Weekly Estuarine
Conditions Update
As of October 12,
2009
St. Lucie
Estuary
Current Conditions:
Over the past week, flow averaged 23 cfs at S-80 and 8 cfs at
S308. Provisional data indicates that discharge of 0 cfs
occurred at S-97 on C-23 and 0 cfs at S-49 on
C-24. The current weekly average
salinities (in bold) at the four monitoring sites in the St. Lucie Estuary are
given below in practical salinity units (psu), along
with the previous week’s (in parenthesis).
|
Weekly
Average Salinity (psu) |
|
|
Sampling
Site |
Surface |
Bottom |
Envelope |
Palm
City Bridge (S. Fork) |
9.8 (5.8) |
11.3 (7.9)
|
|
HR1
(N. Fork) |
11.8
(8.9) |
15.0
(14.7) |
|
Roosevelt
Bridge |
15.6 (12.3)
|
16.8 (15.5)
|
8.0 – 25.0 |
A1A
Bridge |
22.6
(18.1) |
26.3
(24.1)
|
20.0
– 31.0 |
Average salinity increased over the last
week. Weekly average salinities at Roosevelt Bridge and A1A Bridge are
within the preferred range. Salinity conditions in the estuary are good
considering the time of year, the location in the estuary, and salinity
preference of the oyster, Crassostrea virginica.
Caloosahatchee Estuary
Current Conditions:
During the past week, flow averaged 298 cfs at S-79, 209 cfs at S-78, and
0 cfs at S-77. The concentration of chlorides at the
Olga Plant was 58 ppm yesterday. The current
weekly average salinities (in bold) at the six monitoring sites in the
Caloosahatchee Estuary are given below in practical salinity units (psu), along with the previous week’s (in
parenthesis).
Weekly
Average Salinity (psu) |
||
Sampling
Site |
Surface |
Bottom |
Franklin
Locks (S-79) |
0.2
(0.2) |
0.3
(0.2) |
Rt.
31 Bridge |
0.3
(0.2) |
0.3
(0.3) |
I-75
Bridge |
0.3 (0.3) |
0.8
(0.3) |
Ft.
Myers Yacht Basin |
NR
(NR)
|
NR
(NR)
|
Marker
52 |
3.7 (2.8) |
8.9 (5.4) |
Cape
Coral Bridge |
10.7
(7.9)
|
14.3 (9.0) |
Shell
Point |
25.3
(21.6)
|
25.5 (22.7)
|
Surface salinity in the upper estuary west of
Ft. Myers remained similar to last week, with surface waters being fresh to
Marker 52, salinity increased in bottom water. In the lower estuary,
salinity increased last week. Salinity conditions in the upper estuary
are considered good. Salinities at the Cape
Coral Bridge are below the preferred range for the oyster, Crassostrea
virginica. Salinity at Shell Point indicates that conditions are good for seagrass
in the lower estuary and San Carlos Bay.
Therefore, conditions in the lower estuary and San Carlos Bay are
good.
FWRI (Fish and Wildlife Research Institute) reports that Karenia brevis,
the Florida red tide organism, was not detected in water samples collected this
week alongshore of Manatee, Lee and Collier counties. One sample collected at Gasparilla
Fishing Pier (Charlotte County) also contained very low concentrations of K.
brevis. A research cruise currently being
conducted offshore of southwest Florida has detected levels of K. brevis ranging from background to low concentrations
offshore of Lee and Collier counties, west and south of Sanibel Island. (research.myfwc.com/features/view_article.asp?id=9670).
Monitoring data collected by the River, Estuary and Coastal
Observing Network (RECON) of Sanibel-Captiva
Conservation Foundation (SCCF) indicated that chlorophyll ranged from 3.0 – 8.3 ug/l at Ft. Myers and 1.1 – 3.4 ug/l
at Shell Point; Dissolved Oxygen ranged from 2.5 – 7.2 mg/l at Ft. Myers
and 3.3 – 5.6 mg/l at Shell Point (www.recon.sccf.org).
click on “Current Week”
click on “Technical
Summary”
scroll to the bottom and
click on “Coastal Ecosystems”