No place to go but up?

Now that the wet season has begun …

We can expect Lake O to steadily rise, right?

Will Lake O drop into "single digits" in June?

Not so fast!

Record dry down years of 2001, 2007 and 2008 continued their decline (or stayed repressed) through the entirety of June. Lake stage rebounded dramatically in the summers of 2001 and 2008, rising over 5 feet by fall, but 2007 stayed stuck below 10.5 feet above sea level all year long.


What will this summer hold?

That’s the great thing about the water cycle:

You never know until it happens, followed by everyone jumping out of the hydrologic wood work saying “I told you so.”

Olives aka roly polies

Low tide is a common time to run across these sea creatures in the sand

Etymology of term "roly poly"

I came across one of these shells in South Carolina earlier this year and couldn’t recall its name.

“Oh, that’s a roly poly,” a British beachcomber explained.

Looks more like a roly poly than an olive to me

It was a good find considering most of the beach was covered with an extremely thick, clunky, and rather unattractive variety shell called a surf clam.

I was shocked by their sheer size.

This surf clam was almost the size of my hand

The technically correct term isn’t roly poly, but rather olive instead, per its zoological place in the Olividae family. But why let scientific standards get in the way of a better descriptive term.

Roly poly has a better sound to it.

There goes another roly poly (aka olive) disappearing into the sand

Sometimes you’ve got to listen to the tourists!

Swamp hills hide no water

But the wet season should start filling them up soon!

If these hills could talk

What looked like any other hill at first
Turned out to be more than just a shortcut.

This shortcut took me to the round table below

Turned out to be a Rosetta Stone instead:

A compass at its crest pointed – with arrows – in the direction of various points of interest along a 360° view of the rolling horizon.

One such arrow pointed to the Henri-ChapelleAmerican Cemetery and Memorial to which – the previous year – I had biked.


Talk about an uphill pedal for the ages!

I inched up a mountainous road in first gear (I would have gone lower if I could) for what seemed like a good half hour straight, but well worth the delayed gratification too:

The monument was magnificent and the return home 100 percent downhill. (Although at one point I got lost and at another I sought refuge in a torrent of rain under the cover of a railroad bridge.)

Views of the Henri-ChapelleAmerican Cemetery and Memorial
where the Battle of the Bulge was fought

Thus, a year later (in July 2010) – from the vantage of that compass – I was not surprised to see it perched on the sweeping horizon’s most cloud-bound arc.

The memorial is on the distant hillside right above the table on the right

This, of course, is not the Everglades I am talking about
(despite Florida’s State Seal being on the monument in prominent display),

But rather Belgium.


Or to be more precise –

The hills where the “Battle of the Bulge” was fought.

Click on image to see Florida's state seal

Happy Memorial Day

1845

Can you see Fakahatchee Strand?

Lake Jeopardy!

Answer:

On average, about an Empire State Building per day.



Question:
How much Lake Okeechobee water was released to tide in 2010 in order to reduce the threat of high-water on the 1930’s era dike?

Click here to read a Sun-Sentinel article by Andy Reid that describes more.



The Everglades could use some of that water, too.

Shortcut across the swamp

Even the sign deserves a historical marker:
The date stamp says 1958!

Tamiami Crevasse

The good news is that the wet season has begun!

Now for the bad news:
It's got a lot of filling up to do.

The swamp's Tamiami Canal has gone dry.
but watch where you step! that muck is like quick sand.

June averages around 10 inches of rain.

That should have it back up in the brim by the Fourth of July.

But first thing first:

It's Memorial Day weekend!

Faka Union Weir

Can you see the saltwater skimming over the weir?

Invasion by sea

Here’s an unusual sight …

Tidally speaking.

Looking upstream at the Faka Union Canal, May 2011

What looks like a reflection pool is actually water – saltwater that is – rising up and going over the Faka Union weir in the wrong direction, as in “upstream.” More commonly we are used to seeing freshwater flowing downstream over the weir towards the coast.

In fact, that’s part of the problem too. Over the past decades the canal network that feeds the weir has robbed the adjacent wetlands of their waters, sending it too fast south, down the canal, and over the weir where it gets lost to tide.

High tide sends saltwater upstream (left) over the Faka Union Weir

Not to worry:

Efforts are underway (click here to find out more) to restore the freshwater wetlands upstream of the weir which, when complete, will pulse less freshwater to tide …

And hopefully help keep that saltwater back.

