Title

Multidecadal climate oscillations detected in a transparency record from a subtropical Florida lake

Authors

Evelyn E. Gaiser, Department of Biological Sciences and Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International UniversityFollow
Nancy D. Deyrup, Archbold Biological Station
Roger W. Bachmann, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida
Larry D. Battoe, St. Johns River Water Management District, Environmental Sciences Div.
Hilary M. Swain, Archbold Biological StationFollow

Abstract

Synchronous interannual variability in water transparency observed in neighboring lakes has been linked to regional precipitation and resultant runoff of dissolved organic material, but many climate forcings oscillate over time scales longer than most limnological records can detect. A strong relationship (R2 5 0.86) between transparency and the previous two years’ rainfall and lake stage in a 25-yr record from a Florida lake enabled us to hindcast transparency from a longer 75-yr record of rainfall and lake stage. Predictions revealed a ,30-yr cycle in transparency linked to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Transparency was greatest (4–8 m) in the cool phase of the AMO (,1962–1993) associated with below-average rainfall in south Florida and lowest (0.1– 3.0 m) during two warm phases (,1932–1961, 1994–present) associated with above-average, but more variable, annual rainfall. Models that predict effects of large-scale hydrologic restoration projects on solute export from South Florida’s expansive wetlands need to account for recent entry into a warm AMO phase, where teleconnections between the AMO phases and runoff are opposite of those shown for the U.S. interior.

Comments

Copyright © 2011 Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography.

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

Gaiser, E.E., N. Deyrup, R. Bachmann, L. Battoe, H. Swain. 2009. Multidecadal climate oscillations detected in a transparency record from a subtropical Florida lake. Limnology and Oceanography 54(6): 2228-2232.