Estuarine Conditions as of September 4,
2007
St. Lucie Estuary
Current Conditions:
No releases occurred at S-80
over the past week. Weekly average salinities at the four monitoring
sites in the St. Lucie are given below in parts per thousand (ppt).
|
Weekly Average Salinity
(ppt) |
|
|
Sampling Site |
Surface |
Bottom |
Envelope |
|
5.2 |
5.9 |
|
HR1 (N. Fork) |
7.8 |
11.4 |
|
|
11.8 |
12.3 |
8.0 – 25.0 |
A1A Bridge |
19.5 |
26.0 |
20.0 – 31.0 |
Average weekly salinity in
the estuary increased slightly since the last report. Local freshwater
inflow continues to maintain surface salinity at both the
Seagrasses near the St. Lucie Inlet were monitored on August
23. At site 2, noth of the inlet, Syringodium shoot counts and canopy heights were
similar to those observed last month. Many areas of the site are now
densely covered by Halophila johnsonii and/or Halodule wrightii. Bottom salinity was 28 ppt and visibility was fair to good (Secchi
0.8 m).
At Site 3,
south of the inlet. seagrass conditions were similar
to those observed last month: A dense, healthy fringe of Halodule wrightii
is present along the shoreline. Halophila johnsonii and to a lesser extent Halophila
decipiens and Halodule
wrightii are present in small patches within the
former Syringodium bed. Halodule wrightii
and Halophila johnsonii
are present along the offshore shoal. The Syringodium
bed at this site was buried during the 2004 hurricanes and has not
recovered. However, several small patches of Syringodium
are currently present at the site.
Caloosahatchee Estuary
Current Conditions:
During the past week,
discharge at S-79 averaged 266 cfs for the
week. Chloride concentration at the Olga Plant is presently 73
mg/l. Average salinity at the monitoring sites in the upper
Caloosahatchee Estuary decreased over the past week. Data for specific
sites are given below in parts per thousand (ppt).
|
Weekly Average Salinity
(ppt) |
|
Sampling Site |
Surface |
Bottom |
|
6.9 |
7.0 |
Rt. 31 Bridge |
NA |
8.4 |
I-75 Bridge |
7.1 |
10.6 |
|
11.7 * |
NA |
|
19.3 |
19.6 |
Shell Point |
30.5 |
32.3 |
* based on three-day average.
While the weekly average
salinity at
FWRI reports that no Karenia brevis, the
To find this information on the web:
·
click on “Current Week”
·
click on “Technical Summary”
·
scroll to the bottom and click on “Coastal
Ecosystems”