Abstract:

Southeast Florida (SF) is among the most vulnerable regions to sea-level rise in the United States of America. The consequences associated with sea-level rise (SLR) are already apparent, including coastal inundation and erosion. The Coral Gables Canal watershed is located in SF and can be considered representative of the effects of combined mean and extreme SLR. In this research, the effect of concurrent mean and extreme sea-level rise on coastal inundation in the Coral Gables Canal watershed is explored. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model for Biscayne Bay and the Coral Gables Canal is presented. The model is used to estimate water surface elevations throughout the model domain, and map inundation due to an extreme water-level event (Irma Hurricane) occurring alongside mean SLR scenarios. A comparison of the inundation coverage calculated in this research to estimations made by several online tools shows that the online simulators underestimate flooding areas by 72% to 85%. This is a consequence of underpredicting maximum water surface elevations occurring under combined SLR in the Coral Gables Canal. The model predicts that under the NOAA Intermediate High SLR scenario (year 2100), 40% of the CGC watershed will be inundated (water depths > 0.6 m), and 70% of the area will be flooded with water depths greater than 1.6 m in year 2120. Under the NOAA High SLR scenario at least 70% of the Coral Gables Canal watershed would be inundated in 2100 (water depths > 1.0 m). In year 2120, 90% of inland sub-basins will be flooded (0.6 m < depths < 2.2 m). These results are significant for planning flooding/inundation risk management strategies.

Abstract:

Coral reefs are exceptionally biodiverse and human dependence on their ecosystem services is high. Reefs experience significant direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures, and provide a sensitive indicator of coastal ocean health, climate change, and ocean acidification, with associated implications for society. Monitoring coral reef status and trends is essential to better inform science, management and policy, but the projected collapse of reef systems within a few decades makes the provision of accurate and actionable monitoring data urgent. The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network has been the foundation for global reporting on coral reefs for two decades, and is entering into a new phase with improved operational and data standards incorporating the Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) (www.goosocean.org/eov) and Framework for Ocean Observing developed by the Global Ocean Observing System. Three EOVs provide a robust description of reef health: hard coral cover and composition, macro-algal canopy cover, and fish diversity and abundance. A data quality model based on comprehensive metadata has been designed to facilitate maximum global coverage of coral reef data, and tangible steps to track capacity building. Improved monitoring of events such as mass bleaching and disease outbreaks, citizen science, and socio-economic monitoring have the potential to greatly improve the relevance of monitoring to managers and stakeholders, and to address the complex and multi- dimensional interactions between reefs and people. A new generation of autonomous vehicles (underwater, surface, and aerial) and satellites are set to revolutionize and vastly expand our understanding of coral reefs. Promising approaches include Structure from Motion image processing, and acoustic techniques. Across all systems, curation of data in linked and open online databases, with an open data culture to maximize benefits from data integration, and empowering users to take action, are priorities. Action in the next decade will be essential to mitigate the impacts on coral reefs from warming temperatures, through local management and informing national and international obligations, particularly in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, climate action, and the role of coral reefs as a global indicator. Mobilizing data to help drive the needed behavior change is a top priority for coral reef observing systems.

Abstract:

Researchers with the Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division of NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory conducted 12 monthly cruises in two separate track lines off of Broward County, Florida, from November 2010 through January 2012. The cruise tracks were designed to provide information on three categories of the coastal ocean: (1) the vicinity of the Broward and Hollywood treated-wastewater outfalls; (2) the vicinity of the Hillsboro and Port Everglades inlets; and (3) the interstitial areas in between. Sampling took place from aboard the NOAA R/V Hildebrand using a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD)/rosette for water samples and water column profiles and appropriately located acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) instruments for ocean current information. Measured discrete parameters included location, depth, salinity, temperature, pH, oxygen saturation (dissolved oxygen, DO), oxidation-reduction (redox) potential (ORP), chlorophyll-a, phaeopigments, total suspended solids (TSS), nitrate (NO₃), nitrite (NO₂), ammonium (NH₄), silicate (Si), orthophosphate (PO₄), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), particulate carbon (PC), particulate phosphorus (PP), particulate nitrogen (PN), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). CTD profile data included depth, turbidity, ORP, DO, pH, chlorophyll-a, salinity, temperature, and density. A variety of microbiological entities were measured, including fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), selected waterborne pathogens, and molecular microbial source tracking (MST) markers. Community bacterial metagenomic profiles were also generated for selected sample sites. Quality controls of nutrient sample analyses were obtained following National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC)-certified procedures. The data obtained present a view of the coastal ocean as having a low “background” concentration of most analytes, interrupted by elevated concentrations near the outfalls and inlets whose excess concentrations decreased rapidly away from the point sources. The waters were found to be oligotrophic, with no evidence of bloom events. A major upwelling event was observed on August 11, 2011, where a ~10°C temperature drop was observed near the southernmost portion of the sampled area.

