Recent algal blooms and seagrass mortality have raised concerns about the water quality of Florida Bay, particularly its nutrient content (nitrogen and phosphorous), hypersalinity, and turbidity. Water quality is closely tied to sediment transport processes because resuspension of sediments increases turbidity, releases stored nutrients, and facilitates sediment export to the reef tract. Over decades to centuries, bathymetric changes due to erosion or sediment deposition affect water circulation and hypersalinity. The effect on circulation depends on the interplay between sediment accumulation and sea-level rise. The goal of this project is to document and quantify short- and long-term processes associated with sediment transport so that the influence of sediments on water quality can be better defined and later integrated with numerical modeling efforts conducted by cooperating agencies.

Because of the spatial complexity of sediment composition and consistency, as well as the distribution of seagrass, a three-fold approach has been adopted for the study of the transport process. Initially wave propagation through the bay will be modeled under varying wind and water levels. The second portion of the study will focus on sediment properties of the bay and how they relate to entrainment (sediment transport as the result of water flow over the bay floor and the response of the underlying sediments) and resuspension. The third portion of the study addresses long-term sedimentation and erosion rates in the bay through geochemical studies of cores, multiyear surveys from monitoring stations, and analysis of historic maps and aerial photographs.

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