U.S. Department of the Interior
US Geological Survey
OFR 00-483

Abstract

View Open File Report 00-483. Please note: you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view this file.

The data presented in this report are products of an investigation that quantified interactions between ground water and surface water in Taylor Slough in Everglades National Park. Determining the extent of hydrologic interactions between wetland surface water and ground water in Taylor Slough is important because the balance of freshwater flow in the lower part of the Slough is uncertain. Although freshwater flows through Taylor Slough are quite small in comparison to Shark Slough (the larger of the two major sloughs in Everglades National Park), flows through Taylor Slough are especially important to the ecology of estuarine mangrove embayments of northeastern Florida Bay. Also, wetland and ground- water interactions must be quantified if their role in affecting water quality is to be determined.

In order to define basic hydrologic characteristics of the wetland, depth of wetland peat was mapped, and hydraulic conductivity and vertical hydraulic gradients in peat were determined. During specific time periods representing both wet and dry conditions in the area, the distribution of major ions, nutrients, and water stable isotopes throughout the slough were determined. The purpose of chemical measurements was to identify an environmental tracer could be used to quantify ground-water discharge.

Download OFR 00-483 (1.3 MB PDF; requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view the file)

(Metadata file is available for Hydrologic Measurements and Water-Quality Data for Taylor Slough and vicinity (OFR 00-483 appendixes))