Sea Level Rise and Climate: Impacts on the Greater Everglades Ecosystem and Restoration

Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Lynn Wingard

Publication_Date: Unpublished Material

Title:

Sea Level Rise and Climate: Impacts on the Greater Everglades Ecosystem and Restoration

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: project

Online_Linkage:

<http://sofia.usgs.gov/projects/index.php?project_url=impacts_slrclim>

Description:

Abstract:

This project will address the questions of rates and impacts of sea level rise on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) by utilizing paleoecologic tools and salinity models to examine changes to the Greater Everglades Ecosystem over the past 500-3000 years. Historical rates of change will be compared to potential sea level rise conditions under different Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate change scenarios. The relationship between sea level, salinity, habitats and biota will be examined, and ecologic indicators of sea level rise will be identified.

Purpose:

Predictions of sea level rise of 18-59 cm by the year 2099 were presented in the IPCC Report of 2007, but these estimates excluded contributions from melting glacial ice. Recent estimates presented at the Copenhagen Climate Conference (March 2009) suggest sea level will rise a minimum of 50 cm and probably reach 100 cm or more. These estimates present a significant level of uncertainty for South Florida ecosystem restoration. Almost all of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem is less than 5 m above current sea level. A number of factors make South Florida particularly vulnerable to problems associated with rising sea level and global climate change: 1) low elevation; 2) lack of topographic gradient to promote drainage; 3) water table at or near the surface; 4) no upland source of sediment to resupply coast; 5) probability of increasing strength and number of tropical storms; 6) thermal expansion of the oceans (some models show the thermosteric anomalies being greater off the coast of Florida (Plag, 2006)); and 7) the fact that water management practices have reduced freshwater flow during the 20th century and thus increased the rate of encroachment of saline waters. Long term tidal gauge records show that Florida has been undergoing a 1.9 mm yr-1 increase in relative sea level between 1950-2000 (Miller and Douglas, 2006; Plag, 2006). The questions are how does this recent rate of relative sea level rise compare to pre-anthropogenic rates, has anthropogenic alteration of the South Florida environment increased the impact of rising sea level, and what are the projected future rates under various IPCC scenarios?

In an ecosystem based on the supply of freshwater, and a restoration plan based on "getting the water right", understanding potential impacts of sea level rise is critical. One of the primary questions that have surfaced in recent CERP team discussions about climate change and sea level rise is whether restoring more natural flows to the Everglades can restore the ecosystem's natural resiliency. While worrying about the long term affects of climate change and sea level rise, CERP project managers are faced with the immediate need to set restoration targets and performance measures. These targets and performance measures need to be attainable and sustainable, but how should attainable and sustainable be defined in the face of global change? Given the range in predictions and the level of uncertainty, what tools do managers have to incorporate sea level rise into restoration planning? The estuaries of the Greater Everglades provide the perfect living laboratory to study the long term impacts and implications of sea level rise on the ecosystem.

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 20091001

Ending_Date: 20140930

Currentness_Reference: ground condition

Status:

Progress: In Work

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed

Spatial_Domain:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -81.25

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -80

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 25.75

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 24.5

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: none

Theme_Keyword: biology

Theme_Keyword: salinity

Theme_Keyword: hydrology

Theme_Keyword: climate change

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category

Theme_Keyword: biota

Theme_Keyword: climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere

Theme_Keyword: environment

Theme_Keyword: imageryBaseMapsEarthCover

Theme_Keyword: oceans

Theme_Keyword: 002

Theme_Keyword: 004

Theme_Keyword: 007

Theme_Keyword: 012

Theme_Keyword: 014

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus:

Department of Commerce, 1995, Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions, Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 10-4, Washington, DC, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Place_Keyword: United States

Place_Keyword: US

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus:

U.S. Department of Commerce, 1987, Codes for the identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the outlying areas of the United States, and associated areas (Federal Information Processing Standard 5-2): Washington, DC, NIST

Place_Keyword: Florida

Place_Keyword: FL

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus:

Department of Commerce, 1990, Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas, FIPS 6-3, Washington, DC, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Place_Keyword: Miami-Dade County

Place_Keyword: Monroe County

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Geographic Names Information System