Low swamp is "high and dry"

Pond apple roots are usually submerged

Slight of water

Here’s a trick question:

Which photo below was taken during the wet season?

January 2011

Answer:
Neither.

Same pond apple forest in April 2011

The reason?

The wet season is meteorologically described. It runs from November when water levels are still high to the middle of May when the swamps are completely dry. The pond apple forests usually hold onto water well into the winter, even sometimes through the spring.


Only not this year.

Granted, the top photo will get your boots wet.
(Still, that doesn't make it the wet season!)

Pond apples float!

This is the back cover
of the 20-year water report,
as seen September 2010

20-Yr Hydrologic Anniversary Report

Hydrologic monitoring just doesn’t happen.

It’s takes a lot of precision, team work, sweat equity (especially in the south Florida,) and perhaps the biggest chore of all – persistence. Hydrologic monitoring is the light at the tunnel that never ends.

Click on image to see the full report

That’s why when it comes to monitoring “milestones” are so important.

They give us a chance to reflect back on the past to see how far we’ve come, to review how the data is currently being used, and to look ahead into the future to refine our vision of where we want to go.


Twenty years ago Big Cypress Nat’l Preserve and the South Florida Water Management District embarked on a partnership with a goal of filling a void a in the hydrologic puzzle of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem where data was sparse or lacking scientific standards required by the water management community.

The results of that partnership are highlighted in this report.

Hydrograph of water depth in Big Cypress Nat'l Preserve

Simply click on the cover page pictured above to read the full report …

Or, if you like, please feel free to print out a paper copy of your very own, which I think you will find to be a worthy addition to any Big Cypress Swamp enthusiast’s bookshelf or better yet for coffee table display. (Note: the report prints nicely two-sided, front and back.)


Thank you to everyone who has been involved from Day One to Year Twenty and now into its third decade ahead:

Baseline monitoring is a long road, but always worth it in the end.

Naturally-crunchy swamp path

The main flow path in this strand is covered with clam shells

Bivalve strand

To my surprise, the path to those pools was crunchy.

That’s when I looked down and saw these freshwater clams.

Freshwater clam bed of Barnes Strand

It’s the closest thing you’ll find to a channel in the swamp,

and as dense a bed of freshwater clams I've yet to see.

Well-defined channels like this are rare in the Big Cypress Swamp

Here’s a panoramic photo that gives you a view of where it leads.

The channel led to one of the swamp's few drought-proof spots

Barnes Strand

Tamiami Limestone as seen in Barnes Strand

Drought proof?

There's a Floridian town called Frostproof ...

So named because it seemed immune from winter freezes.

That sort of reminds me of the perennial pools of Barnes Strand.

I'm not saying they don't go dry -- after all, even Frostproof eventually succumbed to an onslaught of frigid arctic air -- but I haven't seen it yet.

Belgian water barrel

A little bit of rain every week goes a long way

Teaspoon hydrology

You’ve heard of “mass” confusion,

But even more confounding is the curious case of trying to figure out mass “per volume” at very low concentrations.

This hermit crab helped me with the calculations!

For instance, we know that sea water is salty, but just how “salty” is it?

In scientific terms, it’s 35 parts per thousand (ppt) “salty.”

The recipe in your kitchen would call for adding 26 teaspoons of salt per gallon of water. (Easy enough, I have both.)


How about parts per million (ppm)?

Now we’re getting dilute.

The recipe calls for adding 1 teaspoon to sauce pan the size of 31 rain barrels (at 42.5 gallons per barrel).


Can anything that dilute harm us?

Nitrate levels at a concentration of 10 ppm is cause for alarm for one. (That's one reason why people buy bottled water instead.)

Water barrels are a great way to simplify hydrologic math

How about parts per billion (ppb)?

(Now this will test how well equipped we are in our kitchen!)

This recipe calls for adding 1 teaspoon (good we already have that one) to a lobster pot the size of 2 Olympic swimming pools.


Can you even measure something that dilute?

In the Everglades, total phosphorus in concentrations above 10 ppb is considered a pollutant.

Read your water labels!

As confusing as all this seems (even to me), I’m glad to know that I am at least semi-well equipped as a hydrologist (going out into the world) if I have nothing else but a teaspoon in my hydrologic satchel.


It’s better than the alternative:
Carrying the water instead!

Tamiami Canal

Source for the rock used to build the road in the 1920s
As seen May 2011

Stuck in mobile on Tamiami again

Ever get stuck behind a snail on a one lane road?

Nothing wrong with going slow ...

