Except in spring when most of them go dry.
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| February 2011 |
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| View of same cypress dome back in November |
Feb 28, 2011
Domes hung out to dry
Cypress domes are usually flooded with water …
Except in spring when most of them go dry.
Here’s how the same dome looked back in November.
Except in spring when most of them go dry.
Feb 27, 2011
Can you see the pond apple people?
One step deeper than the tall cypress are the pond apple.
Unlike the tall cypress which are smooth-barked and rise in straight vertical sheer, the branches of the pond apple are contorted, craggily and shoot every which way.
The pond apple canopy is much lower.
That gives it a more intimate feel, but also makes it kind of “other worldly,” as if in entering into this deep water realm you’ve transcended into the center-most heart of the Big Cypress Swamp.
On this particular day in January the branches of the pond apple trees were bent in such a way to give the illusion that two others were out there with me – a stickman (top photo) with arms raised to the sky and a bromeliad forming its hair and a branchman (bottom photo) hanging lemur-like in the air.
It’s always nice to find company in the swamp!
Unlike the tall cypress which are smooth-barked and rise in straight vertical sheer, the branches of the pond apple are contorted, craggily and shoot every which way.
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| Can you see the stickman hidden in plain view? |
That gives it a more intimate feel, but also makes it kind of “other worldly,” as if in entering into this deep water realm you’ve transcended into the center-most heart of the Big Cypress Swamp.
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| This "pond apple" man is easier to see. |
It’s always nice to find company in the swamp!
Feb 26, 2011
Total eclipse of the swamp?
Not quite ...
The shadow of the helicopter on the swamp is quite small,
to the point you can barely see it at all.
Compare that to a cloud shadow from a relatively modest mid morning cumulus popcorn puff.
It's a welcome reprieve from piping hot sun that shines down non-stop.
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| In flight north of Oasis Visitors Center |
The shadow of the helicopter on the swamp is quite small,
to the point you can barely see it at all.
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| Cypress and pine "swamp mosaic" in February |
Compare that to a cloud shadow from a relatively modest mid morning cumulus popcorn puff.
It's a welcome reprieve from piping hot sun that shines down non-stop.
Feb 25, 2011
Every "swamp year" counts!
How many years does it take to become a swamp expert?
Here’s a book that makes a convincing case for forty years.
What most people find out about the swamp is that the more you get to know it the more surprises it reveals. That leads me to believe that many of the swamp’s ancient riddles will go unanswered.
That’s a good thing.
Too often in life we search for answers not realizing that it’s the continual quest that makes it worthwhile. And more times than not we get sidetracked on secondary conundrums that detour our course further and further from that original goal.
“Actually,” come to think of it, “What was the original goal?”
The older I get the more I forget.
Not that the swamp cares.
The good thing is the swamp is always there ...
Thus the quest continues!
Here’s a book that makes a convincing case for forty years.
What most people find out about the swamp is that the more you get to know it the more surprises it reveals. That leads me to believe that many of the swamp’s ancient riddles will go unanswered.
That’s a good thing.
Too often in life we search for answers not realizing that it’s the continual quest that makes it worthwhile. And more times than not we get sidetracked on secondary conundrums that detour our course further and further from that original goal.
“Actually,” come to think of it, “What was the original goal?”
The older I get the more I forget.
Not that the swamp cares.
The good thing is the swamp is always there ...
Thus the quest continues!
Feb 24, 2011
A wet, marl and dry prairie?
A slough is sort of like a "wet" prairie ...
in that it's submerged for most of the year.
Although usually the term "wet prairie" in south Florida means its made of "marl" soil instead, not peat, which at this point (in the winter) most of the ones you find in the Big Cypress Swamp are "dry" instead.
The video above sort of explains.
in that it's submerged for most of the year.
Although usually the term "wet prairie" in south Florida means its made of "marl" soil instead, not peat, which at this point (in the winter) most of the ones you find in the Big Cypress Swamp are "dry" instead.
The video above sort of explains.
Feb 23, 2011
Drought-proof Lanier?
Lake Lanier is up 20 feet from its 2008 drought stage.
Why is it they’re pushing to raise it another two?
Georgia is advocating raising the “full pool” of Lake Lanier from 1071 to 1073 feet above sea level as a low-cost way to fulfill its water supply quota instead of trying to build a bunch of new and smaller reservoirs instead. (read article)
As long as Lanier’s full, we tend not to hear a peep …
But drop it down 10 feet and the tri-state water war is on:
Georgia holds the water and all the people (i.e., Atlantans) but Florida has the paper right to the water which Corps of Engineer rules and a judge’s gavel guarantee.
