This project focuses on the hydrology of the mangrove-marsh ecotone of Everglades National Park and on the linkages between hydrologic characteristics and mangrove ecosystem function. The objectives of this research are to: (1) quantify groundwater and surface-water flow dynamics within the coastal mangrove zone and within the adjacent fresh-water marsh; (2) define the response of fluid flow characteristics to changes in weather and water management practices; and (3) derive relationships between hydrologic conditions and vegetation indices of the mangrove-marsh ecotone. Objectives (1) and (2) center on the development and testing of mathematical models for the coupled flow of surface and subsurface water; objective (3) is interdisciplinary in nature and relies on cooperation with researchers conducting a concurrent vegetation dynamics study. Since the project’s inception in November 1999, we have constructed a two-dimensional finite-difference model that accurately predicts the temporal variability in water levels across a 20-mile long region, situated in the central portion of Shark River Slough has been constructed. The domain of this fine-resolution model is being extended to include the coastal mangrove zone and the model formulation is being modified to account for complications associated with the mixing of fresh and saline waters. Results of this work will provide new information and tools critical in guiding Everglades restoration, including estimates of freshwater flows into estuaries within the Park and a tested means to forecast how these freshwater discharges are affected by changes in system structure and operational procedures.

---

(This abstract was taken from the Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration (GEER) Open File Report (PDF, 8.7 MB))

Note: PDF files require the Adobe Acrobat Reader to be read. Download the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader ®.

Back to Project Homepage