Impacts of hurricanes on surface water flow within a wetland

Authors

Yang Deng, Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, Montclair State UniversityFollow
Helena M. Solo-Gabriele, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of MiamiFollow
Michael Laas, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of MiamiFollow
Lynn Leonard, Department of Geography and Geology, University of North Carolina WilmingtonFollow
Dan Childers, Department of Biological Sciences and Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University and School of Sustainability, Arizona State UniversityFollow
Guoqing He, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami and College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang UniversityFollow
Victor Engel, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades National ParkFollow

Abstract

Between 2001 and 2005, seven category 3 or higher major hurricanes made landfall within the US. The hydrologic impacts of these distinct climatic phenomena frequently occurring in wetland watersheds, however, are not well understood. The focus of this study was to evaluate the impacts of hurricane wind and rainfall conditions on water velocity and water elevations within the study wetland, the Florida Everglades. Specifically water velocity data was measured near two tree islands (Gumbo Limbo (GL) and Satin Leaf (SL)) and wind speed, water elevation, and rainfall were obtained from nearby wind observation stations. During the direct impacts of the hurricanes (Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma), water speed, flow direction, and hydraulic gradients were altered, and the extent of variation was positively related to wind characteristics, with significant alterations in flow direction at depth during Hurricane Wilma due to higher wind speeds. After the direct impacts, the longer lasting effect of hurricanes (time scale of a few days) resulted in altered flow speeds that changed by 50% or less. These longer lasting changes in flow speeds may be due to the redistribution of emergent vegetation.

Comments

Post-Print Version

Copyright © 2010 Elsevier

The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.08.004

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation through the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research program under Cooperative Agreements #DBI-0620409 and #DEB-9910514. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Recommended Citation

Deng, Y., H. Solo-Gabriele, M. Laas, L. Leonard, D.L. Childers, G. He, V. Engel. 2010. Impacts of hurricanes on surface water flow within a wetland. Journal of Hydrology 392(3-4): 164-173.