There’s an estuary and an fishery in downstream Apalachicola Bay that depend on minimal flows from the river system, which during a drought depends exclusively on main-stem releases from Woodruff Dam (i.e., Seminole Lake) which in turn is replenished from way north by headwater releases from Buford Dam (i.e., Lake Lanier). Alabama’s caught up in it as well.
Has drought always been an issue?
Until recently, not really. The river used to reliably discharge between 15-20 million acre feet per year into Apalachicola Bay, but over the past ten years a series of droughts has regularly dropped that number below ten. Especially noticeable has been a decadal drop off in spring flows (i.e., large black dots), a trend that sets the stage for longer and deeper drops into the summer baseflow recession (i.e., red “+” signs).
Atlanta hasn’t exactly gotten “less thirsty” over that time period, either.
Bottom line:
Hydro-geo-politics of this sort don’t heat up and get hammered out up until they absolutely have to. For Lanier that means a drop down to 1060 ft above sea level or lower.
It's usually denial until drought hits, then the hard decisions get made.
Why is it they’re pushing to raise it another two?
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| Multi-parameter chart of Lake Lanier stage, Woodruff dam discharge, and Apalachicola's annual tailwater discharge volume |
Georgia is advocating raising the “full pool” of Lake Lanier from 1071 to 1073 feet above sea level as a low-cost way to fulfill its water supply quota instead of trying to build a bunch of new and smaller reservoirs instead. (read article)
As long as Lanier’s full, we tend not to hear a peep …
But drop it down 10 feet and the tri-state water war is on:
 |
| Woodruff Dam and Lake Seminole (source: Wikipedia) |
There’s an estuary and an fishery in downstream Apalachicola Bay that depend on minimal flows from the river system, which during a drought depends exclusively on main-stem releases from Woodruff Dam (i.e., Seminole Lake) which in turn is replenished from way north by headwater releases from Buford Dam (i.e., Lake Lanier). Alabama’s caught up in it as well.
 |
| Map of Apalachicola watershed. Notice how it extends way north into Georgia |
Has drought always been an issue?
Until recently, not really. The river used to reliably discharge between 15-20 million acre feet per year into Apalachicola Bay, but over the past ten years a series of droughts has regularly dropped that number below ten. Especially noticeable has been a decadal drop off in spring flows (i.e., large black dots), a trend that sets the stage for longer and deeper drops into the summer baseflow recession (i.e., red “+” signs).
Atlanta hasn’t exactly gotten “less thirsty” over that time period, either.
 |
| Spring flows are starting to surge, but in general they've been down for most of the last decade. |
Hydro-geo-politics of this sort don’t heat up and get hammered out up until they absolutely have to. For Lanier that means a drop down to 1060 ft above sea level or lower.
It's usually denial until drought hits, then the hard decisions get made.
Feb 22, 2011
Flip flops in February?
As warm as February has been in Naples …
Up north near the continent, Florida’s still battling back the frost.
Naples has been basking in the sun of midday temperatures somewhere in the 75° F range and luxuriating in lunar air hovering somewhere around 60° F. Compare that to Tallahassee which has been barely cracking Naples nighttime low with their midday high.
And "would be" vacationers take note:
Tallahassee nights are routinely dip into the low 30° F range (and even lower.)
That means you might want to pack your heavy boots for flights into Tallahassee, whereas for Naples flip flops will do just fine.
Up north near the continent, Florida’s still battling back the frost.
And "would be" vacationers take note:
Tallahassee nights are routinely dip into the low 30° F range (and even lower.)
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| Map of Florida |
That means you might want to pack your heavy boots for flights into Tallahassee, whereas for Naples flip flops will do just fine.
Feb 21, 2011
Bravest pine tree of all
Slash pine like high ground, right?
Here's a sapling that invaded deep into the swamp.
At least for now it appears to be living happily among the cypress.
Here's a sapling that invaded deep into the swamp.
At least for now it appears to be living happily among the cypress.
Feb 20, 2011
Swamp's favorite president?
“Do more good than harm.”
That’s what colleague (actually he was quite a few years older than me) told everyone at a group gathering just before he left. There was a tinge of self righteousness in what he said, but it was also about the closest you’d ever hear him admit to any regret. He was a man of action and strong opinions who loved to play Devil’s Advocate ... to the chagrin of quite a few.
Funny how people leave and you never hear from them again.
But for some reason those words with me always stuck.
That brings us to President’s Day.
