Sediment dissolution rates were greatest during high salinity, turbidity, or cloud cover. These results suggest that an increase in the duration or frequency of seasonal hypersalinity events and high turbidity events may decrease the retention of carbonate sediments in Florida Bay due to elevated rates of dissolution. Additional monitoring of carbonate sediment production rates over a range of high salinity and high turbidity events is required to more accurately characterize and model the longterm impact of these stressors to carbonate sedimentation and the physical and chemical structure of Florida Bay.

Estimates of long-term sediment accumulation rates based on our short-term productivity measurements are very similar to estimates of Stockman et al. (1967) after correction of our data for sediment transport from basins to mud banks. Our short-term productivity measurements account for both sediment production and dissolution, whereas Stockman et al. (1967) account for sediment production, dissolution, and sediment transport both within the bay and out of the bay. Thus, similarity between our estimates and those of Stockman et al. (1967) suggests that sediment dissolution in surface waters plays a more significant role than sediment transport in the loss of carbonate sediment from Florida Bay.