Then you know exactly how it feels ...

to get caught behind an RV on the Tamiami Trail!

Unless your an impatient tailgater!

But what's the hurry?

There's plenty to see if we'd all just slow down and smell the roses!

Why not smell the roses instead?

The first and last photos are from Belgium and the second is on Florida's Tamiami Trail.

Wet season rain delay?

Instant pool: Just add rain

First day of fall, already?

Is it the first day of fall?


Did anybody else notice the nice dry air?

To me, it almost felt like the first day of fall.

The last day of spring felt like a "mini" first day of fall

The only problem is that summer wet season hasn’t started.

That must mean it’s the last day of spring, instead.


Yes, it’s still hot, but not tropical hot, yet, by humidity standards when the air sticks clammy to your skin. At least that’s been the case for the past week anyhow. Suffice it to say I’ve been enjoying it while I can because, as you can see from the temperature graph above, we have a long road of “hot and humid months” ahead until the first day of fall finally arrives.

That is, assuming Florida actually has a fall (my Merriam-Webster standards.) Questionable at best.

Long road ahead, long road behind
Panoramic view of Upper Wagonwheel (left) and Birdon (right) Roads

After all, Florida’s weather is divided in two, not four: as in summer wet season and winter dry season, with emphasis on “wet” and “dry.” I have lapses in the dead of winter warm spells where I momentarily forget what month we are in – “Is it August or February?” – and an unexpected shiver after a summer storm which leaves me reaching for a winter jacket instead.


Okay, not quite winter parka I’ll admit …

But you know what I mean.

Bridge over troubled waters?

There's a gator cave below where I'm standing:
Considering the building materials, it's an architectural marvel

Hiking trail for alligators

This had the look of a well-kept hiking trail.

Only it was made by a gator instead!

It was safe because I had a clear view. And it beat walking through the thick sawgrass, which can be exhausting over any great distance, even when its dry.

Not to mention you can't see where you're walking ...


That tends to makes me a little uncomfortable.

BTW: This is the same dome featured with photographs two days back.

Lake of ages

Click here to see historic Lake stage, 1930 to present

Hydrologic hills of Lake Okeechobee

How low is Lake O?

This hydrograph sort of explains.

All the Lake's interior-levee wetlands have gone dry

Current stage – at just around 10.6 ft above sea level – is 12 feet below the level it once needed to be to naturally “overflow” south into the Everglades. That stage was 22 feet above sea level.

In modern times, of course, water no longer overflows its banks. There’s a 35 foot levee and engineered structures through which water is routed instead. Nor does it go south, or not mostly: The majority of water, when it’s there to be had, is released to the west into the Caloosahatchee and to the east down the St Lucie where it’s lost, regrettably, to tide.


That keeps the water line in check so it doesn’t get too high.

Of course half a year later drought strikes and we wish we could have it all back.

Some views of the Lake's major structural features

But 35 ft high would be impossible to over top, right?

The trick in this case is that all it has to go up is to 17 ft above sea level. At that level (and higher) the force of the water on the lime rock levee can (and has) dissolve its way underneath top of the levee in the form of wormholes which, if left unchecked, can threaten a catastrophic breach, sending water flooding south once again.


How can water actually flow south onto higher 22-ft land?

(After all, everyone knows that water can only flow downhill.)


The trick in this case is that the peats lands downstream of the Lake’s south rim have sunk a good ten feet down from its pre-drainage 22-ft high perch. The reason for that is that the surface of the Everglades is made of peat which, over the course of five thousand years (i.e., age of the Egyptian pyramids), built up into a thick mat of organic matter from being constantly submerged. But take away the water and the peat slowly (oxidation) and quickly (fires) vanishes. On the ground, that process – called subsidence – has manifested itself as a sinking and more and more flood prone land.

The levee is in the process of being strengthened as a result. (see article.)

Caloosahatchee's estuary swings between too little and not enough freshwater flow

How low is the Lake?

If waters drop another foot and a half lower, gravity becomes ineffectual: Or in other words, water will no longer free flow Lake water to the outflow structures where managers need it to be in order to send it into the farmlands and farther south.

As a result, pumps will be installed to help it flow uphill instead.


Who knew? So water doesn’t always flow downhill? (I had no idea!)

Here’s an article that explains more.

Cypress cave?

The path from the pool leads to an alligator cave

Waters last stand

Outside dome looking in.

Inside dome looking out.

This was the last stand of water left in the entire dome.

Late April 2011

Not surprisingly an alligator found it.