Place_Keyword: Shark River Slough

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: none

Place_Keyword: Central Everglades

Place_Keyword: mangrove ecotone

Place_Keyword: SW Big Cypress

Access_Constraints: none

Use_Constraints: nonq

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Lynn Wingard

Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing address

Address: 926A National Center

City: Reston

State_or_Province: VA

Postal_Code: 20192

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 703 648-5352

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 703 648-6953

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: lwingard@usgs.gov

Data_Set_Credit:

Project personnel include C. Bernhardt, T. Cronin, M. Marot, J. Murray, T. Colley, T. Sheehan, B. Stackhouse, D. Willard, and F. Marshall

Cross_Reference:

Citation_Information:

Originator:

Miller, L.

Douglas, B. C.

Publication_Date: 2006

Title: On the rate and causes of twentieth century sea-level rise

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: publication

Series_Information:

Series_Name: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

Issue_Identification: v. 364, p. 805-820

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: online

Publisher: The Royal Society

Other_Citation_Details: accessed as of 4/25/2011

Online_Linkage:

<http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/364/1841/805.full.pdf+html>

Cross_Reference:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Plag, Hans-Peter

Publication_Date: 2006

Title:

Recent relative sea-level trends: an attempt to quantify the forcing factors

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: publication

Series_Information:

Series_Name: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

Issue_Identification: v. 364, p. 821-844

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: online

Publisher: The Royal Society

Other_Citation_Details: accessed as of 4/25/2011

Online_Linkage:

<http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/364/1841/821.full.pdf>

Cross_Reference:

Citation_Information:

Originator:

Allison, I.

Bindoff, N. L.; Bindschadler, R. A.; Cox, P. M.; de Noblet, N.; England, M. H.; Francis, J. E.; Gruber, N.; Haywood, A. M.; Karoly, D. J.; Kaser, G.; Le Quere, C. Lenton, T. M.; Mann, M. E.; McNeil, B. I.; Pitman, A. J.; Rahmstorf, S.; Rignot, E,; Schellnhuber, H. J.; Schneider, S. H.; Sherwood, S. C.; Somervile, R. C. J.; Steffen, K.; Steig, E. J.; Visbeck, M.; Weaver, A. J.

Publication_Date: 2009

Title:

The Copenhagen Diagnosis: Updating the World on the Latest Climate Science

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: publication

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Sydney, Australia

Publisher: University of New South Wales Climate Change Research Centre

Other_Citation_Details: accessed as of 4/25/2011

Online_Linkage:

<http://www.ccrc.unsw.edu.au/Copenhagen/Copenhagen_Diagnosis_LOW.pdf>

Data_Quality_Information:

Logical_Consistency_Report: not available

Completeness_Report: not available

Lineage:

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

In FY10 we will initiate an analysis of the relationship between salinity and sea level rise, focusing on the southwest coastal mangrove ecotone. A preliminary list of indicator species/assemblages will be compiled for determining migration of the saltwater/freshwater transition zone. We will compile existing records from USGS, Penn State, and other databases that provide information on position of sea level in the later part of the Holocene for South Florida and relationships between climate patterns and sea level. Reconnaissance will be conducted, and if permits are obtained, three new cores will be collected from the marsh areas of Shark River Slough and examined for pollen and any faunal remains. These cores will broaden our existing coverage of the area and address the role of freshwater / saltwater transition on the location of vegetation types and associated fauna.

Process_Date: Not complete

Process_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Lynn Wingard

Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing address

Address: 926A National Center

City: Reston

State_or_Province: VA

Postal_Code: 20192

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 703 648-5352

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 703 648-6953

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: lwingard@usgs.gov

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20110425

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Heather Henkel

Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address

Address: 600 Fourth Street South

City: St. Petersburg

State_or_Province: FL

Postal_Code: 33701

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727 803-8747 ext 3028

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 727 803-2030

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: sofia-metadata@usgs.gov

Metadata_Standard_Name: Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

Metadata_Access_Constraints: none

Metadata_Use_Constraints:

This metadata record may have been copied from the SOFIA website and may not be the most recent version. Please check <http://sofia.usgs.gov/metadata> to be sure you have the most recent version.

U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Comments and suggestions? Contact: Heather Henkel - Webmaster
Generated by mp version 2.8.18 on Mon Apr 25 16:28:41 2011