Investigator: Kevin Cunningham and Michael Wacker Scope of Work Publication Related Links

Summary

The objectives of this data acquisition project are to complete the downhole geophysical logging including video and flowmeter logging of two core holes (9A and 11A).

The goal of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project (BBCWP) is to rehydrate wetlands and reduce point-source discharge to Biscayne Bay. The BBCWP will replace lost overland flow and partially compensate for the reduction in ground-water seepage by redistributing, through a spreader system, available surface water entering the area from regional canals. The proposed redistribution of freshwater flow across a broad front is expected to restore or enhance freshwater wetlands, tidal wetlands, and near shore bay habitat. A critical component of the BBCWP is the development of a realistic representation of ground-water flow within the karst Biscayne aquifer.

Recently, Cunningham and others (USGS-WRIR 2004) have demonstrated that a dual-porosity conceptual model is appropriate for this karst aquifer system with a series interlayered diffuse-carbonate and conduit flow zones that are vertically arranged within the context of a high frequency sequence stratigraphy. Mapping these ground-water flow units is key to the development of models that simulate ground-water flow from the Everglades and urban areas through the coastal wetlands to Biscayne Bay. As participants in this pilot project, the South Florida Water Management District, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the United States Geological Survey are working together to better understand the hydrogeologic framework of the Surficial aquifer in the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands in Miami-Dade County. Because there is little detailed hydrogeologic data of the Surficial aquifer (to depth) in this area, the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project Delivery Team proposes to install two monitor-well sites and collect the necessary detailed hydrogeologic data.

Scope of Work

• 2003