WCA – Greater Everglades Conditions  Weekly Update – October 06, 2009

 

Rainfall:

Rainfall in the Greater Everglades (see Raindar image and below) was light, with all areas 0.5” or lower.  The highest rainfall occurred in the Park:   

 

Rain:                            WCA-1:          0.36 in             WCA-3A:       0.18 in

                                    WCA-2A:       0.13 in             WCA-3B:        0.36 in

                                    WCA-2B:        0.03 in             ENP:               0.50 in

 

Water Conservation Areas:

With this week’s pan evaporation of 1.22” (see srs pdf) exceeding rainfall, stages declined throughout the Greater Everglades except in WCA-2A (see WCA Stages spreadsheet and below):

 

Stage Change:             WCA-1:         -0.04 ft             WCA-3A:        -0.12 ft

                                    WCA-2A:       0.07 ft              WCA-3B:        -0.11 ft

                                    WCA-2B:      -0.22 ft              NESRS:           -0.08 ft

 

Water depths have remained above 2.5 ft in southern WCA-2B for 86 days and in southern WCA-3A for 56 days (see WCA stages).  Inundation of tree islands above 2.5 ft is tolerated by most trees on the islands for 90 to 120 days, after which the trees grow increasingly stressed physiologically.

 

Marsh water stages in WCA-1 are 0.8 ft below regulation in zone A2 and declining, now approaching Zone B.  In WCA-3A stages have dropped almost to the upper transition zone.  Stages continue to rise in WCA-2A; they are about 0.5 ft above regulation compared to 0.35 ft last week (see Reg schedule).  Inundation of the conservation areas has expanded; areas deeper than 2.5 ft are expanding westward in southern WCA-3A and northward in WCA-2A, -2B, and 1 (see Water depths map).  Water levels in the previously dry section of northern WCA-3A (east of the Miami Canal) have risen above ground again. Greater Everglades depths are slightly lower than those a week ago, slightly higher than they were a month ago, and lower than a year ago (see SFWDAT map).

 

No fires have been reported in the Greater Everglades.

 

Everglades National Park (ENP) and Florida Bay:

Light rain fell across ENP and moderate rain fell across Florida Bay last week with ENP stations measuring 0” – 5.1” of rainfall.  The basin-wide, spatially-averaged weekly totals were 0.5” and 0.9” for the ENP and C-111 basins, respectively.

 

Stages (see Stages pdf) declined across most ENP wetland stations last week.  Water levels in Shark River Slough and at the Taylor Slough Bridge each declined 0.5”.  To the south, water levels in the ENP panhandle increased 0.4” but declined 1.1” in Craighead Basin.

 

Salinity (see Salinity pdf) displayed mixed trends across Florida Bay.  While last week’s near shore eastern Bay salinity declined slightly to 9 psu in Long Sound, it increased from 20 psu to 26 psu at the Little Madeira Bay platform.  Further into the Bay in Duck Key basin, salinity declined from 36 psu to 29 psu.  The 30 day moving average salinity at the Taylor River platform (used for tracking the Florida Bay MFL) declined slightly from 1.0 psu to 0.8 psu, with the daily mean salinity at 0.7 psu.  In the north central Bay, salinity declined slightly to 11 psu in McCormick Creek but increased from 14 psu to 19 psu in Terrapin Bay.  At the central Bay platform in Whipray Basin, salinity declined slightly to 38 psu.  To the west, in the upstream reaches of Shark River Slough, salinity is fresh (< 0.5 psu).

 

For questions about Florida Bay, please contact Kevin Cunniff (kcunniff@sfwmd.gov ).

 


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