Abstract:

An acoustic Doppler current profiler was installed on the south side of the Port Everglades Inlet to measure the velocity of the water flow at levels starting near the surface and reaching down to near the channel bottom. The system was built using a commercial, horizontal-looking ADCP deployed in a hybrid manner to measure the vertical velocity structure. This system was calibrated so that its velocity measurements could estimate the mean channel velocity at specific depth layers by repeatedly transecting a vessel-mounted, down-looking ADCP across the channel at the location of the fixed system. The channel cross-sectional area at the location of the fixed system was measured, and a pressure sensor on the fixed system allowed the cross section of the channel to be estimated at the time of each velocity measurement. From the area and mean channel velocity measurements, an estimate of the volume transport per unit of time (Q) in a surface and deep layer was made. By integrating the Q measurements over a tidal phase, measurements of total volume transport per tidal phase in the surface and bottom layers were made. These volume estimates will be used to estimate the total seaward flux of certain substances measured by the Florida International University group during the study. Using an independent data set, the dispersion of materials advected seaward from the inlet into the coastal ocean was estimated.

Abstract:

Researchers with the Ocean Chemistry Division of NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory performed two 48-hour intensive studies of the water flowing through the Boynton Inlet at Boynton Beach, Florida, during June and September 2007. These studies were conducted in support of the Florida Area Coastal Environment (FACE) program. Academic partners who also participated in the effort included colleagues with the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies and the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Florida Atlantic University’s Laboratories for Engineered Environmental Solutions, and the Applied Research Center of Florida International University. Sampling was performed from the southern boardwalk at Boynton Beach during the June intensive and the Boynton Beach Inlet Bridge during the September intensive. The sampling strategy was designed to collect water samples over four complete tidal cycles for each intensive; these data would be employed to quantify the total flux of nearshore-source entities into the coastal waters. The first sampling event was conducted on June 4-6, 2007, and the second was conducted on September 26-28, 2007. Data collected include nutrients (silicate, orthophosphate, ammonium, nitrite+nitrate), isotope ratios of nitrogen, the presence or absence of selected biological indicators (Escherichia coli, enterococci, and total coliform), and physical parameters that included pH, salinity, total suspended solids, and turbidity. Critical to this study was the continuous in situ flow rate measurements obtained via an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) mounted on the north side of the inlet. This report presents the data gathered from the two sampling intensives. The data reported herein suggest that inlets are important contributors of nutrient and microbiological loads to the coastal zone. The overall view presented is that the lagoon input into Boynton Inlet may be substantial but is also highly variable.

Abstract:

This report discusses a sequence of six cruises in the vicinity of the Boynton-Delray (South Central) treated-wastewater plant outfall plume (26°27'43"N, 80°2'32"W), the Boynton Inlet (26°32'43"N, 80°2'30"W), and the Lake Worth Lagoon, Palm Beach County, Florida. The sampling cruises took place on June 5-6, 2007; August 28-29, 2007; October 18-19, 2007; February 14 and 18, 2008; May 19-20, 2008; and July 11-13, 2008. Water was sampled at 18 locations at the surface, middle, and near the seafloor (where there was sufficient depth) for a total of 45 samples; these samples were analyzed for a variety of nutrients and related parameters. The water sampling unit contained a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) instrument from which data were obtained at each sampling site. Synchronal ocean current data were measured by a nearby acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) instrument.

Abstract:

As part of a joint U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Port of Miami, State of Florida, U.S. EPA, University of Miami (Rosenstiel School), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) offshore dredged material disposal program, a real time current monitoring system (RTCMS) was designed by the Ocean Acoustics Division (OAD) of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) for deployment offshore of Miami. This system consists of an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) moored on the ocean floor at a point southwest of the Offshore Dredge Material Disposal Site (ODMDS) and cabled to a nearshore site. The nearshore site chosen was a range marker at the Miami Harbor entrance. From the range marker the data is transmitted via radio modem to the NOAA/AOML/OAD offices on Virginia Key. The high current regime and the requirement for periodic maintenance of the ADCP added unique challenges to the design of the cable and mooring system. Cable selection and routing was performed so as to minimize risk of damage due to recreational activities. For purposes of deployment and serviceability, the cabling and mooring system was divided into three sections. The first section extends from the range marker to a common point in 60 feet of water. The cable was laid and anchored in sandy areas where possible in order to avoid reef impact.The second section connects the common point to the first mooring point at a depth of 400 feet. The final section couples the first mooring point to the ADCP mooring point. The ADCP mooring section consists of a two-point moor with a subsurface center float to suspend the cable above the bottom. The deployment of the system was accomplished in two days on board a 95-foot research vessel equipped with a stern mounted A-frame and deck winches. Divers were utilized to attach the cable to anchors in the shallow water sections, and to inspect the cable after installation.