meter grid spacing, EDEN offers a...

A ground-water quality study to define the potential sources and concentration of nitrate in the Rio Nigua de Salinas alluvial fan aquifer was conducted between January 2002 and March 2003. The study area covers about 3,600 hectares of the coastal plain within the municipality of Salinas in southern Puerto Rico, extending from the foothills to the Caribbean Sea. Agriculture is the...

A three-dimensional numerical model was developed to assist in the evaluation of the effects of changes in freshwater flow on the salinity regime of the lower Suwannee River, its estuary, and Suwannee Sound. Hydrodynamic and salt-transport modeling were supported by data from a comprehensive data-collection network operated in the lower Suwannee River during 1998-2000. The study area...

Water resources data for the 2005 water year in Florida consist of continuous or daily discharge for 429 streams, periodic discharge for 9 streams, continuous or daily stage for 218 streams, periodic stage for 5 streams, peak stage and discharge for 28 streams; continuous or daily elevations for 15 lakes, periodic elevations for 23 lakes; continuous ground-water levels for 401 wells...

Southeastern Florida is an area that has been subject to widely conflicting anthropogenic stress to the Everglades and coastal ecosystems. This stress is a direct consequence of the 20th century economic competition for limited land and water resources needed to satisfy agricultural development and its expansion, its displacement by burgeoning urban development, and the accompanying...

South Floria is home to a variety of ecosystems. Small variations in elevation (in some cases, only inches), water salinity (a measure of salt content), soil type, and fire frequency dictate which landscape community will prevail. Below are descriptions and photographs of some of South Florida's unique ecosystems.

Water resources data for the 2005 water year in Florida consist of continuous or daily discharges for 429 streams, periodic discharge for 9 streams, continuous or daily stage for 218 streams, periodic stage for 5 streams, peak stage for 28 streams and peak discharge for 28 streams, continuous or daily elevations for 15 lakes, periodic elevations for 23 lakes; continuous ground-water...