I’m old enough to remember when Washington’s Day and Lincoln’s Day were separate holidays. Then at some point they got combined into a single day to commemorate the Presidential office and all those that served from 1 to 44.
Perhaps the most common (and unwinnable) debate of the holiday is –
“Which President was the best,”
Or just as common, “your favorite?”
For the swamp the answer is clear:
Richard Nixon.
For most his name probably is inseparable from Watergate which – as a hydrologist – I would argue isn’t even that bad. Think about it, whenever you get people saying “water” and “gate” in a single sentence, and with conviction, that may be the only words with any inkling of a relation to the water cycle that they’ll say all day.
You see, Richard Nixon signed Big Cypress Nat’l Preserve into law,
Or in other words, he was the President who Saved the Swamp.
Did he do more good than harm?
It’s hard to say no if you live in the swamp.
That’s what colleague (actually he was quite a few years older than me) told everyone at a group gathering just before he left. There was a tinge of self righteousness in what he said, but it was also about the closest you’d ever hear him admit to any regret. He was a man of action and strong opinions who loved to play Devil’s Advocate ... to the chagrin of quite a few.
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| Had the swamp not been saved it could have been swallowed up by the Jetport instead |
Funny how people leave and you never hear from them again.
But for some reason those words with me always stuck.
That brings us to President’s Day.
I’m old enough to remember when Washington’s Day and Lincoln’s Day were separate holidays. Then at some point they got combined into a single day to commemorate the Presidential office and all those that served from 1 to 44.
 |
| Diagram from a Nixon-era study that helped save the swamp from development |
Perhaps the most common (and unwinnable) debate of the holiday is –
“Which President was the best,”
Or just as common, “your favorite?”
For the swamp the answer is clear:
Richard Nixon.
For most his name probably is inseparable from Watergate which – as a hydrologist – I would argue isn’t even that bad. Think about it, whenever you get people saying “water” and “gate” in a single sentence, and with conviction, that may be the only words with any inkling of a relation to the water cycle that they’ll say all day.
 |
| Big Cypress Nat'l Preserve was established in 1974 |
You see, Richard Nixon signed Big Cypress Nat’l Preserve into law,
Or in other words, he was the President who Saved the Swamp.
Did he do more good than harm?
It’s hard to say no if you live in the swamp.
Feb 19, 2011
All bark (no bite?)
Cypress trunks are often covered in lichen,
but it's not the fungus I'm worried about:
Rather moccasins skimming on the water below.
Slash pine trunks are my last concerns when I’m in the dry palmettos.
I have an eye out for rattlesnakes coiled around each corner, instead.
At least that was the case until I got stung on the finger by a scorpion hiding out under a cranny of a pine trunk's papery bark.
I've had a healthy respect for pine trees ever since.
I’m proud to report that after twelve years the sting no longer hurts!
but it's not the fungus I'm worried about:
Rather moccasins skimming on the water below.
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| Multi-colored cypress trunk in water |
Slash pine trunks are my last concerns when I’m in the dry palmettos.
I have an eye out for rattlesnakes coiled around each corner, instead.
 |
| Slash pine bark peals away like paper and has many crevasses |
I've had a healthy respect for pine trees ever since.
I’m proud to report that after twelve years the sting no longer hurts!
Feb 18, 2011
Hidden waters
Dry sky, dry pines and dry marl praries ...
But not the cypress domes:
They're still wet!
But not the cypress domes:
They're still wet!
Feb 17, 2011
What's a day of rain worth?
Does one Big Rain Day make a month?
During the winter Dry Season in south Florida, yes.
We recorded our first Big Rain Day (i.e., over 1 inch of rain south Florida wide) at the end of January. That was enough to knock us "above average" for the month and raise water levels a good couple inches in the swamp.
Does one Big Rain Day make a Dry Season?
Answer:
No, from here on out it could be a steady drop.
During the winter Dry Season in south Florida, yes.
We recorded our first Big Rain Day (i.e., over 1 inch of rain south Florida wide) at the end of January. That was enough to knock us "above average" for the month and raise water levels a good couple inches in the swamp.
Does one Big Rain Day make a Dry Season?
Answer:
No, from here on out it could be a steady drop.
Big Cypress meets Everglades
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| Confluence where Mullet Slough and the Everglades meet, looking northwest into Big Cypress Nat'l Preserve |
Feb 16, 2011
Airborne above the River of Grass
Here's a good look at the River of Grass,
above arguably its most pristine reach.
There's only one of these in the world you know!
above arguably its most pristine reach.
There's only one of these in the world you know!
Feb 15, 2011
One Everglades but many hydrographs
Hydrographs can be hard to read.
