Measuring Taylor Slough boundary and internal flows, Everglades National Park, Florida

Abstract

Four intensive data-collection efforts, intended to represent the spectrum of precipitation events and associated flow conditions, were conducted during 1997 and 1998 in the Taylor Slough Basin, Everglades National Park. Flow velocities were measured by newly developed, portable Acoustic Doppler Velocity meters along three transects bisecting the Taylor Slough Basin from east to west, roughly perpendicular to the centerline axis of the slough as well as a fourth transect along the slough's axis. These meters provided the required levels of accuracy in flow-velocity measurements while enabling the rapid collection of multiple time series of flow data at remote sites. Concurrently, flow measurements were made along bordering road culverts and under L-31W and Taylor Slough bridges. Flows across the study area's boundaries provided net flow of water into the system and transect measurements provided flow data within the basin. Collected data are available through the World Wide Web (http://sofia.usgs.gov/projects/flow_velocity/). The highwater and low-water events corresponded with the highest and lowest flow velocities, respectively. The July 1998 data had lower than expected flow velocities and, in some cases, strong winds reversed flow direction.

Two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulation of surface-water flow and transport to Florida Bay through the Southern Inland and Coastal Systems (SICS)

“…1), during September 22-26, 1997, and obtained an average of 4.53 m 3 /s (excluding Taylor Slough bridge). The total volume rate produced by the SICS model was 5.29 m 3 /s inflow along the entire Old Ingraham Highway model boundary on September 24, 1997 (Tillis, 2001), which represents a good match of flow magnitude and direction.…”

“…where σ 2 is the variance of the constituent concentration distribution. In the case of the SICS model, if the mean velocity u ≈ 0.05 m/s, which would be an unusually high value considering the field measurements (Tillis, 2001), ------------------------------------= then the ratio of the distance traveled in one timestep u∆t to the grid size ∆x is about 0.07. This means that at the end of the timestep, mass originating at the edge of the cell has moved to an average location x = 0.07∆x.…”

“…A unique aspect of this study involved the measurement of flow velocities (currents) in the wetlands (Tillis, 2001). This type of data is seldom available, but is invaluable for testing model performance.…”

Simulation of integrated surface-water/ground-water flow and salinity for a coastal wetland and adjacent estuary

“…In 1998, much of the remaining levee was degraded to increase inflows into the wetland area south of S18C. On the west side of the study area, culverts beneath the Main Park Road allow surface water to exchange with the wetlands to the west, but flow measurements indicate the exchanges are minimal (Tillis, 2001;Stewart and others, 2002) A principal hydrologic feature in the study area is the Buttonwood Embankment-a nearly continuous ridge along the Florida Bay coastline. This ridge is observed to be about 0.3 m higher than the surrounding marsh, and was formed either by the buildup of organic detritus from the stands of mangrove forest or by sediment deposition from Florida Bay during periodic hurricanes and tropical storms (Holmes and others, 2000).…”