That’s where adding photos to the background can better help paint the hydrologic scene.
This particular hydrograph shows water depth in the Everglades for Water Conservation Area 3A. The hydrograph shows that the “tree island” high ground has been completely dry since November whereas the deep-water “sloughs” are still holding water about a foot deep.
The “ridges” are still flooded with water, but at only a few inches deep.
Look for them to go dry by the start of spring.
How far will water levels drop?
To answer that it’s probably more instructive to look at a more statistically-robust hydrograph (click here to see) instead, and probably study up on the entire hydrologic period of record as well (shown below).
Importantly, the hydrographs above are actually an aggregate of three different stations – Site 63, Site 64, and Site 65 – which in local circles is better known as “regulatory stage for WCA3A.” Thus, in order to be precisely accurate it would be necessary to look at each individual stations to determine when, if, and how long each one gets wet and goes dry.
Currently, sloughs are flooded with 1.75 feet deep of water to the south in Site 65 but only around 0.33 feet deep to the north at Site 65.
In a nutshell …
There’s probably no one single hydrograph that says it all …
Although wouldn’t life be easier if there was?
That’s where adding photos to the background can better help paint the hydrologic scene.
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| A background photo sometimes makes hydrographs easier to read |
This particular hydrograph shows water depth in the Everglades for Water Conservation Area 3A. The hydrograph shows that the “tree island” high ground has been completely dry since November whereas the deep-water “sloughs” are still holding water about a foot deep.
The “ridges” are still flooded with water, but at only a few inches deep.
Look for them to go dry by the start of spring.
How far will water levels drop?
To answer that it’s probably more instructive to look at a more statistically-robust hydrograph (click here to see) instead, and probably study up on the entire hydrologic period of record as well (shown below).
 |
| Habitat-coded graphical display of WCA3A water stage through the decades |
Currently, sloughs are flooded with 1.75 feet deep of water to the south in Site 65 but only around 0.33 feet deep to the north at Site 65.
In a nutshell …
There’s probably no one single hydrograph that says it all …
Although wouldn’t life be easier if there was?
L28 Gap
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| Here's a view of the tail waters of Mullet Slough in the vicinity of L28 Gap looking east into the Everglades |
Feb 14, 2011
Formal definition of "balmy"
Here’s a weather chart that not even the sun here in Naples (as shown in the photo behind it) can heat up. Come to think of it, Florida and Fargo actually see the same sun …
But you know what I mean.
The good news for North Dakotans has been the pleasantly surprising rise of daytime highs just above freezing into the lows 30s.
“You can take the jacket off and actually enjoy being outside,” says Fargo meteorologist Daryl Ritchison, further describing the recent spell of so-called warm air as “balmy.”
Balmy, really?
Balmy isn’t what you get when you can barely melt ice!
Balmy is what you get when you add on another fifty degrees (i.e., raising daytime highs above 80°F) which was the story for Naples, Florida for the first part of February.
But then a cold front broke through Florida this weekend.
That kept daytime highs below 70°F and had the fine citizenry of Naples bundling up in jackets and staying indoors instead.
But you know what I mean.
The good news for North Dakotans has been the pleasantly surprising rise of daytime highs just above freezing into the lows 30s.
“You can take the jacket off and actually enjoy being outside,” says Fargo meteorologist Daryl Ritchison, further describing the recent spell of so-called warm air as “balmy.”
Balmy, really?
Balmy isn’t what you get when you can barely melt ice!
Balmy is what you get when you add on another fifty degrees (i.e., raising daytime highs above 80°F) which was the story for Naples, Florida for the first part of February.
But then a cold front broke through Florida this weekend.
That kept daytime highs below 70°F and had the fine citizenry of Naples bundling up in jackets and staying indoors instead.
Video of Wekiwa Spring
Here's video of a flowing Florida spring. Notice (1) how its located at the bottom of a scarp which a geologist once told me is where many of the original towns of Florida were settled (in order to take advantage of the plentiful water source) and (2) how the water "boils" to the surface. Here's a link back to the original blog entry as posted in 2008.
Feb 13, 2011
No longer safe for diving
Here's a look at Kissengen Spring ...
Then and now.
It looked a lot funner back then.
Then and now.
It looked a lot funner back then.
Feb 12, 2011
Second life of Kissengen Spring?
The Peace River isn’t what it used to be.
For starters, its headwater source – Kissengen Spring – is gone.
The culprit?
Groundwater pumping associated with phosphate mining substantially lowered the water table in the 1950s which in turn reversed the direction of flow. No, the river didn’t start flowing north! By “reversed” I mean that the river isn’t recharged “up” from the groundwater any longer, but rather ends up leaking “down,” and quite prodigiously at times, into the aquifer instead.
Kissengen Spring flowed at 30 cubic feet per second (20 million gallons per day). That may not sound like much, but it was incredibly steady in the sense that it flowed all year round. That was particularly important during the seasonal spring drought when without it the Peace would run dry. It was its sole source of flow.
The hydrograph above shows how in recent times the river routinely drops below 100 cfs, yet rarely did so when the spring was still intact.
Work is underway to repair the river with an upstream reservoir called Hancock Lake and by strategically adding berms in the river bed to keep flow in the river from sinking down into the karst aquifer instead. (view article)
The goal is to keep a minimum of 20-30 cfs in the river channel at all times.
Or in other words, replicate the flows of Kissengen Spring!
For starters, its headwater source – Kissengen Spring – is gone.
The culprit?
Groundwater pumping associated with phosphate mining substantially lowered the water table in the 1950s which in turn reversed the direction of flow. No, the river didn’t start flowing north! By “reversed” I mean that the river isn’t recharged “up” from the groundwater any longer, but rather ends up leaking “down,” and quite prodigiously at times, into the aquifer instead.
Kissengen Spring flowed at 30 cubic feet per second (20 million gallons per day). That may not sound like much, but it was incredibly steady in the sense that it flowed all year round. That was particularly important during the seasonal spring drought when without it the Peace would run dry. It was its sole source of flow.
 |
| Peace River at Arcadia |
The hydrograph above shows how in recent times the river routinely drops below 100 cfs, yet rarely did so when the spring was still intact.
Work is underway to repair the river with an upstream reservoir called Hancock Lake and by strategically adding berms in the river bed to keep flow in the river from sinking down into the karst aquifer instead. (view article)
The goal is to keep a minimum of 20-30 cfs in the river channel at all times.
Or in other words, replicate the flows of Kissengen Spring!
Feb 11, 2011
Everglades skink
Usually you get one quick look at a lizard ...
And then like that its gone.
But not this skink.
It seemed quite content to have us around for the hour we were there. The reason may have been that we were stirring up the ants which frequently infest the water monitoring platforms we maintain.
That's a good thing because usually the ants end up biting me instead.
And then like that its gone.
But not this skink.
It seemed quite content to have us around for the hour we were there. The reason may have been that we were stirring up the ants which frequently infest the water monitoring platforms we maintain.
That's a good thing because usually the ants end up biting me instead.
Miles of marly meadow
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| Marl prairie with cypress and slash pine forest in background Photographed in January 2011 just north of Oasis VC |
Feb 10, 2011
Soggy swamp
All that splashing from the summer ...
Has been replaced by mostly soggy instead.
That's because the marl prairies are no longer flooded with water, although at this point in the dry season they're still soggy enough to leave a footprint in most areas if you try.
That could change in the coming months as the spring dry down heats up.
Has been replaced by mostly soggy instead.
That's because the marl prairies are no longer flooded with water, although at this point in the dry season they're still soggy enough to leave a footprint in most areas if you try.
That could change in the coming months as the spring dry down heats up.
Feb 9, 2011
Beware of water levels!
Here's a couple panoramic views inside a cypress dome ...
Each photographed about three months apart.
The top photo was taken in October 2010 and the bottom one at the exact same spot in the middle of January before our recent big rain day, our first of the year.
Simply click on the photos to see a larger view.
Three things of note:
(1) On the left side of each photo, in the background behind the cypress, shows the shadeless realm of the "higher" marl prairie which envelopes it on all sides.
(2) On the right of each photo is the center of the dome. In this case it isn't pond apple or marsh, just a deeper patch of open water which I'd call dry season refugia if by January it hadn't already gone dry. During the summer its over knee high deep and during the winter its the last spot to go dry.
Third, watch out for the snake!
Each photographed about three months apart.
The top photo was taken in October 2010 and the bottom one at the exact same spot in the middle of January before our recent big rain day, our first of the year.
Simply click on the photos to see a larger view.
Three things of note:
(1) On the left side of each photo, in the background behind the cypress, shows the shadeless realm of the "higher" marl prairie which envelopes it on all sides.
(2) On the right of each photo is the center of the dome. In this case it isn't pond apple or marsh, just a deeper patch of open water which I'd call dry season refugia if by January it hadn't already gone dry. During the summer its over knee high deep and during the winter its the last spot to go dry.
Third, watch out for the snake!
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